When Prince recorded a demo of a song he wrote for another artist, it wasn’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 Prince’s version and the eventual release, were the vocals. That’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 ‘Krush Groove’ 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 ‘Sheila E.’s my name / Holly Rock’s my game’. By the way, Hollyrock was the name used for Hollywood in the TV cartoon series ‘The Flintstones’, but it’s not sure this inspired the title.

34(!) years after it was recorded, Prince’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!

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Werner Schlosser

I’m a music industry watcher and journalist. Worked at a CD club, a record store chain and was editor in chief of an entertainment trade magazine. Have been in the radio business since 1987, producing and presenting shows. Was music director of several stations. Also, I developed the European Border Breakers Chart, Music Moves Europe Talent Chart and ESNS Chart. CEO of Werner Bros. tekst | uitleg.