Songs You Didn’t Know Prince Wrote For Other Musicians


The passing of Prince Rogers Nelson has left a large gap in the music world. He will be remembered by his fans for his creativity, talent, and music. Prince is universally loved by millions of fans across racial, religious, and gender barriers. Over his 40-year career, Prince has written hundreds of songs, many having not been released to the public. He has also written dozens of hit songs for artist like Vanity, Chaka Khan, Sinead O’Connor, and The Bangles just to name a few.

Prince, the song, hit, prince has written
[Photo by Kristian Dowling/Getty Images]
Billboard, Rolling Stone. Entertainment Tonight, Mental Floss, and the Daily Mail have compiled various lists of music that Prince has written for other artists. Because he wrote dozens of songs for other artists, these websites were used as inspiration to create this list of Prince’s highest chart-topping hits written for other musicians.

Vanity 6, “Nasty Girl”
The Prince-assembled group Vanity 6, were at the right place at the right time. Prince wrote and produced this sexy dance track in 1982. The song shot to the top of the Billboard’s Dance charts and was the only chart-topping hit by the short-lived girl group.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfLZfyphg0M

Stevie Nicks, “Stand Back”
Stevie Nicks credits the success of her 1983 hit, “Stand Back,” to Prince. Nicks was inspired to write the song while on a road trip listening to “Little Red Corvette” on repeat. Nicks contacted Prince to tell him about the song, and to her surprise, he showed up in the studio and added synthesized sound to the track which Nick’s loved.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gSKeCvSCpw

The Time, “Jungle Love”
Another Prince-assembled group, The Time, credits Prince with co-writing and co-producing their hit single, “Jungle Love.” There was a small dispute over the song, as one of the Time’s former bassist claims to have written the song.

Chaka Khan, “I feel for you”
Prince-penned “I Feel For You” as a special Valentine’s day song to one of his old crushes back in 1979. This song was not a hit for him, but it is for soul singer Chaka Khan. In 1984, her producer at the time, Arif Mardin, turned the track inside out and made the ballad into an unforgettable dance hit for the singer.

The Bangles, “Manic Monday”
Prince was inspired to write “Manic Monday” having seen an early performance by the Bangles in L.A. Once the song was written, he sent them a demo tape with the song and asked them to record it. It was all-girl band’s first top 10 hit in the United States. Susana Hoffs, lead singer of the Bangles told Songfacts about what happened after the band recorded the song.

“He was really thrilled with how it came out. I think he might have said something like, ‘Oh, I was surprised you guys didn’t use my track,’ or something. But he was very happy with it.”

Shelia E, “Love Bizarre”
Sheila E’s “Love Bizarre” is a duet between herself and Prince from the 1985 album “Romance 1600.” Originally written for another Prince group, Apollonia 6 (formed after former Prince girl Vanity left the group Vanity 6), “Love Bizarre” is another hit single for percussionist Shelia E.

Sinead O’Connor, “Nothing Compares 2 U”
This song was originally written for a band called The Family. The Family was created by Prince as a sort of super-group of members whom he had worked with on previous projects before. The Sinead O’Connor version is the only hit for the Irish singer and spent four weeks at number one on the Billboard top 100.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZCiHsIfrOg

Patti Labelle, “Yo Mister”
“Lady Marmalade” singer Patti Labelle is one of many popular singers that Prince wrote hit singles for. One of them is the 1989 chart topping hit, “Yo Mister” from her album, Be Yourself. The song managed to climb the Billboard charts to number 10.

This is a sad time in the music world. Prince will be remembered for his music, and the music he produced, and wrote for others, as he leaves behind something for fans to celebrate.

Prince, the song, hit, prince has written
[Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images]
[Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images]

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