When You Were Mine (Prince song)
"When You Were Mine" is a song written and released by Prince on his 1980 album, Dirty Mind.[5] Though not released as a single, the song received a promotional 12" release (which included "Gotta Broken Heart Again" and "Uptown"). "When You Were Mine" was later the B-side for Prince's "Controversy" single in 1981.
"When You Were Mine" | |
---|---|
Promotional single by Prince | |
from the album Dirty Mind | |
B-side | "Gotta Broken Heart Again" "Uptown" |
Released | October 8, 1980 |
Recorded | May-June 1980 |
Genre | |
Length | 3:47 |
Label | Warner Bros. |
Songwriter(s) | Prince |
Producer(s) | Prince |
Prince performed the song many times in concert, and a live version was included on his 2002 live album, One Nite Alone... Live! The original studio version was also included on The Hits/The B-Sides in 1993. Prince said he was inspired to write the rock song while listening to John Lennon. The track includes a Farfisa-inspired organ sound played on an Oberheim OB-X.
Personnel
Credits from Benoît Clerc and Guitarcloud[6][7]
- Prince - lead and backing vocals, Oberheim OB-X, ARP Omni, electric guitar, bass guitar, drums
Cyndi Lauper version
"When You Were Mine" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Cyndi Lauper | ||||
from the album She's So Unusual | ||||
B-side | "Yeah Yeah" "I'll Kiss You" | |||
Released | January 31, 1985 | |||
Recorded | July 1983 at The Record Plant (New York City, New York) | |||
Genre | Synth-pop | |||
Length | 5:06 | |||
Label | Epic | |||
Songwriter(s) | Prince | |||
Producer(s) | Rick Chertoff | |||
Cyndi Lauper singles chronology | ||||
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Cyndi Lauper's mid-tempo ballad cover version of "When You Were Mine" is also synthesizer-based for her 1983 debut album, She's So Unusual.[5] She performed the single at the 1985 American Music Awards. It was released exclusively as a promotional single in the United States and received a commercial release in Canada and Japan.
Track listing
Canada 7" single
- "When You Were Mine" (Single Version) – 4:00
- "Yeah Yeah" – 3:17
Japan 7" single
- "When You Were Mine"
- "I'll Kiss You"
Charts
Chart (1985) | Peak position |
---|---|
Canadian Singles Chart | 62 |
References
- Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Dirty Mind – Prince". AllMusic. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
- Partridge, Kenneth (October 8, 2015). "Prince's 'Dirty Mind' at 35: Classic Track-by-Track Album Review". Billboard. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
- Shoup, Brad (April 21, 2017). "Prince Albums Ranked". Stereogum. Retrieved November 29, 2022.
- "The 200 Best Songs of the 1980s". Pitchfork. August 24, 2015. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
- Grow, Kory (April 21, 2016). "Prince Dead at 57". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 20, 2018.
- Clerc, Benoît (October 2022). Prince: All the Songs. Octopus. ISBN 9781784728816.
- "Dirty Mind". guitarcloud.org. Retrieved 2023-04-30.