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| "Sign o' the Times" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
&sq=&lang=&file=File:Prince_Sign_single.jpg) US 7-inch single sleeve | ||||
| Single by Prince | ||||
| from the album Sign o' the Times | ||||
| B-side | "La, La, La, He, He, Hee" | |||
| Released | February 18, 1987 | |||
| Recorded | July 15, 1986 | |||
| Studio | Sunset Sound, Los Angeles | |||
| Genre | Funk | |||
| Length | 3:44 (7-inch version) 5:02 (12-inch/album version) | |||
| Label | ||||
| Songwriter(s) | Prince | |||
| Producer(s) | Prince | |||
| Prince singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Sign o' the Times" (stylized as "Sign "☮︎" the Times") is a song from American musician Prince's 1987 album of the same name, released as a single on February 18, 1987. The song was originally intended for two separate Prince studio albums meant to be released in 1986, both shelved: Dream Factory and Crystal Ball. Prince performed all vocals and instruments on the song. "Sign o' the Times" was reportedly written and composed on a Sunday, when Prince usually wrote his most introspective songs.[citation needed]
The song proved popular upon release, topping the R&B chart, and reaching number three on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 10 on the UK Singles Chart.[1] In 2010 Rolling Stone ranked "Sign o' the Times" at number 304 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. By July 1987, it sold 200,000 copies in the United States.[2] In 1987, Village Voice's Pazz & Jop critics' poll named "Sign o' the Times" the best single of the year, Prince's third recognition in that category.[3] The song is also included in The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.[4] Cat Glover is pictured on the single hiding her face behind a black heart.
In 2017 the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.[5]
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 471.
- ^ Shepherd, Stephanie (July 18, 1987). "Rap's Amazing Sales-Without-Airplay Muscle 12-Inch Marketplace: Surprising Number Of Labels Buck Glut To Rack Up Big Sales" (PDF). Billboard. p. T-8. Retrieved March 12, 2021 – via World Radio History.
- ^ Robert Christgau (1987). "robertchristgau.com - The 1987 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll". Retrieved April 24, 2016.
- ^ "The Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll | The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum". rockhall.com. Archived from the original on March 17, 2010.
- ^ https://www.grammy.com/awards/hall-of-fame-award#s [bare URL]