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"Kiss" is a 1986 single by Prince and The Revolution, from the album Parade. "Kiss" started as a short acoustic demo, about a minute in length, with one verse and the chorus. Prince gave the song to the funk band Mazarati for their debut album. Mazarati and producer David Z. drastically reworked the song, giving it its stripped-down minimalist sound. When Mazarati delivered the song to Prince, he was amazed at their work and decided to take back the song for himself. He replaced their lead vocal, added the guitar break in the chorus and edited the song to its present form. Mazarati were credited for their backing vocals, which Prince left intact. Prince added the song at the last minute to Parade. Despite Warner Bros. not wanting to release it as a single, "Kiss" became Prince's third number-one U.S. hit following 1984's highly successful "When Doves Cry" and "Let's Go Crazy". It was also a big hit across the Atlantic, reaching #6 on the UK Singles Chart. The song won Prince another Grammy Award for Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group, and was nominated for Best R&B Song. The song has become a staple at Prince's concerts and is usually sung partially by the audience. The musicians that recorded "kiss" with Prince raised complaints to the American Federation of Musicians about the period of silence that followed the jangly guitar bridge that is nestled between the lyrics "I just want your extra time" and "Kiss". As is standard industry practice, they were getting paid per second of audio created, and hence were not entitled for anything of that 500 milliseconds of their contribution. The 12" single of the song is an extension of the album track. The extended section is based on the funky guitar line and contains much fuller instrumentation than the main track, including bass guitar, organ and horns. New lyrics are present from Prince, along with Jill Jones, that end with a humorous dialogue between a wife and her husband watching Prince on television. The B-side of "Kiss" was "♥ or $" ("Love or Money"), sung in a processed, higher-pitched vocal, which Prince would later use for his Camille material. The song relates to the theme in Under the Cherry Moon, and a bit of the song was heard in the film, as was a bit of the extended version of "Kiss". The extended "Kiss" was included on 2006's Ultimate; "♥ or $" was recently re-released as a digital B-side on iTunes. New Musical Express ranked the song #4 in their list of The 150 Greatest Singles of All Time. "Kiss" was also included in Rolling Stones "500 Greatest Songs Of All Time" at #461. |
