The Greatest Romance Ever Sold
| "The Greatest Romance Ever Sold" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Prince | ||||
| from the album Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic | ||||
| B-side | "The Greatest Romance Ever Sold" (Adam & Eve Remix) | |||
| Released | October 5, 1999 | |||
| Recorded | June 1996 – September 1999 | |||
| Studio | Paisley Park, Chanhassen, Minnesota, US | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 4:30 (7" edit/single version) 5:32 (album version) | |||
| Label | ||||
| Songwriter(s) | Prince | |||
| Producer(s) | Prince | |||
| Prince singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "The Greatest Romance Ever Sold" on YouTube | ||||
"The Greatest Romance Ever Sold" is a song recorded by American musician
12-inch single, CD single, and a maxi single. Prince solely wrote and produced it, while Mike Scott provided guitar strings for the track. Several music critics found the single reminiscent to the works on his previous studio album, Diamonds and Pearls
(1991).
The track is a smooth
hip hop and soul ballad, featuring Prince's multi-layered vocals in the chorus. A B-side remix of the single entitled "Adam and Eve", featured a guest rap from Eve, while the Neptunes remix featured a guest rap from Q-Tip. The former version was included on Prince's first remix album, Rave In2 the Joy Fantastic (2001). The single became a minor hit, peaking at number 63 on the Billboard Hot 100
. An accompanying music video was created shortly after Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic became available for purchase.
Composition and release
Musically, "The Greatest Romance Ever Sold" is a smooth
hip hop and soul ballad, unlike his previous pop music efforts.[1][2] It was solely written and produced by Prince himself. The singer uses multi-layered vocals, a deep falsetto, and a downtempo melody throughout its chorus.[1] The album version of the single has a duration of five minutes and twenty-nine seconds, while the radio edit lasts for four minutes and thirty seconds.[3]
Several different physical releases of the single occurred shortly after its release on October 5, 1999, as it was marketed as Prince's "comeback" song.12" included eight different versions of the song, including the radio edit, the album version, the "Adam & Eve" remix, plus five additional remixes.[5] The US CD single included the radio edit and Jason Nevins Remix of the track, plus a ten-second "Call Out Research Hook".[6] Also, the Spanish CD single only contained the radio edit of the song.[7]
Reception
Critical reception
The track was generally well received by
hip-hop-soul balladry of The Greatest Romance Ever Sold was a good indication of its musical style. It wasn't a bad song, but the sense Prince was following trends rather than going his own way was hard to avoid."[9] Toure from Rolling Stone was mixed in his review, stating that it "sound[ed] like [a] refugee from Diamonds and Pearls, the least-great of Prince's great records".[10]
Commercial reception
After its release, "The Greatest Romance Ever Sold" was moderately successful. The single peaked at number sixty-three on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Prince's highest peaking song on the chart since "I Hate U" (1995).[11] The song also fared well on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs component chart, where it peaked at number twenty-three and lasting a total of twenty weeks on the chart.[12] Elsewhere, the track peaked in the lower regions of several charts. In the United Kingdom, it peaked at position sixty-five, during February 2000.[13] It also charted in Germany and the Netherlands, peaking at numbers seventy-nine and seventy-one, respectively.[14][15]
Promotion
An accompanying music video for the song was produced and created in late 1999.direct to video VHS film Rave Un2 the Year 2000.[17] The aforementioned rendition was recorded live on December 18, 1999 from Paisley Park Studios and aired on PPV on the 31st.[18]
Track listings and formats
|
|
Credits and personnel
Credits adapted from Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic liner notes[20]
- Prince – vocals, instruments, lyrics, production
- Eve – guest vocals
- Q-Tip – guest vocals
- Mike Scott – guitar
Charts
| Chart (1999–2000) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Germany (Official German Charts)[14] | 79 |
| Netherlands (Dutch Top 40 Tipparade)[21] | 21 |
| Netherlands (Single Top 100)[15] | 71 |
| Scotland (OCC)[22] | 75 |
| 65 | |
| US Billboard Hot 100[11] | 63 |
| US Dance Singles Sales (Billboard)[23] | 6 |
| US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[12] | 23 |
References
- ^ ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved September 24, 2016.
- ^ a b Rabin, Nathan (November 9, 1999). "Prince: Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic". The A.V. Club. Retrieved September 24, 2016.
- ^ a b The Greatest Romance Ever Sold (Vinyl) (Liner notes/ CD booklet). The Artist Formerly Known as Prince. Arista, NPG (Barcode: ARDP-3764). 1999.
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ISBN 91-631-5482-X.
- ^ a b The Greatest Romance Ever Sold (CD) (Liner notes/ CD booklet). The Artist Formerly Known as Prince. Arista, NPG (Barcode: 07822-13750-1). 1999.
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ a b The Greatest Romance Ever Sold (CD) (Liner notes/ CD booklet). The Artist Formerly Known as Prince. Arista, NPG (Barcode: ARPCD-3775). 1999.
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ a b The Greatest Romance Ever Sold (CD) (Liner notes/ CD booklet). The Artist Formerly Known as Prince. Arista, NPG (Barcode: 74321715002). 1999.
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ Willman, Chris (November 19, 1999). "Music: Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved September 24, 2016.
- ^ Petridis, Alexis (September 12, 2019). "Prince's 50 greatest singles – ranked!". The Guardian. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
- ^ Toure (January 20, 2000). "Prince: Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 24, 2016.
- ^ a b "Prince Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
- ^ a b "Prince Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
- ^ a b "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
- ^ a b "The Symbol – The Greatest Romance Ever Sold" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
- ^ a b "The Symbol – The Greatest Romance Ever Sold" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
- ^ "The Greatest Romance Ever Sold – Prince". MTV Base. Retrieved September 24, 2016.
- ^ Rave Un2 the Year 2000 (CD liner notes). Prince. Eagle Vision. 2000. EREDV121.
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ Griffith, JT. "Prince – The Artist: Rave Un2 the Year 2000 [Video/DVD]". AllMusic. Retrieved September 24, 2016.
- ^ The Greatest Romance Ever Sold (CD) (Liner notes/ CD booklet). The Artist Formerly Known as Prince. Arista, NPG (Barcode: 74321-70665-2). 1999.
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic (liner notes). Prince (musician). NPG Records, Arista Records. 1999.
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ "Tipparade-lijst van week 49, 1999" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
- ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 1, 2016.
- ^ https://www.billboard.com/artist/prince/chart-history/dsa/
