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Prince · S2 E3
Soft and Wet
The first single. Funk, falsetto, and a title that tells you exactly who this kid intends to be
Minneapolis, June 1978. A radio DJ holds up a 7-inch single with a title he's not sure he can say on air, shrugs, and drops the needle anyway.
"Little Red Corvette" (Prince, 1982). The first Prince single to crack the pop Top 10, built on the same formula that started with "Soft and Wet": funk, falsetto, and a metaphor just suggestive enough to sneak past the censors.
Little Red Corvette, Prince (1982)
Prince reportedly wrote the initial idea after falling asleep in the back of a bandmate's car. Built on a Linn LM-1 drum machine, layered synths, and a guitar solo that splits the difference between rock and R&B, the production was deliberately aimed at pop radio. That crossover instinct was a lesson Prince learned from watching "Soft and Wet" get stuck on the R&B charts. Listen for how the chorus opens up: that's Prince making room for an audience wider than funk fans.
Sources
Hahn, Alex. "Possessed: The Rise and Fall of Prince." Billboard Books, 2003.
Thorne, Matt. "Prince: The Man and His Music." Faber & Faber, 2012.
The First Single
"Soft and Wet" is the first thing the world hears from Prince Rogers Nelson. Co-written with Chris Moon, the studio owner who first gave Prince free recording time, the song is pure provocation: a falsetto vocal over a rolling synth bass line, with lyrics that can be read as innocent or filthy depending on how hard you're paying attention. Warner Bros executives hear the title and wince, but they release it anyway.
Sources
Hahn, Alex. "Possessed: The Rise and Fall of Prince." Billboard Books, 2003.
Nilsen, Per. "DanceMusicSexRomance: Prince, the First Decade." Firefly Publishing, 1999.
TAP TO REVEAL: What single did Warner Bros actually want to release instead?
“He could write lyrics that sounded completely innocent on the surface but were absolutely filthy underneath. That was the trick, and he knew it from the very first single.”
— Chris Moon, as quoted in Prince: The Man and His Music (Matt Thorne, 2012)
Moon Sound Studio
The small south Minneapolis recording studio where Prince and Chris Moon co-wrote "Soft and Wet," the song that introduced Prince Rogers Nelson to the world.
Soft and Wet: The Numbers
Darling Nikki, Prince and the Revolution (1984)
The seed planted by "Soft and Wet" grew into this. "Darling Nikki" from Purple Rain is so sexually explicit that Tipper Gore heard her eleven-year-old daughter listening to it and launched the Parents Music Resource Center, which led to the Parental Advisory sticker on every explicit album since. From a suggestive debut single to the song that changed music labeling forever: six years.
Darling Nikki, Prince and the Revolution (1984)
What started as playful innuendo on "Soft and Wet" has become something far more confrontational six years later. The final verse plays backwards, hiding a message that fans spent years decoding before the internet made it easy. Try reading the last lines and imagine them reversed.
What was the B-side of Prince's debut single "Soft and Wet"?
"Soft and Wet" puts Prince on the R&B chart, but the pop audience hasn't caught on yet. Next: a second album, a new sound, and a song called "I Wanna Be Your Lover" that will make the entire country pay attention.
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