Let's Go Crazy
"Let's Go Crazy" | ||||
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Single by Prince and The Revolution | ||||
from the album Purple Rain | ||||
B-side |
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Released | July 18, 1984[1] | |||
Recorded | August 7, 1983 | |||
Studio | The Warehouse, St. Louis Park | |||
Genre | Hard rock, funk rock[2] | |||
Length | 3:50 (7"/video version) 4:39 (album version) 7:35 (12"/movie version) | |||
Label | Warner Bros. | |||
Songwriter(s) | Prince [3] | |||
Producer(s) | Prince and the Revolution | |||
Prince singles chronology | ||||
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Purple Rain singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
Let's Go Crazy on YouTube |
"Let's Go Crazy" is a 1984 song by
Common to much of Prince's writing, the song is thought to be exhortation to follow Christian ethics, with the "De-elevator" of the lyrics being a metaphor for the Devil.[6] The extended "Special Dance Mix" of the song was performed in a slightly edited version in the film Purple Rain. It contains a longer instrumental section in the middle that includes a chugging guitar riff, an atonal piano solo and some muddled samples of the spoken word intro. This version was originally going to be used on the album but when "Take Me With U" was added to the track list, it was edited down to its current length.
Following Prince's death, the song re-charted on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart at number 39 and rose to number 25 by the week of May 14, 2016. As of April 30, 2016, it has sold 964,403 digital copies in the United States.[8]
In 2013, British rock band The Darkness performed the song at the 44th Annual Rock Music Awards.
Musical style
The song was also notable for opening with a funeral-like
Track listing
7" Warner Bros. / 7-29216 (US)
- "Let's Go Crazy" (edit) – 3:46
- "Erotic City" (edit) – 3:53
7" Warner Bros. / W2000 (UK)
- "Let's Go Crazy" (edit) – 3:46
- "Take Me with U" – 3:51
12" Warner Bros. / 0-20246 (US)
- "Let's Go Crazy" (Special Dance Mix) – 7:35
- "Erotic City ("make love not war Erotic City come alive")" – 7:24
12" Warner Bros. / W2000T (UK)
- "Let's Go Crazy" (Special Dance Mix) – 7:35
- "Take Me with U" – 3:51
- "Erotic City ("make love not war Erotic City come alive")" – 7:24
Personnel
Credits are sourced from Duane Tudahl, Benoît Clerc, Guitarcloud and Mix.[10][11][12][13]
- Prince – lead and backing vocals, electric lead guitar, Linn LM-1
- Wendy Melvoin – electric rhythm guitar, backing vocals
- Lisa Coleman – Oberheim OB-SX, backing vocals
- Matt Fink – Oberheim OB-Xa, backing vocals
- Brown Mark– bass guitar, backing vocals
- Bobby Z. – Linn LM-1, Simmons SDS-V, Pearl SY-1 Syncussion, cymbals
Charts
Weekly charts
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Year-end charts
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Certifications and sales
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United Kingdom (BPI)[29] | Silver | 200,000‡ |
United States (RIAA)[30] 1984 sales |
Gold | 1,000,000^ |
United States digital sales |
— | 964,403[8] |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
Lenz v. Universal
In 2007, Stephanie Lenz, a writer and editor from Gallitzin, Pennsylvania made a home video of her 13-month-old son dancing to "Let's Go Crazy" and posted a 29-second video on the video-sharing site YouTube. Four months after the video was originally uploaded, Universal Music Group, which owned the copyrights to the song, ordered YouTube to remove the video enforcing the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Lenz notified YouTube immediately that her video was within the scope of fair use, and demanded that it be restored. YouTube complied after six weeks—not two weeks, as required by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act—to see whether Universal planned to sue Lenz for infringement. Lenz then sued Universal Music in California for her legal costs, claiming the music company had acted in bad faith by ordering removal of a video that represented fair use of the song.[31]
Later in August 2008, U.S. District Judge Jeremy Fogel, of San Jose, California, ruled that copyright holders cannot order a deletion of an online file without determining whether that posting reflected "fair use" of the copyrighted material. In 2015 the court affirmed the holding that Universal was required to consider fair use before sending its initial takedown request.
See also
- List of Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles of 1984
References
- Uptown: The Vault – The Definitive Guide to the Musical World of Prince: Nilsen Publishing 2004, ISBN 91-631-5482-X
- ^ Uptown, 2004, p. 50
- ^ Elliott, Paul (May 30, 2016). "The Top 20 Greatest Funk Rock Songs". TeamRock. Team Rock Limited. Archived from the original on June 2, 2016. Retrieved January 31, 2017.
- ASCAPas solely by Prince.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 471.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Hot Dance/Disco: 1974-2003. Record Research. p. 208.
- ISBN 9781109120745. Retrieved 2015-06-22.
- ^ "Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. August 4, 1984. p. 7. Retrieved 2022-07-25.
- ^ a b "Hip Hop Single Sales: Prince, Desiigner & Drake". HipHopDX. April 30, 2016. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
- ^ a b Ariza, Sergio. "The 10 Best Prince Solos". Guitars Exchange. Retrieved 4 July 2018.
- ISBN 9781538116432.
- ISBN 9781784728816.
- ^ "Purple Rain". guitarcloud.org. Retrieved 2023-04-10.
- ^ ""Let's Go Crazy"". mixonline.com. Retrieved 2023-04-10.
- ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- ^ "Prince And The Revolution – Let's Go Crazy" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
- ^ Lwin, Nanda. Top 40 Hits: The Essential Chart Guide 2000
- Les classement single. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
- ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 10, 1985" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
- ^ "Prince And The Revolution – Let's Go Crazy" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
- ^ "Prince And The Revolution – Let's Go Crazy". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
- ^ "Prince & The Revolution: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
- ^ "Prince Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
- ^ "Prince Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
- ^ "Prince Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
- ^ "Prince Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
- ^ "Prince Chart History (Hot Rock & Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
- ^ "Talent Almanac 1985: Top Pop Singles". Billboard. Vol. 96, no. 51. December 22, 1984. p. TA-19.
- ^ "Hot Rock Songs – Year-End 2016". Billboard. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
- ^ "British single certifications – Prince & The Revolution – Lets Go Crazy". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
- ^ "American single certifications – Prince – Let's Go Crazy". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved May 31, 2016.
- ^ Egelko, Bob (August 21, 2008). "Woman can sue over YouTube clip de-posting". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2008-08-25.