If I Was Your Girlfriend is the second track on the second disc of Prince’s ninth album Sign O’ The Times, and, five weeks after the album’s release, If I Was Your Girlfriend was released as the album’s second single, released worldwide.
In 1993, the single edit was included as the tenth track on The Hits 2 (also included as the second disc of The Hits / The B-Sides).
A live version was also included in the concert movie Sign O’ The Times.
Basic tracking took place on 2 November 1986, at Sunset Sound in Hollywood, California (three days after Good Love, three days before compiling the only known configuration of the Camille album).
The track was included as the seventh track on the 5 November 1986 configuration of the Camille album (credited to the pseudonym Camille), which was later aborted. The song was included as the second track on the second disc as the album developed into the triple-album Crystal Ball on the 30 November 1986 configuration, which was eventually pared down and became Sign O’ The Times.
If I Was Your Girlfriend begins with a 15 seconds collage (likely recorded on 23 December 1986) that contains samples of “Symphony Orchestra Tuning” from Jac Holzman’s 1964 sound effects album titled Authentic Sound Effects Volume 4 (samples from that record were also used on Pop Life), “New York Street Vendor” and Felix Mendelssohn’s Wedding March Mendelssohn’s “Wedding March” both taken from Jac Holzman’s 1964 sound effects album Authentic Sound Effects Volume 10.
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Versions
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Released Versions
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Video Versions
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Broadcasts/streaming (only)
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Title
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Length
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Released
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Version
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Additional info
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If I Was Your Girlfriend
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T.B.C.
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Live performance TV broadcast
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Live
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12 November 1996, Emancipation Freedom Concert, Paisley Park, Chanhassen, MN, USA
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If I Was Your Girlfriend
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T.B.C.
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Live concert performance
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Live
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20 November 1996, Oprah Winfrey Show, Harpo Studios, Chicago, IL, USA
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Sampled, Referred to, Quoted in...
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Unreleased Versions
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Title
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Version
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Additional Info
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If I Was Your Girlfriend (Instrumental)
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Studio
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Instrumental mix
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If I Was Your Girlfriend
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Studio
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Missing the 15 seconds intro segue
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