"1999" is one of Prince's most well-known songs and a defining point in his rise to superstar status. The monumentally apocalyptic, yet upbeat party anthem moved many people and saw great chart success in 1983, peaking at #12 in the US and #3 in the UK. The album version of the song starts with a slowed-down voice representing God, 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. The verse melody was reused by Prince (writing under the name "Christopher") in the song "Manic Monday", written for The Bangles. The synth chords inspired Phil Collins' song "Sussudio" as well as Marillion's "Incommunicado."
| "1999" | |
|---|---|
| Song | |
| B-side | "How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore?" "D.M.S.R." (UK 12") "Let's Pretend We're Married" (DEU 12") "Uptown" (AUS 12") "Controversy" (AUS 12") "Dirty Mind" (AUS 12") "Sexuality" (AUS 12") |
The B-side piano ballad "How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore?" became a fan favorite, and is still enthusiastically greeted by fans when performed live. A cover version by Alicia Keys was a hit in 2001.
"1999" was released as a 12" single in the US with "Little Red Corvette" as the B-side, and "How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore?"/"D.M.S.R." in the UK.
On New Year's Eve 1999, Prince (then under the name File:Prince symbol.svg) held a concert entitled Rave Un2 the Year 2000 at his Paisley Park Studios Soundstage. He played the song at midnight and vowed never to play it again. So far he has kept his promise, however he has recently been known to use the opening riff of "1999" as an intro to "Baby I'm A Star".
Rolling Stone ranked the song #212 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
Trivia
- In "Weird Al" Yankovic's parody of "Gangsta's Paradise" called "Amish Paradise", he states "tonight we're gonna party like it's 1699", referring to "1999".
- Gary Numan recorded a cover of "1999" during sessions for his 1991 album Outland, but the track ended up being a B-side on his 1992 single, "Machine + Soul Part Two." The track re-appeared as a bonus track on the 1998 CD re-issue of the Machine + Soul album.
1999: The New Master
In the year 1999, File:Prince symbol.svg released 1999: The New Master, a CD Maxi Single of remixes of the original track to accompany the song's namesake year. Using the original tracks with The Revolution, he added contributions from a new lineup suspiciously resembling the New Power Generation, including Rosie Gaines, Larry Graham and Doug E. Fresh. The new version however was mostly panned by critics and fans.