Born and raised in Minneapolis, Prince signed a record deal with Warner Bros. Records at the age of 19, soon releasing the albums For You (1978) and Prince (1979). He went on to achieve critical success with the influential albums Dirty Mind (1980), Controversy (1981), and 1999 (1982). His sixth album, Purple Rain (1984), was recorded with his new backing band the Revolution, and was also the soundtrack to the film of the same name in which he starred. Purple Rain garnered continued success for Prince and was a major commercial achievement, spending six consecutive months atop the Billboard 200 chart. The soundtrack also won Prince the Academy Award for Best Original Song Score. After disbanding the Revolution, Prince released the album Sign o' the Times (1987), widely hailed by critics as the greatest work of his career. In the midst of a contractual dispute with Warner Bros. in 1993, he changed his stage name to the unpronounceable symbol logo. Hollow circle above downward arrow crossed with a curlicued horn-shaped symbol and then a short bar (known to fans as the "Love Symbol") and was often referred to as The Artist Formerly Known as Prince (or TAFKAP) or simply The Artist.
After signing with Arista Records in 1998, Prince reverted to his original name in 2000. Over the next decade, six of his albums entered the U.S. top 10 charts. In April 2016, at the age of 57, Prince died after accidentally overdosing on fentanyl at his Paisley Park home and recording studio in Chanhassen, Minnesota. He was a prolific musician who released 39 albums during his life, with a vast array of unreleased material left in a custom-built bank vault underneath his home after his death, including fully completed albums and over 50 finished music videos. He also released songs under multiple pseudonyms during his life, as well as writing songs that were made popular after being covered by other musicians, most notably "Nothing Compares 2 U" by Sinéad O'Connor and "Manic Monday" by the Bangles. Estimates of the complete number of songs written by Prince range anywhere from 500 to well over 1,000. Released posthumously, his demo albums Piano and a Microphone 1983 (2018) and Originals (2019) both received critical acclaim.
Prince sold over 100 million records worldwide, ranking him among the best-selling music artists of all time. His awards included the Grammy President's Merit Award, the American Music Awards for Achievement and of Merit, the Billboard Icon Award, an Academy Award, and a Golden Globe Award. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004, the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2006, and the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame in 2016, and was inducted twice into the Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame in 2022.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_(musician)
Studio albums
For You (1978)
Prince (1979)
Dirty Mind (1980)
Controversy (1981)
1999 (1982)
Purple Rain (1984)
Around the World in a Day (1985)
Parade (1986)
Sign o' the Times (1987)
Lovesexy (1988)
Batman (1989)
Graffiti Bridge (1990)
Diamonds and Pearls (1991)
Love Symbol (1992)
Come (1994)
The Black Album (1994)
The Gold Experience (1995)
Chaos and Disorder (1996)
Emancipation (1996)
Crystal Ball (1998)
The Truth (1998)
The Vault: Old Friends 4 Sale (1999)
Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic (1999)
The Rainbow Children (2001)
One Nite Alone... (2002)
Xpectation (2003)
N·E·W·S (2003)
The Chocolate Invasion (2004)
The Slaughterhouse (2004)
Musicology (2004)
3121 (2006)
Planet Earth (2007)
Lotusflow3r (2009)
MPLSound (2009)
20Ten (2010)
Plectrumelectrum (2014)
Art Official Age (2014)
HITnRUN Phase One (2015)
HITnRUN Phase Two (2015)
Posthumous releases:
Piano and a Microphone 1983 (2018)
Originals (2019)
Welcome 2 America (2021)
Prince also released two albums credited to Madhouse, three albums credited to the New Power Generation, and one credited to the N.P.G. Orchestra:
Madhouse:
8 (1987)
16 (1987)
The New Power Generation:
Goldnigga (1993)
Exodus (1995)
Newpower Soul (1998)
The N.P.G. Orchestra:
Kamasutra (1997)
For Serbian singer Princ, please use Princ.
Mr. Goodnight
Prince Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Love you mister
Come on
[Chorus:]
Call Mr Goodnight
He'll make you feel alright
So nice, so nice
Better not tell your girlfriend
You can try with all your might
Just can't keep a secret
'Bout goodnight, goodnight
Hey, baby, hey baby, hey, baby, sitting all alone in my courtyard
Looking as if you have every right
All over the world they call me Prince
But you can call me Mr Goodnight
Surely the dandies that escort you places
Imparted a rumor or two
About the parade of lovely faces
That follow me ... surely they do?
What say you to that, lips so inviting
It's all I can do not to stare
What say you to them, past, present and future
That you don't care (I don't care)
If so, you'll be the first, and I'll give you the keys
To the whip of your dreams, alright?
All over the world they call me Prince (yeah)
But you can call me Mr Goodnight
[Chorus]
Now I don't wanna put to you to sleep with a bunch of chatter
And a rap that really don't matter
But now that you know who I am you need to make plans
And all your other pennies should scatter (scatter)
A limousine about to pick you up
And then took you to a private jet (to fine) (yeah)
And then you gonna meet a little Spanish man
Who will offer you wine and Moet
In an hour or two, you'll be taken to a suite
That will rock all your wildest dreams
And on the bed three dresses to choose one, pick one
Then you get a call from me (ring)
Tell me which dress you chose
So I can put on, put on my matching suit
All the real guys hold your hands up
You know how Mr Goodnight do it
[Chorus]
I love you baby
I don't want nobody else
Call Mr Goodnight (you can call him) (any time at all)
Call Mr Goodnight (yeah, yeah, yeah) (I love you mister)
The lyrics of Prince's Mr. Goodnight are quite straightforward - it's a song about a man who calls himself Mr. Goodnight, and who promises to make the listener feel good. He is trying to convince this woman, who he addresses as "hey baby," to spend the night with him. The chorus invites her to "call Mr Goodnight" because he will "make you feel alright" and promises her a good time. He acknowledges that there might be some hesitation or guilt about cheating on a significant other, but reassures her that he won't tell anyone and that "you can try with all your might just can't keep a secret 'bout goodnight, goodnight." He then goes on to describe the extravagant plans he has for her, including a limousine picking her up, a private jet, fine wine, and a luxurious suite with three dresses to choose from.
Line by Line Meaning
Mister, mister
Prince is being addressed as 'mister'.
Love you mister
The singer loves Prince.
Call Mr Goodnight
The singer is urging someone to call Prince.
He'll make you feel alright
Prince will make the person feel good.
Make you throw your head back and holla
Prince will make the person feel so good that they will want to shout out loud.
So nice, so nice
The experience will be very enjoyable.
Better not tell your girlfriend
The person should not tell their girlfriend about their interaction with Prince.
You can try with all your might
The person can try hard to keep it a secret.
Just can't keep a secret
The person will not be able to keep this secret.
'Bout goodnight, goodnight
The secret is about Prince and the experience with him.
Looking as if you have every right
The person appears confident and in control.
All over the world they call me Prince
Prince is known worldwide by his name.
But you can call me Mr Goodnight
Prince is offering the person an alternate name to call him by.
Surely the dandies that escort you places
The people who accompany the person are likely to have heard of Prince and his reputation.
Imparted a rumor or two
They may have spread rumors about Prince.
About the parade of lovely faces
They may have shared information about the attractive people who have been with Prince.
That follow me ... surely they do?
Prince is suggesting that he has many attractive people following him.
What say you to that, lips so inviting
Prince is asking the person for their thoughts on the matter.
It's all I can do not to stare
Prince is finding the person attractive and has to force himself not to stare at them.
That you don't care (I don't care)
The person does not seem to be bothered by Prince's past experiences or reputation.
If so, you'll be the first, and I'll give you the keys
The person would be the first to not be bothered by Prince's past experiences, and he is offering them something as a reward.
To the whip of your dreams, alright?
Prince is offering to fulfill the person's dreams.
Now I don't wanna put to you to sleep with a bunch of chatter
Prince does not want to bore the person with meaningless talk.
And a rap that really don't matter
Prince does not want to waste time rapping about meaningless topics.
But now that you know who I am you need to make plans
Prince wants the person to make plans with him now that they know who he is.
And all your other pennies should scatter (scatter)
The person should forget about their other options and focus on Prince.
A limousine about to pick you up
A limousine is on its way to pick up the person.
And then took you to a private jet (to fine) (yeah)
The limousine will take the person to a private jet.
And then you gonna meet a little Spanish man
The person will meet a Spanish man.
Who will offer you wine and Moet
The Spanish man will offer the person wine and Moet champagne.
In an hour or two, you'll be taken to a suite
After some time, the person will be taken to a suite.
That will rock all your wildest dreams
The suite will be amazing.
And on the bed three dresses to choose one, pick one
There will be three dresses on the bed for the person to choose from.
Then you get a call from me (ring)
Prince will call the person.
Tell me which dress you chose
Prince wants to know which dress the person chose.
So I can put on, put on my matching suit
Prince will wear a matching suit to the person's dress.
All the real guys hold your hands up
Prince is asking for approval from other men.
You know how Mr Goodnight do it
Prince is confident in his ability to make the person happy.
I love you baby
Prince loves the person.
I don't want nobody else
Prince wants to be with the person and no one else.
Call Mr Goodnight (you can call him) (any time at all)
Prince wants the person to call him anytime.
Call Mr Goodnight (yeah, yeah, yeah) (I love you mister)
Prince reiterates that the person can call him anytime, and expresses his love for the person.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: PRINCE ROGERS NELSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind