Prince – Holly Rock

When Prince recorded a demo of a song he wrote for another artist, it wasnโ€™t really a demo. It was often the full final version of the track, usually with nearly all instruments played by the purple one. More than once, the only difference between Princeโ€™s version and the eventual release, were the vocals. Thatโ€™s why most of the songs on the recently released album Originals are instantly recognisable.

One of my personal favourite Prince compositions has always been Holly Rock, made famous by Sheila E. She recorded her version in 1985 for the โ€˜Krush Grooveโ€™ soundtrack, and boy, did the track groove! Earlier that year, Prince put his demo to tape, where he was fully inside the skin of the one the song was intended for. You can hear him rap โ€˜Sheila E.โ€™s my name / Holly Rockโ€™s my gameโ€™. By the way, Hollyrock was the name used for Hollywood in the TV cartoon series โ€˜The Flintstonesโ€™, but itโ€™s not sure this inspired the title.

34(!) years after it was recorded, Princeโ€™s own version of Holly Rock is featured on his Originals album. It has been edited for release as a posthumous single. A master piece!

For more great new music, follow the constantly updated Carte Blanche Music playlist.

Share:

Discussions — No responses yet

Deze site gebruikt Akismet om spam te verminderen. Bekijk hoe je reactie-gegevens worden verwerkt.