| "Little Red Corvette" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 US 7" single (1983) | ||||
| Single by Prince | ||||
| from the album 1999 | ||||
| B-side | "All the Critics Love U in New York" | |||
| Released | February 9, 1983[1] | |||
| Recorded | May 20, 1982 (basic tracking) August 11–12, 1982 (mixing)[2] | |||
| Studio | Kiowa Trail Home Studio (basic tracking), Sunset Sound (mixing) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 5:02 (album version) 3:08 (single version) 8:27 (dance remix) | |||
| Label | Warner Bros. | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Prince | |||
| Producer(s) | Prince | |||
| Prince singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "Little Red Corvette" on YouTube | ||||
"Little Red Corvette" is a song by American recording artist Prince. The song combines a Linn LM-1 beat and slow synth buildup with a rock chorus, over which Prince, using several automobile metaphors, recalls a one-night stand with a beautiful promiscuous woman. Backing vocals were performed by Lisa Coleman and Dez Dickerson; Dickerson also performs a guitar solo on the song.
Released in 1983 as the second single from 1999, the song was, at that point, Prince's highest charting and his first to reach the top 10 in the U.S., peaking at number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was also his first single to perform better on the pop chart than the R&B chart. Later, it was rereleased as a double A-side with "1999", peaking at number two on the UK Singles Chart in January 1985. Following Prince's death in April 2016, "Little Red Corvette" re-charted on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 29, rising to number 20 the following week. It has sold more than 900,000 copies in the United States.[9]
The initial US single was backed with album track "All the Critics Love U in New York", while UK releases featured "Lady Cab Driver" or "Horny Toad". An extended dance remix of "Little Red Corvette," featured on some 12" releases, was later featured on the 2006 compilation Ultimate.
- ^ Uptown, 2004, p.41
- ^ Tudahl, Duane. 1983 and 1984 (Purple Rain era studio sessions), Rowman et Littlefield, 2018.pp 4-5.
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Prince – 1999". AllMusic. Retrieved January 27, 2017.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Princebardwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b "500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 14 February 2017.
- ^ "100 Greatest Funk Songs". Digital Dream Door. August 7, 2008. Archived from the original on September 25, 2010. Retrieved October 7, 2021.
- ^ Matos, Michaelangelo (8 December 2020). "WPLJ-FM, New York City: August 7, 1983". Can't Slow Down: How 1984 Became Pop's Blockbuster Year. Hachette Books. p. 5. ISBN 978-0-306-90337-3.
- ^ Marsh, Dave (1989). The Heart of Rock & Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made. Plume. p. 35. ISBN 0-452-26305-0.
- ^ "Hip Hop Single Sales: Prince, Desiigner & Drake". HipHopDX. April 30, 2016. Retrieved April 30, 2016.