Nothing Compares 2 U
{{song|
|song name = Nothing Compares 2 U
|album image =
from the album The Family
|single image =
from the album The Hits 1
|performer = The Family; Prince and the New Power Generation; Prince
|first released = 19 August 1985 - The Family (The Family version)
14 September 1993 - The Hits 1 (Prince and the New Power Generation version)
|album(s) = The Family
The Hits 1
The Hits / The B-Sides
One Nite Alone... Live!
4Ever
|writer(s) = Prince
|producer(s) = Prince (credited to David Z. Rivkin and The Family); Prince
|previous song = Northside
|next song = Now
|introduction = Nothing Compares 2 U is the sixth track on The Family's first and only album The Family. Prince wrote seven of the eight songs on the album, but Nothing Compares 2 U is the only track for which Prince took official credit.
After becoming a worldwide number one single when covered by Irish singer Sinead O'Connor, Prince began playing the song live, and in 1993, he released a live version (sharing lead vocals with Rosie Gaines) as the eleventh track (one of two new tracks) on The Hits 1.
He played it live consistently from 1990 onwards, and in 2002, released another live version as the twelfth track on the second disc of his first live album, One Nite Alone... Live! (along with Xenophobia, Extraordinary, Avalanche, Family Name, Raspberry Beret, The Everlasting Now, Wanna B Ur Lover, Diamonds & Pearls, The Beautiful Ones and How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore from the same show).
Basic tracking for Prince's original version took place on 15 July 1984 at the Flying Cloud Drive Warehouse in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. St. Paul Peterson and Susannah Melvoin overdubbed vocals onto the track in late 1984 - early 1985, and Clare Fischer added orchestral overdubs during the same period.
Miles Davis had requested an instrumental of Nothing Compares 2 U to record his trumpet on. But Prince wasn't keen on that and thought it was corny just to do a trumpet on top of a song that already existed. So around 1991 Prince re-cut it and gave it a different flavor.
Prince was partly inspired in writing the the song by Sandy Scipioni, his personal assistant in the 1980s, who had to leave suddenly after her father's death (Prince and Scipioni were not in a romantic relationship, however).
Prince's live version from The Hits 1 went on to be simulcast on US radio stations at 5:07 p.m. CT (6:07 ET/3:07 PT) on 4 May 2016, marking exactly "7 hours and 13 days" since Prince was pronounced dead.
On 19 April 2018 Prince's original version was released as Download file on Tidal and Apple Music as well as streaming on Spotify and Deezer, and on youtube with an accompanying video made up of Flying Cloud Drive Warehouse rehearsal footage. A (limited to 1984 copies) purple vinyl single was available on [[19 April 2018 at Electric Fetus in Minneapolis and through The Prince official store. While a normal black 7 inch single of the song would be available on 25 May. |recording info = |- align="left" |style="border-top:1px dotted #ccc;"|15 July 1984 |style="border-top:1px dotted #ccc;"|Flying Cloud Drive Warehouse, Eden Prairie, MN, USA |style="border-top:1px dotted #ccc;"|Basic tracking |- align="left" |style="border-top:1px dotted #ccc;"|18 July 1984 |style="border-top:1px dotted #ccc;"|Flying Cloud Drive Warehouse, Eden Prairie, MN, USA |style="border-top:1px dotted #ccc;"|Saxophone overdubs |- align="left" |style="border-top:1px dotted #ccc;"|Late Summer 1984 (estimate) |style="border-top:1px dotted #ccc;"|Flying Cloud Drive Warehouse, Eden Prairie, MN, USA |style="border-top:1px dotted #ccc;"|Vocal overdubs by St. Paul Peterson |- align="left" |style="border-top:1px dotted #ccc;"|October 1984 (estimate) |style="border-top:1px dotted #ccc;"|Monterey Studios, Glendale, CA, USA |style="border-top:1px dotted #ccc;"|Clare Fischer Orchestral overdubs |- align="left" |style="border-top:1px dotted #ccc;"|1991 (assumed) |style="border-top:1px dotted #ccc;"|Paisley Park Studios, Chanhassen, MN, USA |style="border-top:1px dotted #ccc;"|Re-recording |recording personnel = The Family version
- St. Paul Peterson - vocals
- Susannah Melvoin - vocals
- Prince - all instruments, except where noted (uncredited)
- Eric Leeds - saxophone
- Clare Fischer - string orchestration
- Jellybean Johnson - credited, but did not contribute
- Jerome Benton - credited, but did not contribute
- Miko Weaver - credited, but did not contribute
Prince and the New Power Generation version
- Prince - all vocals and instruments, except where noted
- Rosie Gaines - co-lead vocals, keyboards
- Michael B. - drums
- Sonny T. - bass guitar
- Levi Seacer, Jr. - guitar
- Brian Gallagher - saxophone
- Kathy Jensen - baritone saxophone
Original version
- Prince - all vocals and instruments, except where noted
- Susannah Melvoin - background vocals
- St. Paul Peterson - background vocals (tentative)
- Eric Leeds - saxophone
Unreleased 1991 version
- Prince - all instruments (assumed)
|released versions =
Title | Length | Released | Version | Additional info |
---|---|---|---|---|
Nothing Compares 2 U | 4:31 | The Family | Studio | The Family version |
Nothing Compares 2 U | 4:57 | The Hits 1 |
Live | Prince and the New Power Generation version; 27 January 1992 (a.m.): Paisley Park Studios, Chanhassen, MN, USA |
Nothing Compares 2 U | 4:17 | Peach single Nothing Compares 2 U promo |
Live edit | Prince and the New Power Generation version; edit of version above |
Nothing Compares 2 U | 3:47 | One Nite Alone... Live! | Live | 30 April 2002, Portland Center for the Perf. Arts - Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, Portland, OR, USA |
Nothing Compares 2 U | 4:40 | Nothing Compares 2 U 7" single; Tidal, Apple Music download | Studio | Prince original version |
Nothing Compares 2 U | 4:12 | Nothing Compares 2 U 7" single; | Studio | Edit of Prince original version |
|video versions = |- |style="color:#AB3E00" |Video Versions
|- | valign="top"|
Title | Length | Released | Version | Additional info |
---|---|---|---|---|
Nothing Compares 2 U | 5:03 | Promotional release only | Live promo video | 27 January 1992 (a.m.): Paisley Park Studios, Chanhassen, MN, USA intercut with footage from past videos; see Nothing Compares 2 U for details |
Nothing Compares 2 U | 4:02 | Rave Un2 The Year 2000 VHS/DVD | Live | 18 December 1999, Paisley Park, Chanhassen, MN, USA |
Nothing Compares 2 U | 4:59 | youtube (2018) | Studio | Prince's original version |
|broadcasts, streaming = |- |style="color:#AB3E00" |Broadcasts/streaming (only)
|- | valign="top"|
Title | Length | Released | Version | Additional info |
---|---|---|---|---|
Nothing Compares 2 U | T.B.C. | Live concert radio broadcast | Live | 22 July 1990, Estadio Vicente Calderón, Madrid, Spain |
Nothing Compares 2 U | T.B.C. | Delayed concert TV broadcast | Live | 29 July 1990, Estadio Santa María del Mar, La Coruña, Spain |
Nothing Compares 2 U | T.B.C. | Delayed performance TV broadcast | Live | 2 March 2004, The Ellen Degeneres Show, NBC Studios, Burbank, CA, USA |
Nothing Compares 2 U | T.B.C. | iHeartRadio Music Festival video stream | Live | 22 September 2012, MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, NV, USA; guesting with Mary J. Blige |
Nothing Compares 2 U | T.B.C. | iHeartRadio Music Festival TV broadcast | Live | 22 September 2012, MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, NV, USA; guesting with Mary J. Blige; same performance as above with different camera angles and editing |
Nothing Compares 2 U | T.B.C. | Live concert online stream | Live | 10 May 2015, Baltimore, MN, USA, Royal Farms Arena |
|unreleased versions = |- |style="color:#AB3E00" |Unreleased Versions
|- | valign="top"|
Title | Version | Additional Info |
---|---|---|
Nothing Compares 2 U | Alternate mix | Alternate mix of The Family's version, with stronger synth element |
Nothing Compares 2 U | Studio | Instrumental re-recording for Miles Davis |
|sampled in =
|first live appearance = 13 August 1985: First Avenue, Minneapolis, Minnesota (first performance by The Family); 30 April 1990: Rupert's, Golden Valley, MN, USA (first performance by Prince)
|performed regularly on = Nude Tour
- Diamonds And Pearls Tour
- Act II (as part of medley)
- New Power Soul Tour
- New Power Soul Festival Tour
- Hit N Run Tour
- A Celebration
- One Nite Alone... Tour
- World Tour 2003
- Musicology Live 2004ever
- Per4ming Live 3121
- 21 Nights In London : The Earth Tour
- Prince 20TEN Tour
- Welcome 2 Canada Tour
- Welcome 2 Australia Tour
- Hit And Run Part II
|performed occasionally in = 1990, 1991, 1992, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 (solo piano) |trivia = Businessman and future US presidential candidate Donald Trump was in the 200-person audience for the 27 January 1992 (a.m.): Paisley Park Studios, Chanhassen, MN, USA live version that was included on The Hits 1. By coincidence, when the track was simulcast on US radio stations at 5:07 p.m. CT (6:07 ET/3:07 PT) on May 4 2016, marking exactly "7 hours and 13 days" since Prince was pronounced dead, Trump had just secured the Republican party nomination for US president a few hours earlier. |see also = The Family album
- The Family
- The Hits 1 album
- Nothing Compares 2 U promo
- Nothing Compares 2 U video
|references = The Vault: The Definitive Guide to the Musical World of Prince (2004)
- Prince and the Purple Rain Era Studio Sessions 1983 and 1984, Duane Tudahl (2017)
- http://thelastmiles.com/interviews-alan-leeds.php
|categories = }}