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1999

Warner Bros. Records

Selling 5 million copies worldwide, 1999 was the album that propelled Prince to international stardom in 1982, as was his cross-over album to the white audience – getting also the band to adopt the New Romantic look, complete with his trademark purple trench coat. It was a look made for TV and the launch of MTV (Michael Jackson’s Thriller following 1999 LP one month later) became instrumental to the album’s appeal, thanks to its hits 1999 and Little Red Corvette enjoying heavy rotation on the new channel. Little Red Corvette delivered Prince’s breakthrough hit and his first single into the Billboard top 10. 1999 remains to this day today a firm fan favourite and was first certified Platinum by RIAA on 17 May 1983, rising to triple Platinum due to the success of Purple Rain movie, soundtrack and tour, and finally four times Platinum in the year 1999 – of course.

It took me four albums to get on the cover of Rolling Stone.

Work on 1999 began in the spring of 1982 and continued throughout that summer in long and solitary recording sessions in his home studio at 9401 Kiowa Trail. Although Prince wrote all the songs, he co-credits the LP to his backing band The Revolution displayed in reverse lettering on the album’s cover – the first occasion which his touring band was named as a group. Yet Prince’s band feature in only two tracks; in the title track, Lisa Coleman and Dez Dickerson is joined by Dirty Mind Tour backing vocalist Jill Jones, each singing the entire track. Prince later mixed the tracking have Coleman and Jones take the opening line and Dickerson the next, with Prince’s vocals taking the remainder. In Little Red Corvette it is Dickerson playing the iconic guitar solo, widely ranked one of the greatest solos of all time. The song drew its inspiration from Coleman’s pink and white 1964 Mercury Marauder car Prince helped her buy in 1980 and chauffeur him to many a show.

With a professional setup installed in his home studio, the 1999 sessions produced Prince’s most prolific output to date, during which he also created albums for his side projects The Time and Vanity 6, who joined Prince on the album’s supporting tour, duly named Triple Threat Tour. 1981 was the year Prince acquired a hugely expensive Linn LM-1 drum machine – the first commercial grade 8-bit drum sampler – manufactured the year previous by a guitarist named Roger Linn, only 525 were produced when replaced by the cheaper LM-2 in 1982. The key improvement the Linn held over other drum machines is that its samples comprised recordings from real instruments and hand claps. The Linn fired Prince’s imagination and inspired him to create so much material over these sessions the project delivered his first double LP. Following the routine began with his previous album Controversy, once the main recording sessions were complete the final mixing took place at Sunset Sound in Hollywood. Prince would not match this volume of output until 1986, producing Sign O’ The Times, his second double album.

It’s time for a new direction it’s time for jazz to die. Fourth day of November we need a purple high

When released on vinyl, the first five tracks of 1999 comprised its first disc, with the remaining six configured into the second. Warner’s international arm WEA opposed a double album and so when released in the UK on 7 March 1983, 1999 was issued as a seven-track single LP with D.M.S.R., All The Critics Love U In New York and International Lover all omitted. Although this was rectified in the album’s release on 9 November 1984 as the original double LP. When later pressed to CD in 1985 D.M.S.R. remained absent due to the space constraint of early manufacturing technology. The track was instead available on the 1999 maxi single, and International Lover likewise as a B-side for the UK issue of Little Red Corvette. D.M.S.R. was finally reinstated in re-pressings of the CD album.

In all, 1999 produced four commercially released singles. Despite the song’s later statute, 1999 dropped as the lead one month ahead of the LP and charted at number 44 in the US, its UK release followed in January 1983 ahead of the album that March and peaked at 25. The LP’s big hitter Little Red Corvette followed in February and Prince’s popularity exploded. It charted at number 6 – delivering Prince his first US top 10 hit. Two more singles were issued following the hugely successful supporting tour: that August came Delirious and was another top 10 US single. Containing the album outtake Horny Toad, it was Prince’s first single to include an original B-side track not from the main album. Let’s Pretend We’re Married followed in November as the album’s fourth and final single, it charted at number 52. Although the LP itself charted at number 9 in the US, selling 4 million units (300,000 in the UK where it peaked at number 30), 1999 gradually amassed universal acclaim despite initially drawing criticism its six tracks running beyond six minutes was considered self-indulgent, leading to WEA’s shortening of the original pressing. Rolling Stone magazine since listed 1999 163rd in their top 500 albums of all time.

In the UK Little Red Corvette was a comparative slow burn and so was reissued three times as a single; first released on 3 April 1983 peaking at 54, it was reissued that 4 November to re-enter the chart at 66. The track was once again reissued on 11 January 1985 as a double A-side with 1999, mirroring the explosion of Prince’s popularity in the wake of Purple Rain, the single smashed the top-10 and peaked at number 2. The LPs original chart peak of 9 improved in 2016 to number 7 in US in the week following Prince’s death, similarly in the UK climbing two places from its 1982 peak, to 28 on 7 May 2016.

In 1983, 1999 earned Prince his first Grammy nominations: Best Vocal Performance for an album, and Best Vocal Performance for a track (International Lover). Without 1999 Prince could not have attained the attention and the considerable success with subsequent releases. 1999 is arguably therefore the most important record of his career and is testament to why it is held in such high esteem among fans and critics today. 1999 was inducted into the Grammy Hall Of Fame in 2008 on the first year of the album’s eligibility.

2018 and 2019 reissues

On Record Store Day 21 April 2018, the original single LP 1999 was reissued on vinyl for the first time in 35 years, available in a limited run of 13,000 copies worldwide. The reissuing of the full double album followed on 29 November 2019, which saw the iconic 1999 album remastered and repackaged as a 5-disc Super Deluxe boxset containing also 34 studio outtakes from the era, plus footage and soundboard recording from the supporting 1999 Tour. Released by Warner Records as 1999 Super Deluxe Edition, the reissued original album re-entered Billboard’s Hot 200 and charted at number 45. The beautifully designed collection occasioning Prince’s first Super Deluxe Edition package was recognised with a Grammy nomination for Best Historical Album in 2020.

Prince | 1999 — Photography by Allen Beaulieu

Cover story

The cover of 1999 is a collage produced by Prince himself. On closer inspection the image reveals a number of interesting elements: The eyes in the first and third 9 are lifted from the cover of Prince’s previous album Controversy, as are the Rude Boy badge placed in the middle 9, and the studs from his trench coat that top R. Finally, “and The Revolution” is spelled in reverse in the lips set over the I in the artwork. It makes one of Prince’s most iconic covers. The photos used for the LP’s inner dust sleeves as well as its singles are all shot by Allen Beaulieu in his studio, drawing inspiration from Ridley Scott’s 1982 dark sci-fi Blade Runner. The neon elements acquired for the photo shoot were subsequently incorporated into the stage set of the Triple Threat Tour. Beaulieu, who also shot the covers for Dirty Mind and Controversy, was not credited by Prince for his work on 1999 over fears others artists would book him. Beaulieu and Prince parted company as result.

Performers

Vocals / all Instr: Prince
Guitar: Dez Dickerson ^{Little Red Corvette}

Data

Production

Prince

Label

Warner Bros. Records

Distribution

Warner Bros. Records

Cover/Design

Prince

Released

41 years ago on 27 October 1982

Reissued

29 November 2019 as 1999 Super Deluxe Edition

Running Time

70:35

US Chart Peak

UK Chart Peak

Prince Album

Orig. Formats

Tracklist

Double LP - 27 October 1982

1999 [feat. Jill Jones, Lisa Coleman and Dez Dickerson] (6:22)
Little Red Corvette [feat. Lisa Coleman and Dez Dickerson] (4:58)
Delirious (3:56)
Let's Pretend We're Married (7:20)
D.M.S.R. (8:15) ¹
Automatic (9:24)
Something In The Water (Does Not Compute) (4:00)
Free [feat. Vanity] (5:08)
Lady Cab Driver (8:25)
All The Critics Love U In New York (5:55)
International Lover (6:35)

Running Time: 70 min, 35 sec

Single LP - 7 March 1983

1999 [feat. Jill Jones, Lisa Coleman and Dez Dickerson] (6:22)
Little Red Corvette [feat. Lisa Coleman and Dez Dickerson] (4:58)
Delirious (3:58)
Free [feat. Vanity] (5:08)
Let's Pretend We're Married (7:20)
Something In The Water (Does Not Compute) (4:00)
Lady Cab Driver (8:25)

Running Time: 40 min, 09 sec

Released as a single

¹ Omitted from original CD pressing.

Singles from 1999

1999

Warner Bros. Records

Released

24 September 1982

US Chart Peak

UK Chart Peak

No Release

Cover/Art

Allen Beaulieu

Format

1999 [Edit] [feat. Jill Jones, Lisa Coleman and Dez Dickerson] (3:36)
How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore (3:50)

1999

Warner Bros. Records

12"/Maxi-Single

Released

7 January 1983

Distribution

WEA Records

US Chart Peak

No Release

UK Chart Peak

Cover/Art

Allen Beaulieu

Format

1999 (6:22)
How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore (3:50)
D.M.S.R. (8:15)

Little Red Corvette

Warner Bros. Records

Released

9 February 1983

US Chart Peak

UK Chart Peak

No Release

Cover/Art

Allen Beaulieu

Format

Little Red Corvette [Edit] [feat. Lisa Coleman and Dez Dickerson] (3:08)
All The Critics Love U In New York [Edit] (3:15)

Little Red Corvette

Warner Bros. Records

Released

4 April 1983

Distribution

WEA Records

US Chart Peak

No Release

UK Chart Peak

Cover/Art

Allen Beaulieu

Format

Little Red Corvette [Edit] [feat. Lisa Coleman and Dez Dickerson] (3:08)
Lady Cab Driver [Edit] (5:01)

Little Red Corvette

Warner Bros. Records

12"/Maxi-Single

Released

4 April 1983

Distribution

WEA Records

US Chart Peak

No Release

UK Chart Peak

Cover/Art

Allen Beaulieu

Format

Little Red Corvette [feat. Lisa Coleman and Dez Dickerson] (4:58)
Automatic (9:24)
International Lover (6:35)

Automatic and International Lover issued as B-sides due to their exclusion from the original single LP in UK.

Little Red Corvette

Warner Bros. Records

12"/Maxi-Single

Released

4 April 1983

Distribution

WEA Records

US Chart Peak

No Release

UK Chart Peak

Cover/Art

Allen Beaulieu

Format

Little Red Corvette [Dance Remix] [feat. Lisa Coleman and Dez Dickerson] (8:22)
Lady Cab Driver (8:25)

Delirious

Warner Bros. Records

Released

17 August 1983

US Chart Peak

UK Chart Peak

No Release

Cover/Art

Allen Beaulieu

Format

Delirious [Edit] (2:38)
Horny Toad (2:12)

Little Red Corvette

Warner Bros. Records

Released

4 November 1983

Distribution

WEA Records

US Chart Peak

No Release

UK Chart Peak

Cover/Art

Allen Beaulieu

Format

Little Red Corvette [Edit] [feat. Lisa Coleman and Dez Dickerson] (3:08)
Horny Toad (2:12)

Sleeve opens out to form a poster sized calendar.

Little Red Corvette

Warner Bros. Records

12"/Maxi-Single

Released

4 November 1983

Distribution

WEA Records

US Chart Peak

No Release

UK Chart Peak

Cover/Art

Allen Beaulieu

Format

Little Red Corvette [Full Length Version] [feat. Lisa Coleman and Dez Dickerson] (4:58)
Horny Toad (2:12)
D.M.S.R. (8:15)

D.M.S.R. issued as B-side due to its exclusion from the original single LP in UK.

Let's Pretend We're Married

Warner Bros. Records

12"/Maxi-Single

Released

16 November 1983

US Chart Peak

UK Chart Peak

No Release

Cover/Art

Allen Beaulieu

Format

Let's Pretend We're Married (7:20)
Irresistible Bitch (4:11)

Let's Pretend We're Married

Warner Bros. Records

Released

23 November 1983

US Chart Peak

UK Chart Peak

No Release

Cover/Art

Allen Beaulieu

Format

Let's Pretend We're Married [Edit] (3:40)
Irresistible Bitch (4:11)

1999 / Little Red Corvette

Warner Bros. Records

Released

11 January 1985

Distribution

WEA Records

US Chart Peak

No Release

UK Chart Peak

Cover/Art

Prince / Allen Beaulieu

Format

1999 [Edit] [feat. Jill Jones, Lisa Coleman and Dez Dickerson] (3:36)
Little Red Corvette [Edit] [feat. Lisa Coleman and Dez Dickerson] (3:08)

UK double A-side reissue.

1999 / Little Red Corvette

Warner Bros. Records

12"/Maxi-Single

Released

11 January 1985

Distribution

WEA Records

US Chart Peak

No Release

UK Chart Peak

Cover/Art

Prince / Allen Beaulieu

Format

1999 [Full Length Version] [feat. Jill Jones, Lisa Coleman and Dez Dickerson] (6:22)
Little Red Corvette [Full Length Version] [feat. Lisa Coleman and Dez Dickerson] (4:58)

UK double A-side reissue.

Supporting tour

1999 Triple Threat Tour

1982/3

87 shows from 11 November 1982 to 10 April 1983

1999 – review

Some albums cannot be played loud enough and 1999 is one of those. Indeed 1999 is considered the favourite of Prince fans and is the one that launched Prince into the music mainstream. Little Richard and Rick James was brushed aside amid the wake of 1999 and Prince armed with a Linn, and never looked back. Featuring juggernaut hits Little Red Corvette and of course the title track, the record foreshadows the domination Prince would exert on the next decade of music. 80’s electro pop was changed forever. 1999 is crowned fan favourite for D.M.S.R., Let’s Pretend Were Married, Something In The Water (Does not Compute), Lady Cab Driver and the brilliant Automatic. Thirty years ahead of its time thanks to the Linn Drum, 1999 guarantees notoriety as the all time club classic, and the go-to record at the turn of the Millennium. Because of its freshness and (still) futuristic sound, 1999 is will be spun in clubs for decades to come. There is no “out of time” for this party, as this is Prince at his very best and without it the follow up Purple Rain could never have been ready. Laden with grooves that find dancing an all-too a-u-t-omatic reflex for listeners “You can dance if you want to,” proves an invitation impossible to resist. Music would never be this exciting again.