Throwback: Prince-17 Days

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Prince’s “17 Days” was the B-side to the 12-inch version of “When Doves Cry” from his 1984 breakthrough album Purple Rain. There was no other way to own “17 Days” before the release of The Hits/The B-Sides box set released in 1993. Wendy Melvoin, Lisa Coleman and Matthew Fink (Dr. Fink) of Prince’s band The Revolution wrote “17 Days” with Prince. A stripped-down gospel-inspired version of “17 Days” appears on the posthumous Piano & A Microphone 1983 that was approved by Prince’s estate in 2018. The original version was a part of Prince’s prolific creativity during the ’80s and subsequently, there were several B-Sides just as favored as the radio hits. The lyrics about the loneliness of losing a romantic relationship were sad but the upbeat tempo and catchiness of Wendy and Lisa’s background vocals took the sting out of the message. However, the 2018 release, which came from Prince’s famous vault of music, hit the heartstrings harder because you can hear that he really is alone crafting the song. Prince’s third posthumous album Welcome 2 America will be released on July 30,  2021. 

 

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