"Delirious" is a song by American musician Prince, from his fifth studio album album, 1999 (1982). It was the album's third single, and Prince's second Top 10 hit, reaching No. 8 in the US during the fall of 1983. The success of the single was boosted by the runaway success of the previous single, "Little Red Corvette", and also because DJs often played the first three album tracks in sequence, which just happened to be the order of the singles released from the album.
| "Delirious" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 US 7-inch single | ||||
| Single by Prince | ||||
| from the album 1999 | ||||
| B-side | "Horny Toad" | |||
| Released | August 17, 1983[1] | |||
| Recorded | May 9, 1982 | |||
| Studio | Sunset Sound (Hollywood) | |||
| Genre | Funk rock | |||
| Length |
| |||
| Label | Warner Bros. | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Prince | |||
| Producer(s) | Prince | |||
| Prince singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Background
edit"Delirious" is a standard 8-bar blues number that tells how Prince is being driven crazy by a beautiful woman. The song teases the listener with sexual metaphors for cars and racing, hidden enough[2] to avoid being censored. The track begins with a trademark Linn drum machine loop and a bit of synth bass before the synthesizer hook introduces the song. A rubbery bass guitar gives the track a rockabilly feel, which Prince had experimented earlier on "Jack U Off" from Controversy. The track ends suddenly with the sound effect of a baby cooing. In live performances over the years, Prince would later add live horns to the song, making it into more of a swing number. The 7-inch single release of the song included a poster bag with a 1983 calendar and images of Prince.
Cash Box called it "a bona fide finger-popper."[3]
The B-side to the track is "Horny Toad", which is very similar in rockabilly style and instrumentation. Some of the sexually charged lyrics were interpreted as sadistic at the time and were the source of some controversy. The track was included on The Hits/The B-Sides in 1993 and 1999 Deluxe and Super Deluxe edition in 2019.
Personnel
editCredits sourced from Guitarcloud and Benoît Clerc[4][5]
- Prince – lead and backing vocals, Oberheim OB-Xa, electric guitar, bass guitar, Linn LM-1, fingersnaps
- Lisa Coleman – backing vocals
Charts
edit| Chart (1983) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canadian Singles Chart[6] | 27 |
| New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[7] | 33 |
| US Billboard Hot 100[8] | 8 |
| US Billboard Hot Black Singles[9] | 18 |
References
edit- Uptown: The Vault – The Definitive Guide to the Musical World of Prince: Nilsen Publishing 2004, ISBN 91-631-5482-X
- ^ Uptown, 2004, p. 45
- ^ "Girl you got to take me for a little ride up and down / In and out and around your lake". Genius. Retrieved 2019-11-08.
- ^ "Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. September 10, 1983. p. 8. Retrieved 2022-07-20.
- ^ "1999". guitarcloud.org. Retrieved 2023-04-29.
- ^ Clerc, Benoît (October 2022). Prince: All the Songs. Octopus. ISBN 9781784728816.
- ^ Lwin, Nanda. Top 40 Hits: The Essential Chart Guide 2000
- ^ "Prince – Delirious". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved August 4, 2023.
- ^ "Prince Chart History: Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved August 4, 2023.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 471.