In fact, he landed dozens of them on the Billboard Hot 100, including five number-ones and a total of 19 top ten singles. Of course, Prince knew something about hit singles as well.
Most music consumers sought that one song from an artist, new or old, that they could easily download as an mp3 for 99 cents.īy way of both consumer nostalgia and corporate avarice, the re-emergence of vinyl records has given new life to the album, but it is still the hit single that drives music sales and radio airplay. Still, for the better part of the past two decades - an era which has been defined by file sharing, streaming services, and mobile devices - it appeared that the long play album (aka the LP) would go the way of the dinosaurs. Prince knew a little something about the power and profundity of albums after all, he sold more than 100 million of them. These sentiments offer us a rather fitting starting point to talk about Prince, the songwriter. “Like books and Black lives, albums still matter,” said Prince during his final appearance at the Grammy Awards in February of 2015. Prince, “I Wish U Heaven (Parts 1, 2 & 3)” So why isn’t he in the Songwriters Hall of Fame?
