"1999" | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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US 7" single (1982)
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Single by Prince | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
from the album 1999 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
B-side |
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Released | September 24, 1982 (original) November 3, 1998 (re-release) |
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Recorded |
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Length |
6:22 (album version) 3:36 (single version) |
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Label | Warner Bros. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Writer(s) | Prince | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Producer(s) | Prince | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Prince singles chronology | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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6:22 (album version)
"1999" is a song by American musician Prince, the title track from his 1982 record of the same name. The song is one of Prince's best-known, and a defining moment in his rise to superstar status.
The apocalyptic yet upbeat party anthem saw chart success in 1983 (particularly in Australia, where it peaked at number 2), but it did not make it into the Top 40 in the US or the UK on the first attempt. The song originally peaked at number 44 on the Billboard Hot 100 in December 1982 but following the top 10 success of "Little Red Corvette", the song was re-released and peaked at number 12 in the US in July 1983, and at number 25 in the UK in January 1983 (reaching number 2 in the UK when re-released in January 1985, as part of a double A-side with "Little Red Corvette").
Rolling Stone ranked the song number 215 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
Following Prince's death, the song re-charted on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 41, later moving up to number 27, making it the fourth separate time the song had entered the Hot 100 and the third different decade in which the song re-charted (as after its two 1980s entries, it made the chart again on January 16, 1999 at number 40). As of April 30, 2016, it has sold 727,363 copies in the United States.
The album version of the song starts with a slowed-down voice, reassuring the listener "Don't worry, I won't hurt you. I only want you to have some fun." Prince shares lead vocals on the track with members of his band The Revolution, namely Dez Dickerson, Lisa Coleman and Jill Jones. Originally conceived to be a three-part harmony, it was later decided to separate out the voices that started each verse.
Some music critics have suggested Phil Collins' 1985 song "Sussudio" sounds very similar to "1999". Collins confirmed this claim, and remembers listening to "1999" frequently while he was on tour with Genesis.