I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man
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| "I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man" | ||
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| U.S. 7" single | ||
| Single by Prince | ||
| from the album Sign “☮” the Times | ||
| B-side(s) | "Hot Thing" | |
| Released | 3 November 1987 | |
| Format | 7" single 12" single |
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| Recorded | Home studio, Minneapolis and Sunset Sound; 1982–1986 | |
| Genre | Pop, funk-metal | |
| Length | 7" edit: 3:39 Album/12": 6:31 |
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| Label | Paisley Park Records | |
| Writer(s) | Prince | |
| Producer(s) | Prince | |
| Chart positions | ||
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| Prince singles chronology | ||
| "U Got the Look" (1987) |
"I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man" (1987) |
"Alphabet St." (1988) |
"I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man" was the fourth and final single from Prince's 1987 double album, Sign “☮” the Times. The track was originally cut in Prince's home studio in 1982. It was brought out of the vault and updated for the final Revolution album, the Dream Factory. At this time, the song had a few seconds of the bluesy coda just before the main guitar solo. It was wisely edited out before Sign “☮” the Times, being a slightly jarring interuption.
The song is an upbeat pop number featuring a combination of live drumming with 2 drum machine patterns. Also featured are 2 guitar solos, one wild and energetic and one more bluesy and subdued in the full album cut. The song consists of 2 verses and 2 choruses, followed by a lengthy instrumental coda. Although the lyrics are somewhat sad, painting the image of a woman desperately seeking a man to replace the one who left, while Prince refuses, saying that she wouldn't be satisfied with a one-night stand. Despite the tone, the infectious music and accompanying music video pushed this song to the top 10 in the U.S. The video was pulled from the Sign “☮” the Times film, and is a live take of the song and included the horn section of Eric Leeds and Atlanta Bliss.
The single was backed by the funky "Hot Thing", also from Sign “☮” the Times. The 12-inch single includes the full album version of "I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man", as well as several remixes of "Hot Thing". One of these was included on the Ultimate compilation album in 2006.
[edit] Trivia
- The live version of "I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man" in the video and Sign “☮” the Times film includes a horn solo in the song's coda. The solo lifts a part of Camille, and later Black Album track, "Rock Hard In a Funky Place".
- Jordan Knight, (formerly of New Kids on the Block) did a cover of "I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man" on his 1999 self-titled solo debut. His version of the song is a ballad.
- The Goo Goo Dolls also did a cover of "I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man" (shortened to "Never Take the Place of Your Man") on their 1990 album Hold Me Up. The vocals for this version are sung by Lance Diamond who performs in their hometown of Buffalo, New York.
- The B-side, "Hot Thing" received enough airplay by DJs to chart on its own, reaching #63.
[edit] External link
- "I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man" lyrics
