60 Essential Prince songs
It was 60 years ago today that Prince Rogers Nelson was born at Mt. Sinai Hospital in south Minneapolis. Named after his father John L. Nelson's stage name and born into a rich musical heritage, few could have predicted that the young Prince would grow into a wildly prolific and dedicated artist who would write literally thousands of songs in his lifetime and be recognized globally as one of his generation's greatest artists.
In honor of this monumental anniversary, The Current is honoring Prince's life with a playlist of 60 Essential Prince Songs, hand-picked and hosted by our staff. In addition to the career-spanning selection of songs -- which includes his chart-topping hits, to be sure, but also dives into some of his more under-appreciated output -- we'll also be sharing reflections from Lisa Coleman and Dr. Fink of the Revolution, Donna Grantis, Alicia Keys, local musicians Har Mar Superstar and PaviElle, and Prince himself, who would often speak about his work and his musical influences in interviews.
Listen to #Prince60 on the Current June 7 from noon to 5:30 p.m., and all day long on our Purple Current stream.
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Follow the Essential Prince songs playlist on Spotify, (not all songs are available on that platform)
Anna Stesia
LovesexyPrince
Cream
Diamonds and PearlsPrince
Little Red Corvette
1999Prince
Black Sweat
3121Prince
Dreamer
Lotusflow3rPrince
Erotic City
The Hits and B-SidesPrince
Uptown
Dirty MindPrince
PLECTRUMELECTRUM
PLECTRUMELECTRUMPrincePLECTRUMELECTRUM: a track-by-track guidePlay/PauseMusicheads Essential:Prince - PLECTRUMELECTRUM| 1:35
7
The Love Symbol AlbumPrince
Let's Have a Baby
EmancipationPrince
If I Was Your Girlfriend
Sign 'O' the TimesPrinceSexy M.F.
The Love Symbol AlbumPrince
Partyman
BatmanPrincePlay/PauseMusicheads Essential:Prince - Batman| 1:51
Laydown
20tenPrinceI Could Never Take the Place of Your Man
Sign 'O' the TimesPrince
Superfunkycalifragisexy
The Black AlbumPrincePlay/PauseMusicheads Essential:Prince - The Black Album| 1:44
Thieves in the Temple
Graffiti BridgePrinceHousequake
Sign 'O' the TimesPrincePartyup
Dirty MindPrince
PoomPoom
Crystal BallPrince
Nothing Compares 2 U
Nothing Compares 2 U (single)Prince
The Glamorous Life (Demo)
1983 DemoPrince3121
3121Prince
Darling Nikki
Purple RainPrinceStarfish and Coffee
Sign 'O' the TimesPrince
Pop Life
Around the World in a DayPrincePlay/PauseMusicheads Essential:Prince - Around the World in a Day| 1:16Alphabet St.
LovesexyPrince
The Most Beautiful Girl in the World
The Gold ExperiencePrinceThe Sacrifice of Victor
The Love Symbol AlbumPrincePlay/PauseMusicheads Essential:Prince - Love Symbol Album| 2:04Delirious
1999Prince
The Cross
Sign 'O' the TimesPrincePlay/PauseMusicheads Essential:Prince - Sign 'O' The Times| 1:47
I Wanna Be Your Lover
PrincePrinceDiamonds and Pearls
Diamonds and PearlsPrinceControversy
ControversyPrincePlay/PauseMusicheads Essential:Prince - Controversy| 1:19
The Beautiful Ones
Purple RainPrincePurple Rain
Purple RainPrincePlay/PauseMusicheads Essential:Prince - Purple Rain| 2:11I Feel for You
PrincePrincePlay/PauseMusicheads Essential:Prince - Prince| 2:08When You Were Mine
Dirty MindPrincePlay/PauseMusicheads Essential:Prince - Dirty Mind| 1:47Sometimes it Snows in April
ParadePrincePlay/PauseMusicheads Essential:Prince - Parade| 1:06I Would Die 4 U
Purple RainPrinceSign 'O' the Times
Sign 'O' the TimesPrince
Musicology
MusicologyPrinceMusicheads Essentials: MusicologyPlay/PauseMusicheads Essential:Prince - Musicology| 2:031999
1999PrincePlay/PauseMusicheads Essential:Prince - 1999| 1:25
When Doves Cry
Purple RainPrince
Soft and Wet
For YouPrincePlay/PauseMusicheads Essential:Prince - For You| 1:23My Name is Prince
The Love Symbol AlbumPrince