Prince (October 27, 1982) – 1999 2-LP Album : US

Oct 27, 1982

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Updated: 7 days ago

1999 was Prince's fifth full-length studio album, following Controversy. The album was released in the United States on October 27, 1982 as an eleven-track double LP through Warner Bros. Records.

Although the name The Revolution appeared in mirror-writing on the sleeve, the album itself was not officially attributed to Prince and the Revolution and remained credited to Prince.

The original American edition presented the complete 70:35 album across four sides of vinyl. This original US double-LP configuration is the primary release documented in this Chronicle.

Artist: Prince

Title: 1999

Release Date: October 27, 1982

Country: USA

Format: 2-LP

Label: Warner Bros. RecordsCatalogue Number: 1-23720

Length: 70:35

Studios: Kiowa Trail Home Studio, Chanhassen, Minnesota, USA; Sunset Sound, Hollywood, California, USA

STYLE & THEMES

The title track provided the completed album with its overarching identity and became central to the project after apparently not being included in an earlier configuration.

The full-length US edition allowed considerable space for Prince's extended arrangements. Tracks including D.M.S.R., Automatic, Lady Cab Driver and Let's Pretend We're Married sit alongside the more concise Little Red Corvette and Delirious.

The eleven-track programme ultimately required the original American album to be spread across two records and four LP sides.

RECORDING & COMPILATION

Sessions for 1999 took place from early 1982 through August 1982, initially at Prince's Kiowa Trail Home Studio in Chanhassen, Minnesota and later at Sunset Sound in Hollywood, California.

International Lover is believed to have been the earliest song recorded for the project, dating from mid-January 1982. All The Critics Love U In New York was also recorded in early 1982, although its precise recording date is not known.

Let's Pretend We're Married followed in late March, with D.M.S.R. recorded around mid-April. Free and Something In The Water (Does Not Compute) were recorded during late April.

Automatic and Delirious followed during early May, while Little Red Corvette was recorded on May 20, 1982. Lady Cab Driver was recorded in early July.

The title track, 1999, was recorded on August 7, 1982.

1999 is thought not to have been included on an earlier configuration of the album. Prince's management suggested adding a song that could provide an overarching theme for the project, prompting Prince to write the title track. No other details about this early configuration are known.

The finished album remained largely a solo recording project, with Prince responsible for the majority of the vocals and instrumentation while a number of musicians and singers made selected contributions.

PRODUCTION

Prince produced and arranged the album and performed all vocals and instruments except where otherwise noted.

Prince: Producer, arranger, vocals and instrumentsPeggy McCreary: EngineerDon Batts: Assistant engineerBernie Grundman: Mastering at A&M Records

Additional contributions included:

Lisa Coleman: Background vocals on 1999, Little Red Corvette, Delirious, D.M.S.R., Automatic and Free.

Dez Dickerson: Co-lead vocals on 1999; background vocals and guitar solos on Little Red Corvette.

Jill Jones: Co-lead vocals on 1999; background vocals on Automatic, Free and Lady Cab Driver, credited as J.J.

Jesse Johnson: Uncredited background vocals on 1999.

Brown Mark: Background vocals and handclaps on D.M.S.R.

Jamie Shoop: Background vocals and handclaps on D.M.S.R.

Carol McGovney: Background vocals and handclaps on D.M.S.R.

Peggy McCreary: Background vocals and handclaps on D.M.S.R.

Poochie: Background vocals and handclaps on D.M.S.R.

The Count: Background vocals and handclaps on D.M.S.R.

Vanity: Background vocals on Free.

Wendy Melvoin: Background vocals on Free.

RELEASE HISTORY

The original United States edition of 1999 was released on October 27, 1982 as the complete eleven-track double album.

The album was also made available in the United States on cassette and 8-track, while a compact-disc edition subsequently appeared under catalogue number 9 23720-2.

The initial CD configuration contained ten tracks, with D.M.S.R. omitted because of the 74-minute running-time limitation of early compact discs. When CD capacity increased, D.M.S.R. was restored to later editions.

Outside the United States, the album's release history differed. In March 1983, a shortened seven-track single LP was issued in territories outside the US, omitting D.M.S.R., Automatic, All The Critics Love U In New York and International Lover.

These overseas configurations are part of the wider release history and do not replace the original October 27, 1982 US double album as the primary release documented here.

US RELEASE VARIANTS

Country	Format	Catalogue Number	Notes
USA	2-LP – MAIN RELEASE	1-23720	Original eleven-track double album; "Eye" labels
USA	Cassette	4-23720	US cassette edition
USA	8-Track	23720-8F	US 8-track edition
USA	CD	9 23720-2	Long Box

PROMOTION

The title track 1999 preceded the album as a single, with further singles subsequently drawn from the album.

Prince also supported 1999 with extensive touring in the United States on the 1999 Tour. The shows concentrated heavily on material from the album, while The Time and Vanity 6 appeared as opening acts.

SINGLES RELEASED IN THE US

Single	B-Side
1999	How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore
Little Red Corvette	All The Critics Love U In New York
Delirious	Horny Toad
Let's Pretend We're Married	Irresistible Bitch

Automatic is not included in this table because the supplied information identifies it as an Australia-only single. D.M.S.R. is likewise excluded because the supplied information identifies the listed release as a UK promotional issue.

US CHART PERFORMANCE

1999 entered the Billboard Top LP's & Tapes chart on November 20, 1982, eventually reaching No. 9 and spending 153 weeks on the chart.

On the Billboard Black LPs chart, the album also entered on November 20, 1982, reaching No. 4 during a 93-week chart run.

The album later returned to the Billboard 200, reaching No. 7 on May 7, 2016 during a nine-week re-entry.

US Chart	Entry Date	Peak	Weeks
Billboard Top LP's & Tapes	November 20, 1982	No. 9	153
Billboard Black LPs	November 20, 1982	No. 4	93
Billboard 200 – Re-entry	May 7, 2016	No. 7	9

US CERTIFICATIONS

The commercial growth of 1999 in the United States can be followed through a succession of RIAA certifications.

Date	RIAA Certification
January 11, 1983	Gold – 500,000
May 17, 1983	Platinum – 1 million
October 22, 1984	2× Platinum – 2 million
July 22, 1985	3× Platinum – 3 million
March 24, 1999	4× Platinum – 4 million

The album therefore progressed from Gold certification less than three months after its original US release to an eventual 4× Platinum certification.

AWARDS

Date	Award
May 16, 1983	3rd Minnesota Music Awards – Album Of The Year
February 10, 2008	Grammy Hall Of Fame

US RELEASE SIGNIFICANCE

When 1999 achieved Platinum status, it became the third double-pocket album released during the 1980s to pass the million-sales mark, following Bruce Springsteen's The River and Dan Fogelberg's The Innocent Age.

Billboard examined Prince's achievement in its June 11, 1983 article Prince Scores Platinum Double. The publication noted the significance of the achievement for a Black artist, referring to earlier double-studio-album successes by Donna Summer with

Bad Girls in 1979 and Stevie Wonder with Songs In the Key of Life in 1976.

Billboard also noted that during the preceding five years only two other double-pocket studio albums had gone Platinum: Fleetwood Mac's Tusk and Pink Floyd's The Wall, both released in 1979.

LATER REISSUES

The album was remastered in 2019 by Bernie Grundman under the supervision of the Prince Estate.

The remaster formed part of the later 1999 reissue campaign, including the 1999 Super Deluxe Edition.

On February 4, 2022, the remastered album was re-released through Sony's Legacy Recordings.

These later editions form part of the album's subsequent history and do not replace the original October 27, 1982 Warner Bros. US double LP as the principal release documented in this Chronicle.

TRACKLIST

USA – Warner Bros. Records – 1-23720 – 2-LP

LP1 – SIDE ONE	LP1 – SIDE TWO
1. 1999 – 6:22	1. Let's Pretend We're Married – 7:20
2. Little Red Corvette – 4:58	2. D.M.S.R. – 8:15
3. Delirious – 3:56

LP2 – SIDE THREE	LP2 – SIDE FOUR
1. Automatic – 9:27	1. Lady Cab Driver – 8:25
2. Something In The Water (Does Not Compute) – 4:00	2. All The Critics Love U In New York – 5:55
3. Free – 5:08	3. International Lover – 6:37