The 80’s sound so many detest is here in all its glory. Can you imagine how good this might have sounded with crisper synth sounds, but I suppose music technology was still catching up. I’ll look for a live version with superior instrumental sound…. It didn’t happen but I found a cool 2011 version at the end of this post. Anyhow, It’s Newmannium! I do like the vocals a lot in this. 1999 is the title track from his 1982 album of the same name. Originally peaking at number 44 on the Billboard Hot 100, a mid-1983 re-release later reached number 12 in the US.
[Intro: Prince]
Don’t worry, I won’t hurt you
I only want you to have some fun
[Verse 1: Prince, Lisa, Dez, All]
I was dreamin’ when I wrote this
Forgive me if it goes astray
But when I woke up this morning
Could have sworn it was judgement day
The sky was all purple
There were people runnin’ everywhere
Tryin’ to run from the destruction
You know I didn’t even care
[Chorus: Prince and All]
‘Cause they say
2000, zero-zero, party over, oops, out of time
So tonight, I’m gonna party like it’s 1999
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. Distinct scratching and explosion noises heard in the track were to cover mistakes during recording of a good take.
References:
1. 1999 (Prince song) – Wikipedia
“The more I live, the more I learn. The more I learn, the more I realize, the less I know.”- Michel Legrand
Observation Blogger 
Matt…I became a teenager in 1980…and it was good until around 82 or 83. I hated the sound because I listened mostly to sixties music…and that timeless sound they had…so I actively hated the 80s at the time lol. I sounded like an old man at 16…when our band recorded in 84-86…I said no synths.
But yea it’s a good song and it was quite an anthem back then. A lot of teenage promises about meeting in 2000.
I don’t blame you for not taking to the sound from that era. Although there are still some great songs from around then who nailed the synth sound. ‘Only You’ by Yazoo and ‘Safety Dance’ by Men Without Hats both released in 1982 are two I can think of, off the top of my head.
Regarding ‘1999’, I honestly thought Prince would have improved markedly on the synth sound quality in later years for this track, but it appears not. May be that was intentional to honour it as a time capsule of sorts. Yeh, it’s a good song. Thanks for your personal reflections of this contested era of music.
He plays it in that sound because I would believe…that is what his fans would want…to sound just like it did on record…
I spent the rest of the 80s searching for guitars in songs…that is why I listened to alternative music like The Replacements.
‘He plays it in that sound because I would believe…that is what his fans would want…to sound just like it did on record…’ Yep, I think you are right, but man I would love to have seen it updated with a slicker synth sound. Probably around that time it was made I was listening more to Don Williams (your mate lol), Elton John, John Lennon (another mate of yours haha) and Abba lol Later it would be Dylan and Springsteen. I know what you mean about the Replacements. I wish I had delved into the Smiths in the 80’s, but they weren’t big names at least where I lived and I had enough trouble devouring everything Springsteen and Dylan mid 80s and onwards.
Yes I liked the “Heart Land” rockers like Petty, Springsteen, Mellencamp, and artists like that.
I’ve always liked this song, and my all-time favorite by Prince is “Little Red Corvette”, from the same album.