Prince: The Songwriter and Cover Versions Quiz

Answer:

Two of the most successful covers of a Prince written song are Sinead O'Connor's rendition of "Nothing Compares 2 U" and The Bangles "Manic Monday". In 1990, Sinead's song reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100. The Irish singer was not the first to release "Nothing Compares 2 U". That honor went to The Family, a Minneapolis band that recorded the song in 1985. Prince released his own version of the song in 1993 for "The Hits" album. "Manic Monday" reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1986. After hearing the all female rock band, Prince gave the group a cassette with "Manic Monday" for them to consider recording and it became their first big hit.

"Jungle Love" by The Time was co-written, recorded, and produced by Prince with guitar work by Jesse Johnson and vocals by Morris Day of The Time. The song reached number 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was featured in the film "Purple Rain". "Nasty Girl" was written by Prince and released by Vanity 6. The all-girl R&B trio was lead by Denise Matthews aka Vanity. The song reached number one on the Billboard Hot Dance Club charts in 1982.

"I Feel For You" was released by Prince on his 1979 self-titled album. The song was originally written for Patrice Rushen but was later given to Chaka Khan. The former lead singer of Rufus, a 70s funk band, took her solo version of "I Feel For You" to number three on the Billboard Hot 100 and won the 1984 Grammy for Best R&B song. Prince collaborated often with drummer Sheila E. and was instrumental in the production of her debut album. The album's lead single, "The Glamorous Life", was written by Prince and released in 1984. The song got heavy airplay on MTV and reached the Billboard Hot 100 top ten. Prince's posthumous album, "Originals", contained his own version of the song he gave to Sheila E.

Tevin Campbell first found success working with Quincy Jones. Prince recognized the teen's immense talent and wrote "Round And Round" for Tevin. The Billboard Hot 100 top twenty song appeared on Tevin's debut album, "T.E.V.I.N.", and also appeared in the film "Graffiti Bridge" starring Prince. In a collaboration that many did not see coming, the avant-garde group Art of Noise loved Prince's hit single "Kiss". Tom Jones was already singing the song during his concerts in the 1980s and he teamed up with Art of Noise in 1988 for an industrial yet funky cover of Prince's huge hit.

Sheena Easton recorded "Arms Of Orion" as a duet with Prince for the "Batman" soundtrack. But also Sheena's big hit "Sugar Walls" was penned by Prince under the name Alexander Nevermind. "Sugar Walls" was one of the sexiest songs Sheena ever recorded and reached the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100 in 1984. Alicia Keys recorded a Prince B-side called "How Come You Never Call Me Anymore" in 2001. The piano driven ballad was a stand out track on Alicia's debut album "Songs In A Minor". Alicia changed the title to "How Come You Don't Call Me" and it reached the top 20 on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The original version by Prince was the flip side to his single "1999".

Luther Vandross, Aretha Franklin, Teena Marie, Tina Turner, and James Ingram have each passed away but were highly successful artists who never recorded a hit song written by Prince. Prior to the passing of Dolores O'Riordan, the lead singer of the Cranberries, they also did not cover a Prince song.