Songoftheday 10/9/13 - Dearly beloved, we have gathered here today to get through this thing called life...

Prince & The Revolution - "Let's Go Crazy"
from the album Purple Rain (1984)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #1 (two weeks)
Weeks in the Top-40: 14

Today's Song of the Day is from Prince, who conquered the American pop world with the sparse funk of his first single from his movie Purple Rain, "When Doves Cry". As its followup, the Purple One released the all-out rock blitzkrieg of "Let's Go Crazy", which began as a sermon and ended as a guitar solo descent into hell....

Now let me say something about the man and his obsession with his music on the internet. I can fully understand the need to control how your music or videos are being shown, but if you continually refuse to have your music videos not appear on YouTube in this age, nor allow them in any form to be on any streaming network, than you are basically negating your music's legacy to the newer generation. I mean, c'mon man, it's freaking 2013, get a VEVO channel already. Monetize, you're probably one of the artists who could really benefit... We have salvation, as Prince now has a burgeoning official YouTube channel...

"Let's Go Crazy" became Prince's second #1 pop single in September of 1984, while doing the same on the R&B and Dance Chart (the latter as a double-sided 12" with the tune "Erotic City"). He also made it to #19 on the rock radio chart as well in America. Internationally, the single made the top-10 in Australia, Canada, and Great Britain, and top-20 in New Zealand and the Netherlands.

It was the loudest and most raucous fusion of rock and soul that we would see in the 80s, and makes the perfect counterpoint with "When Doves Cry" to summarizing his career.

(Click below to see the rest of the post)


A couple years ago, alt-rock band Incubus recorded the song for their greatest hits set...

Finally, here's Bruno Mars' rehearsal clip for his tribute from the Grammy Awards last year...

Up tomorrow: The biggest British female of the 80s looks back on a bad season.