When Doves Cry

Infobox Single
Name = When Doves Cry


Caption = U.S. 7" single
Artist = Prince
from Album = Purple Rain
B-side = "17 Days"
"1999" (UK 12")
"D.M.S.R." (UK 12")
Released = 16 May, 1984
Format = 7" single
12" single
Recorded = Sunset Sound, 1 March, 1984
Genre = Rock, Funk, Pop
Length = 7" edit: 3:47
Album/12": 5:52
Label = Warner Bros. Records
Writer = Prince
Producer = Prince
Certification = Platinum - (21 August, 1984)
Chart position = * #1 (USA, USA R&B, AUS)
* #4 (UK)
Last single = "Let's Pretend We're Married"
(1983)
This single = "When Doves Cry"
(1984)
Next single = "Let's Go Crazy"
(1984)
Misc = Extra chronology 2
Artist = Prince (UK)
Type = single
Last single = "Little Red Corvette"
(1983)
This single = "When Doves Cry"
(1984)
Next single = "Purple Rain"
(1984)Extra tracklisting
Album = Purple Rain
Type = studio
prev_track = "Darling Nikki"
prev_no = 4
this_track = "When Doves Cry"
track_no = 5
next_track = "I Would Die 4 U"
next_no = 6"When Doves Cry" is a song by the American musician Prince, and the lead single from his 1984 album "Purple Rain". It was a worldwide hit, and his first American number one single, topping charts for five weeks. According to "Billboard" magazine, it was the top-selling single of the year.

The song follows the general spiritual theme of Christianity throughout "Purple Rain". Many have interpreted the 'dove' as being a symbol of the Holy Spirit. The song has also been understood as Prince's cry to God: "how could you just leave me standing alone in a world that's so cold?" One can also interpret Prince's denial of both parents as a criticism of the 5th (or 4th, depending on faith) commandment of honoring thy father and mother, further solidifying his call for God to intervene.

The song

History

According to the "Purple Rain" DVD, Prince was asked by the director to write a song to match the theme of a particular segment of the film - one which involved intermingled parental difficulties and a love affair. The next morning, Prince had reportedly composed two songs, one of which was "When Doves Cry."

Impact

The song was #1 in the US for five weeks; July 7-August 4, 1984. It kept the other big hit of that summer, Bruce Springsteen's "Dancing in the Dark," from reaching the top spot. "When Doves Cry" was voted as the best single of the year in "The Village Voice" Pazz & Jop critics poll.

The B-side was the cult fan favourite "17 Days," which was originally intended for the "Apollonia 6" album. A 12-inch single issued in the UK included the album track, "17 Days," and two tracks from Prince's previous album, "1999", namely the title track and "D.M.S.R."

ong structure

Prince wrote and composed "When Doves Cry" after all the other tracks on "Purple Rain" were complete. In addition to vocals, he also played all instruments on the track. The song's texture is remarkably stark. There is no bass line at all, which is very unusual for a dance song; Prince has said that there originally was a bass line, but decided that the song was too conventional with it intact. During live performances of the song on the Purple Rain Tour, Brown Mark, Prince's then-bass player, added bass lines in this song and other songs without a bass line. [http://www.princelyrics.co.uk/viewarticle.asp?article=35] The song features an intro of a guitar solo and drum machine, followed by a looped guttural vocal. After the lyrics, there is another, much longer guitar and a synthesizer solo. The song ends on a classical music-inspired keyboard piece backed by another synthesizer solo.

Acclaim

"When Doves Cry" has gone on to become one of Prince's signature songs. Spin Magazine ranked the song 6th greatest single of all time. It was number #38 in Movement's list The Greatest Songs of All Time. "Rolling Stone" ranked When Doves Cry #52 on their list 500 Greatest Songs of All Time (which makes it number three among songs of the 1980s). In 2006, VH1's "The 100 Greatest Songs of the '80s" ranked the song #5 on the list.

Music video

The music video (directed by Prince himself) was released on MTV in June, 1984. It opens with white doves emerging from double doors to reveal Prince in a bathtub. It also includes scenes from the "Purple Rain" film interspersed with shots of the Revolution performing and dancing in a white room. The final portion of the video incorporates a mirrored frame of the left half of the picture, creating a doubling effect. The video was nominated for Best Choreography in 1985's MTV Video Music Awards. [http://www.mvdbase.com/video.php?id=22396] The video sparked controversy among network executives who thought that the sexual nature of the video was too explicit for television.

Track listing

7": Paisley Park / 7-29286 (US)

# "When Doves Cry" (Edit) - 3:47
# "17 Days" - 3:54

12": Paisley Park / 0-20170 (US)

# "When Doves Cry - 5:52
# "17 Days - 3:54

12": Warner Bros. / W9286T (UK)

# "When Doves Cry" - 5:52
# "17 Days" - 3:54

# "1999" - 6:22
# "D.M.S.R." - 8:05

* 2x12" pack

Notable cover versions

*There have been several cover versions of the song, most notably a hit single version by R&B singer Ginuwine. Produced by Timbaland in 1996 for Ginuwine's "The Bachelor" album, Ginuwine's cover uses actual dove sound effects as texture for its jungle music-inspired instrumental track.
*In 1990, MC Hammer sampled "When Doves Cry" as the basis for his song "Pray" from the "Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em" album. Later, in 1998, rapper Bizzy Bone would use an interpolation and pay homage to Prince's hit with "Thugz Cry" from his album "Heaven'z Movie".

*The Prince original was featured in the wedding scene of the 1996 Baz Luhrmann film "Romeo + Juliet", performed by then child star Quindon Tarver and backed by a church choir. A pop version became a hit for Tarver in Australia in 1997.

* The bluegrass band Greensky Bluegrass have been performing a cover version of this song since 2005.
*Gov't Mule, with Warren Haynes of the Allman Brothers, also perform a version of this song quite often at their shows as a part of their own song "Beautifully Broken". A version of "Beautifully Broken" featuring an intro and outro of 'When Doves Cry' appears on the Gov't Mule live album "The Deepest End, Live In Concert".

*The Be Good Tanyas performed "When Doves Cry" on their album "Hello Love".

*Patti Smith covered "When Doves Cry" on her compilation album, "Land (1975–2002)". This version was used in the movie "Lost in Translation".

*Snoop Dogg recreated the ending of the "When Doves Cry" video at the midpoint of his "Sensual Seduction" video.

* Guy Sebastian Sang a cover on Australian idol then released it on his debut Album

*Anglo-Swedish band Razorlight covered the song as the B-side to their 2007 single "I Can't Stop This Feeling I've Got."

*Damien Rice has also recorded a cover version of the song.

*Guy Sebastian recorded a cover version of the song on his album "Just As I Am".

*The Canadian rock band Barenaked Ladies performed a cover at one of their concerts.

*Mika, Michael Holbrook Penniman, performed a cover of the song in a concert on the 28 of January 2008 in Montreal.

*Patrick Wolf performed a cover of the song, duetting with Charlotte Church on an episode of The Charlotte Church Show on the 23rd of March 2007.

*Mushroomhead has also covered the song in concert and low quality recordings of it can be found online.

*One Less Reason recorded a metal cover of the song on their album EveryDayLife.

Awards and nominations

*American Music Awards - 1985 - Favorite Soul/R&B Single (won)

Legacy

The popular Canadian teen drama , which is known for naming each episode after an 80s hit song, named a two part episode after this song. The episode dealt with the issue of child abuse.

In the episode of the Simpsons Lemon of Troy, Milhouse, upon meeting the Shelbyvillian Milhouse, says "I guess this is what it feels like when doves cry"

External links

* "When Doves Cry" [http://www.dtt-lyrics.com/albums/purple.html#doves lyrics]