Prince’s Legendary “1999” Turns 40 Today
Prince’s fifth studio LP, the double album 1999, was released 40 years ago on October 27, 1982. 1999 was Prince’s exploration of rhythm and blues, funk, rock, and pop, and the success of the album propelled the multitalented and legendary artist to major stardom and paved the way for Prince to outdo himself with his 1984 album Purple Rain.
The album initially peaked at nine on the Billboard chart and featured Prince’s first two top-10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, “Little Red Corvette” and “Delirious,” which reached #6 and #8, respectively. The album’s title track, made it to #12, and has become one of his most recognizable and legendary party anthems.
The success of “1999” and “Little Red Corvette” was bolstered by popular music videos that went into heavy rotation on MTV, making Prince among the first Black artists to have clips in heavy rotation on the network. The track “International Lover” was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Male R&B Vocal Performance category, and Prince’s first Grammy nomination. 1999 was also Prince’s first album to feature his backing band The Revolution, although he played most of the instruments on the record.
After Prince’s death in 2016, his 1999 album returned to the charts, and peaked at #7. The album has been certified four-times Platinum by the RIAA for sales of more than 4 million copies in the United States.
In 2020, Rolling Stone ranked 1999 at #130 on its list of “The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.” The article quotes Prince saying, “I didn’t want to do a double album, but I just kept on writing. It also goes on to say that “it lays out the blueprint for Prince’s next decade”
Here’s the full track list of 1999:
Side One: “1999” “Little Red Corvette” “Delirious”
Side Two: “Let’s Pretend We’re Married” “D.M.S.R.”
Side Three: “Automatic” “Something in the Water (Does Not Compute)” “Free”
Side Four: “Lady Cab Driver” “All the Critics Love U in New York” “International Lover”
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