Let's Go Crazy

This article is about the Prince song. For the 1951 film, see Let's Go Crazy (film). For the Clash song, see Sandinista!
"Let's Go Crazy"
US 7" single
Single by Prince and The Revolution
from the album Purple Rain
B-side
ReleasedJuly 18, 1984[1]
RecordedAugust 7, 1983
StudioThe Warehouse, St. Louis Park
GenreHard rock, funk rock[2]
Length3:50 (7"/video version)
4:39 (album version)
7:35 (12"/movie version)
LabelWarner Bros.
Songwriter(s)Prince [3]
Producer(s)Prince and the Revolution
Prince singles chronology
"When Doves Cry"
(1984) 		"Let's Go Crazy"
(1984) 		"Purple Rain"
(1984)
Purple Rain singles chronology
"When Doves Cry"
(1984) 		"Let's Go Crazy"
(1984) 		"Sex Shooter"
(1984)
Music video
Let's Go Crazy on YouTube

"Let's Go Crazy" is a 1984 song by Prince and The Revolution, from the album Purple Rain. It is the opening track on both the album and the film Purple Rain. "Let's Go Crazy" was one of Prince's most popular songs, and was a staple for concert performances, often segueing into other hits. When released as a single, the song became Prince's second number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100, and also topped the two component charts, the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs[4] and Hot Dance Club Play charts,[5] as well as becoming a UK Top 10 hit. The B-side was the lyrically controversial "Erotic City". In the UK, the song was released as a double A-side with "Take Me with U".

Common to much of Prince's writing, the song is thought to be exhortation to follow Christian ethics, with the "De-elevator" of the lyrics being a metaphor for the Devil.[6] The extended "Special Dance Mix" of the song was performed in a slightly edited version in the film Purple Rain. It contains a longer instrumental section in the middle that includes a chugging guitar riff, an atonal piano solo and some muddled samples of the spoken word intro. This version was originally going to be used on the album but when "Take Me With U" was added to the track list, it was edited down to its current length.

Cash Box called the song "one of the finest fusions of jump rock and synth pump."[7]

Following Prince's death, the song re-charted on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart at number 39 and rose to number 25 by the week of May 14, 2016. As of April 30, 2016, it has sold 964,403 digital copies in the United States.[8]

In 2013, British rock band The Darkness performed the song at the 44th Annual Rock Music Awards.

  1. ^ Uptown, 2004, p. 50
  2. ^ Elliott, Paul (May 30, 2016). "The Top 20 Greatest Funk Rock Songs". TeamRock. Team Rock Limited. Archived from the original on June 2, 2016. Retrieved January 31, 2017.
  3. ^ The original single release credits the authors of the song as Prince and The Revolution, but the song's authorship is registered with ASCAP as solely by Prince.
  4. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 471.
  5. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Hot Dance/Disco: 1974-2003. Record Research. p. 208.
  6. ^ Woodworth, G.M.; University of California, Los Angeles (2008). "Just Another One of God's Gifts": Prince, African-American Masculinity, and the Sonic Legacy of the Eighties. University of California, Los Angeles. p. 268. ISBN 9781109120745. Retrieved 2015-06-22.
  7. ^ "Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. August 4, 1984. p. 7. Retrieved 2022-07-25.
  8. ^ "Hip Hop Single Sales: Prince, Desiigner & Drake". HipHopDX. April 30, 2016. Retrieved April 30, 2016.