Head is the sixth track on Prince's third album Dirty Mind, and, in late 1980, Head was released as the album's second single (only available in the Philippines; in the USA it was released only on a promo acting more as an album sampler than a promo for this particular song).
In 1993, the track was included as the fourth track on Prince's compilation album The Hits 2 (also included as the second disc of The Hits / The B-Sides).
Recording process
While specific recording dates are not known, the album sessions took place from May to June 1980, in Prince's Wayzata Home Studio, Wayzata, Minnesota (credited as "Somewhere in Uptown"), and completed in June 1980 at Hollywood Sound Recorders, Los Angeles, California.
The song introduced new band member Lisa Coleman who contributed a spoken word segment after Gayle Chapman objected to the song's lyrics and left the band.
Some of the lyrics are seemingly inspired by Darlene, a girl from San Francisco, CA that Prince was seeing and the protagonist for the song Darlene Marie. At the time they first met in September 1978, she was engaged to be married. The line " ...when I met you, baby, you were on you're way to be wed" was about, or inspired by her.
In 1994, Kirk Johnson remixed the track at Paisley Park Studios, Chanhassen, Minnesota, and the remix, while unreleased, was partially included in the Kirk J's B Sides Remix medley.
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