March 1, 1984 (basic tracks) March 2, 1984 (basic tracking and overdubs) March 3, 1984 (mixing)
Studio
Sunset Sound, Los Angeles
Genre
Experimental pop[2]
neo-psychedelia[3]
soul[4]
avant-pop[5]
synth-pop[6]
funk[6][7]
Length
3:47 (7" single edit) 5:52 (12"/album version)
Label
Warner Bros.
Songwriter(s)
Prince
Producer(s)
Prince
Prince US singles chronology
"Automatic" (1983)
"When Doves Cry" (1984)
"Let's Go Crazy" (1984)
Music video
«When Doves Cry» on YouTube
"When Doves Cry"
Prince's "When Doves Cry" from Purple Rain
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"When Doves Cry" is a song by American musician Prince, and the lead single from his sixth studio album Purple Rain. According to the DVD commentary of the film Purple Rain (1984), Prince was asked by director Albert Magnoli to write a song to match the theme of a particular segment of the film that involved intermingled parental difficulties and a love affair. The next morning, Prince had composed two songs, one of which was "When Doves Cry". According to Prince's biographer Per Nilsen, the song was inspired by his relationship with Vanity 6 member Susan Moonsie.
"When Doves Cry" was Prince's first Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 single, staying there for five weeks, and was also a worldwide hit. According to Billboard, it was the top-selling single of 1984. It is certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[8] It was the last single released by a solo artist to receive a Platinum certification before the certification requirements were lowered in 1989. "When Doves Cry" was ranked number one on the Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1984. Following Prince's death, the song re-charted on the Billboard Hot 100 chart at number eight, its first appearance in the top 10 since the week ending September 1, 1984.
The music video, directed by Prince, premiered on MTV in June 1984. It opens with white doves emerging from double doors to reveal Prince in a bathtub, then shows him performing the song in various scenes. The video sparked controversy among network executives, who thought that its sexual nature was too explicit for television. "When Doves Cry" is ranked number 37 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time and is included in The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.[9]
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).
^Uptown, 2004, p.48
^"25 Essential Prince Songs". Rolling Stone. 21 April 2016. Retrieved 24 April 2016.
^Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Purple Rain - Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 24 April 2016.
^Shuker, Roy (1994). Understanding Popular Music. Abingdom: Routledge. p. 95. ISBN 041523509X.
^"500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. 7 April 2011. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
^ abBreihan, Tom (November 15, 2022). "Prince - "When Doves Cry". The Number Ones: Twenty Chart-Topping Hits That Reveal the History of Pop Music. New York: Hachette Book Group. p. 166.
^"100 Greatest Funk Songs". Digital Dream Door. August 7, 2008. Archived from the original on September 25, 2010. Retrieved October 7, 2021.
^"American single certifications – Prince – When Doves Cry". Recording Industry Association of America.
^"The Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll". The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. Archived from the original on 2010-03-17. Retrieved 2008-01-12.
was an American singer. He was best known for his covers of Prince's "WhenDovesCry" and Rozalla's "Everybody's Free" for the 1996 film William Shakespeare's...
weeks at number one in 1984, reigning for seven weeks at the top with "WhenDovesCry" and "Let's Go Crazy" (with the Revolution). However, "Like a Virgin"...
On 19 May 2011, Reggie Yates made Alex Clare's cover of Prince's "WhenDovesCry" his Song of the Day. A day later, the Dutch radio station 3FM announced...
singer, television personality and actress. She rose to fame in late 2002 when she auditioned for the reality series Popstars: The Rivals on ITV. The series...
sequence of "Computer Blue", "Darling Nikki", "The Beautiful Ones" and "WhenDovesCry" (featuring a mirror setup onstage to mimic the video of the song)....
Train to Memphis" (Top 14), "You've Got a Friend in Me" (Top 10), "WhenDovesCry and "Amazed" (Top 7), "So Small" and "Stars in Alabama" (Top 5) qualifying...
arranged, composed, and performed by Prince, the other two being "WhenDovesCry" and "Darling Nikki". The song was recorded at Sunset Sound in Los Angeles...
withdrew from their album. The song became a B-side of his single "WhenDovesCry". In April 2007, YouTube displayed the Apollonia film Happy B.Day Mr...
in second place by only one point. In week 10 he danced a tango to "WhenDovesCry" by Prince and scored 38. In Week 11 he danced a rumba to "Falling Slowly"...
credited as "Lewis Price". In August 2019 Louis released the single "WhenDovesCry" as a tribute to the 35th anniversary of Prince's "Purple Rain" He currently...
dropping off the Hot 100 in early 2019 and 2020.) †† – "Purple Rain" and "WhenDovesCry" reappeared on the Hot 100 for two weeks in 2016 after Prince's death...
commercially successful singles from 1979 to 1991 including the US number 1s "WhenDovesCry", "Let's Go Crazy", "Kiss" and "Cream". The Very Best of Prince does...
Jackson. Purple Rain (1984) gave Prince two American number one singles ("WhenDovesCry" and "Let's Go Crazy") while the three other singles, "Purple Rain"...
Como Va"/"I Like It Like That" 5 7 81 20 Safe 5 Argentine Tango / "WhenDovesCry" 8 9 101 27 Safe 6 American Smooth / "I Say a Little Prayer" 8 8 8 24...
Kotero's vocals appeared on The Twilight Singers cover of Prince's "WhenDovesCry" for Spin magazine's 25th anniversary tribute to the Purple Rain album...
the same country came Prince, who had his first two top 10 hits with "WhenDovesCry" and "Purple Rain". For both artists, 1985 would bring even more hits...
version of Springfield. It features cultural references to the 1984 song "WhenDovesCry", the 1981 film Mad Max 2, and the 1968 song "What a Wonderful World"...
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