Little Red Corvette
"Little Red Corvette" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Prince | ||||
from the album 1999 | ||||
B-side | "All the Critics Love U in New York" | |||
Released | February 9, 1983[1] | |||
Recorded | May 20, 1982 (basic tracking) August 11–12, 1982 (mixing)[2] 1983 and 1984 (Purple Rain era studio sessions)[3] | |||
Studio | Kiowa Trail Home Studio (basic tracking), Sunset Sound (mixing) | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 5:02 (album version) 3:08 (single version) 8:27 (dance remix) | |||
Warner Bros. | ||||
Songwriter(s) | Prince | |||
Producer(s) | Prince | |||
Prince singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"Little Red Corvette" on YouTube |
"Little Red Corvette" is a song by
Released in 1983 as the second single from
The initial US single was backed with album track "All the Critics Love U in New York", while UK releases featured "Lady Cab Driver" or "Horny Toad". An extended dance remix of "Little Red Corvette," featured on some 12" releases, was later featured on the 2006 compilation
Origins
Prince got the idea for the song when he dozed off in band member Lisa Coleman's 1964 pink Mercury Montclair Marauder after an exhausting all-night recording session.[10] The lyrics came to him in bits and pieces during this and other catnaps. Eventually, he was able to finish it without sleeping.[11]
Composition
"Little Red Corvette" is written in the key of
Jack Hamilton of Slate noted that the song is about "ambivalence, vulnerability, and fear" of casual sex. "It’s not about sex as fun...but rather about the entirety of the act: its physical, emotional, psychological, even spiritual dimensions. And uniquely, 'Little Red Corvette' isn’t really about anything other than sex."[5] With its instrumentation of guitars, synthesizers, and a drum machine, Hamilton identifies "Little Red Corvette" as a post-disco song "in every respect."[5]
Critical reception
Music video
"Little Red Corvette" (directed by Bryan Greenberg and released in February 1983) was Prince's second music video played on MTV. The first was "
Awards and accolades
- Rolling Stone ranked the song #108 on its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time(2004).
- Dickerson's guitar solo was ranked #64 all time by readers of Guitar World.
Personnel
Credits sourced from Guitarcloud and Benoît Clerc[19][20]
- Prince – lead and backing vocals, electric guitar, bass guitar, Oberheim synthesizers, Linn LM-1, Pearl SY-1 Syncussion
- Dez Dickerson – electric guitar solo and backing vocals
- Lisa Coleman – backing vocals
Charts
Weekly charts
|
Year-end charts
|
Certifications
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United Kingdom (BPI)[31] | Silver | 200,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
References
- ^ Uptown, 2004, p.41
- ^ Tudahl, Duane.
- ^ Rowman et Littlefield, 2018.pp 4-5.
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Prince – 1999". AllMusic. Retrieved January 27, 2017.
- ^ a b c Hamilton, Jack (21 April 2016). "Prince Was Our Bard of One-Night Stands, and "Little Red Corvette" Was His Masterpiece". Slate.com. Retrieved 14 February 2017.
- ^ a b c "500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 14 February 2017.
- ^ "100 Greatest Funk Songs". Digital Dream Door. August 7, 2008. Archived from the original on September 25, 2010. Retrieved October 7, 2021.
- ISBN 978-0-306-90337-3.
- ^ "Hip Hop Single Sales: Prince, Desiigner & Drake". HipHopDX. April 30, 2016. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
- ^ Torchinsky, Jason (2016-04-24). "Everybody Was Wrong About the Car That Inspired Prince's 'Little Red Corvette'". Jalopnik. Gawker Media. Retrieved 2016-04-25.
- ^ Leeds, Alan (1993). CD insert booklet. Prince The Hits 2.
- ^ "Little Red Corvette by Prince @ Song Key Finder". www.songkeyfinder.com. Retrieved 2016-04-23.
- ^ Prince. "Prince "Little Red Corvette" Sheet Music in Db Major (transposable) - Download & Print". Musicnotes.com. Retrieved 2016-04-23.
- ^ "25 Essential Prince Songs". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 14 February 2017.
- ^ "Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. February 19, 1983. p. 10. Retrieved 2022-07-17.
- ^ "Top Single Picks". Billboard. February 26, 1983. p. 55. Retrieved 2023-02-08.
- ISBN 978-1-84353-105-0.
- ^ "Video: Little Red Corvette". Prince Vault.
- ^ "1999". guitarcloud.org. Retrieved 2023-04-12.
- ISBN 9781784728816.
- ISBN 0-646-11917-6. N.B. The Kent Report chart was licensed by ARIAfrom mid-1983 until June 12, 1988.
- ^ Lwin, Nanda. Top 40 Hits: The Essential Chart Guide 2000
- ^ "Prince – Little Red Corvette". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved August 4, 2023.
- ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 4, 2023.
- ^ {{url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100/1983-05-28/]]|access-date=October 8, 2023}}
- ^ a b c Trust, Gary; Caulfield, Keith (April 25, 2016). "Prince's 'Purple Rain' Is the Week's Top-Selling Song, as 6 of His Classics Re-Enter Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
- ^ "Prince Chart History: Mainstream Rock". Billboard. Retrieved August 4, 2023.
- ^ "Kent Music Report – National Top 100 Singles for 1983". Kent Music Report. Retrieved August 5, 2020 – via Imgur.com.
- ^ "Talent Almanac 1984: Top Pop Singles". Billboard. Vol. 95, no. 52. December 24, 1983. p. TA-18.
- ^ "Hot Rock Songs – Year-End 2016". Billboard. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
- ^ "British single certifications – Prince – Little Red Corvette". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
External links
- "Little Red Corvette" at Discogs (list of releases)
- Uptown: The Vault – The Definitive Guide to the Musical World of Prince: Nilsen Publishing 2004, ISBN 91-631-5482-X