Prince, 1999
Prince1999.
1999 expanded Prince's studio world across a double album, using synthesizers, drum machines, guitar and long grooves to create pop music that still sounded entirely self-contained.
Album artwork shown for commentary and historical reference. Image source: Cover Art Archive / MusicBrainz.
SEVEN THINGS
WORTH KNOWING.
Recording stories, personnel, physical details and numbers worth keeping with the record.
1999 was released in 1982 and contains 11 tracks.
The original configuration was a double album.
Prince's official discography describes the project as largely a solo studio creation.
The album includes "1999," "Little Red Corvette" and "Delirious."
1999 became Prince's first album to reach the Billboard 200 Top 10.
The album was eventually certified quadruple Platinum in the United States.
The hand-drawn cover hides visual references to Prince's name and the emerging Revolution identity.
WHY THIS
ALBUM MATTERS.
1999 is where Prince's private studio language became mainstream pop without losing the long grooves, synthetic drums and unconventional arrangements that made it unmistakably his.
THE
NUMBERS.
TRACKS
The double album contains eleven songs.
ALBUM
1999 became Prince's first Billboard 200 Top 10 album.
PLATINUM
The album reached quadruple-Platinum U.S. certification.
THE
PHYSICAL OBJECT.
The hand-drawn sleeve is packed with symbols and hidden details, rewarding close inspection in a way that a small streaming thumbnail cannot.
RESEARCH SOURCES
Facts are checked against official artist archives, release databases, recording credits and established archival sources before publication.
KEEP
DIGGING.
More recording stories, strange credits, cover art, chart numbers and details hiding inside the records.