Prince

Released: October 8, 1980

Songwriter: Prince

Producer: Prince

[Verse 1]
Pardon me, I want to talk to you
I may be kind of shy But I just got to tell you
What I'm going through
Someone over there says He wants to get to know you
I don't care because
I really want to hold you
And I'm so scared
[Girl], he might do something
To you that you like
Now I've been waiting
Such a bloody long time
Just to get this close to you
Now that you're near me
I want you to hear me
I'll tell you what I want to do

[Chorus]
Oh, I want to do it
Do it all night
I want to do it
Do it to you right

[Verse 2]
Giving up so easy
Is something that I never do
But I'm so easy, so easy
When it comes to loving you Can't you understand that I want
To hug and kiss you
I'll do anything I can just
To give you happiness
And I drown, baby, drown, baby
In your arms, come on baby
Can't you get to this?
I've been waiting such a bloody long time
And you're talking to someone else
Now that I've got your attention
There's something I want to mention

[Chorus]
Oh, I want to do it
Do it all night
I want to do it
Do it to you right
Oh, I want to do it
Do it all night
I want to do it
Do it to you right
Oh, I want to do it
Do it all night
I want to do it
Do it to you right
Oh, I want to do it
Do it all night
I want to do it
Do it to you right
Oh, I want to do it
Do it all night
I want to do it
Do it to you right

An American singer-songwriter, musician, multi-instrumentalist, and actor that produced 22 RIAA-platinum albums during his 40-year career, Prince may be known for one of many different things – his turn as “The Kid” in the iconic film/album/8 ½ minute ballad “Purple Rain”, being the writer behind the acclaimed anthem “Kiss,” rivaling Michael Jackson at the pinnacle of his career, being the inspiration behind censorship laws, or being the artist addressed as an unpronounceable symbol throughout the 1990s—but while many know of Prince, most don’t fully understand the impact his legacy left on this world.

Going by many aliases throughout his life, Prince Rogers Nelson was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota on June 7, 1958 with his father’s (John L. Nelson) stage name as his own given one. Growing up, Prince suffered from serious epileptic seizures at a very young age, but he had wrote his first composition of many by age seven, and outside of his love for basketball, he wanted music to be his purpose in life. His tumultuous childhood, witnessing alcoholism and abuse, caused him to find refuge in neighbor André Cymone’s home in his teens, where the two competed in local band competitions, leading to Prince’s introduction to Morris Day alongside music with his cousin’s band 94 East, leading him to be courted by record labels and ultimately signed to Warner Bros. Records with complete creative control; at 19, his debut album, For You (1978) was released – Prince played all 19 instruments on the record.

Influenced by the likes of Miles Davis, Rick James, and James Brown, Prince desired to form a music dynasty and after the success of his next albums – the platinum-selling Prince (1979), the sexually-charged Dirty Mind (1980), and politically-motivated Controversy (1981) – he negotiated for the ability to form his own label and manage artists of his own. Prince’s trademark sexual/religious rhetoric within pop-and-dance, funk-rock sound gained him a following, but his opening slates for Rick James and The Rolling Stones were both negatively received and facing bankruptcy, the young artist began to reach for mainstream popularity. Cashing on the drug-influenced doomsday mania of the times, 1982’s 1999 easily achieved that mainstream appeal, landing him on MTV, music charts, and radio stations across the world.

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