View source for 1000 X's & O's

{{song-2|
|song name                 = 1000 X’s & O’s
|single image              = [[File:Hitnrun album.jpg|100px|link= Album: Hitnrun Phase One]]<br><small>from the album [[Album: Hitnrun Phase One|Hitnrun Phase One]]</small>
|performer                 = [[Prince]]; [[Rosie Gaines]]; [[Nona Gaye]]
|first released            = [[Prince_Vault:Selected_anniversaries/September 7|7 September 2015]] - [[Album: Hitnrun Phase One|Hitnrun Phase One]] album stream
|album(s)                  = [[Album: Hitnrun Phase One|Hitnrun Phase One]]
|writer(s)                 = [[Prince]] and [[Joshua Welton]]
|producer(s)               = [[Prince]] and [[Joshua Welton]]; [[Prince]] (as [[File: SymbolSmallerBlue.png|link=Alias: Symbol]]) (assumed)
|previous song             = [[319]]
|next song                 = [[1999]]
|introduction              = '''1000 X’s & O’s''' is the tenth track on [[Prince]]’s 38th album [[Album: Hitnrun Phase One|Hitnrun Phase One]].The history of the track goes back 23 years, however.

The track was originally recorded as '''A 1,000 Hugs And Kisses''' in late April - early May 1992, at [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Studios_301 Studios 301], Sydney, Australia, while [[Prince]] was in Sydney on the [[Diamonds And Pearls Tour]] (during the same set of sessions as [[Goldnigga]], [[Deuce & A Quarter]], [[Goldie’s Parade]], [[Everybody Get On Up]] and [[Baby Doll]]). The original version was written solely by [[Prince]] and was intended for [[Rosie Gaines]], who sang lead vocals on the recording. [[Prince]] had planned on recording a rap by [[Carmen Electra]] to include in the song, but he decided against it on the advice of his bandmembers. 

In late 1993 or early 1994, [[Rosie Gaines]]' vocals were replaced by [[Nona Gaye]] at [[Paisley Park Studios]] in Chanhassen, Minnesota, and her version (still known as '''A 1,000 Hugs And Kisses''') was intended for a planned project titled [[Album: MPLS (1994)|MPLS]], but this project remained unfinished. Around the same time, however, it was considered for inclusion on a proposed album by [[Nona Gaye]], but this was also left unfinished.

In an unpublished Late 1994 NPG newsletter that was [https://www.gottahaverockandroll.com/Prince_Handwritten_Unreleased_NPG__Newsletter____4-LOT49516.aspx auctioned in 2023], an album called ''Thousand Hugs And Kisses'' by [https://www.hoodoomusic.com/derick-hughes Derick Hughes] was announced for 1995. It is possible that he re-recorded a version of the song, but this has not been confirmed.

During [[Prince]]’s 2007 [[21 Nights In London : The Earth Tour]], he unexpectedly played the track during a solo piano set at the [[31 August 2007]] show (after having played a brief portion of it on [[28 August 2007]]), marking its first live performance, over 15 years after its initial recording.

A new recording of the track was made in Autumn 2014 at [[Paisley Park Studios]] with new music produced by [[Joshua Welton]] and inspired by [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aaliyah Aaliyah]’s song ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_the_Boat_(Aaliyah_song) Rock The Boat]'' (written by Static Major, Eric Seats and Rapture Stewart) at [[Prince]]’s request. This version was premiered over the PA prior to an unannounced [[Prince]] show at [[Paisley Park Studios]] on [[16_November 2014-am|16 November 2014 (a.m.)]] (along with [[Revelation]], [[X’s Face]], a new recording of [[If I Could Get Your Attention]], [[Ain’t About 2 Stop]] and a remix of [[Pretzelbodylogic]]), following a show by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FKA_twigs FKA twigs] in a different room. On 24 July 2015 the track was announced on [http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-33649080 BBC News] as included on [[Prince]]’s 38th album [[Album: Hitnrun Phase One|Hitnrun Phase One]], and the updated title was only known when an official tracklist surfaced a few days before the album’s availability on the [http://tidal.com/ Tidal] streaming platform. The new title is somewhat confusing: "X’s & O’s" is often written as a shorthand, with "X" meaning a kiss, and "O" meaning a hug, so the revised title would actually read "A thousand kisses and hugs" (perhaps this was to avoid the title being read "A thousand noughts and crosses", however, with noughts and crosses being another name for the game referred to in [[Tictactoe]]).

An early version of the song was one of the Vault tracks recorded between 1990 and 1992 slated to appear on the planned ''Diamonds & Love'' expected to be released by [[The Prince Estate]] in the summer of 2022. That project, which consisted of material spanning both the [[Album: Diamonds And Pearls|Diamonds And Pearls]] and [[File:SymbolSmallerBlue.png|link= Album: Symbol]] eras, was reduced to the [[Album:_Diamonds_And_Pearls_SuperDeluxe|Diamonds And Pearls]] era, excluding songs recorded after October 1991 (and this track as a result).

|recording info            =
{{RecordingLine|
|date                      = Late April - early May 1992
|studio                    = [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Studios_301 Studios 301],<br>Sydney, Australia
|additional info           = Tracking ([[Rosie Gaines]] version)
}}
{{RecordingLine|
|date                      = Late 1993 (assumed)
|studio                    = [[Paisley Park Studios]],<br>Chanhassen, MN, USA
|additional info           = [[Nona Gaye]] vocal overdubs
}}
{{RecordingLine|
|date                      = Late 1994 (assumed)
|studio                    = [[Paisley Park Studios]], <br>Chanhassen, MN, USA
|additional info           = Possible additional recording with [https://www.hoodoomusic.com/derick-hughes Derick Hughes]
}}
{{RecordingLine|
|date                      = Autumn 2014 (assumed)
|studio                    = [[Paisley Park Studios]],<br>Chanhassen, MN, USA
|additional info           = Re-recording with entirely new music by [[Joshua Welton]]
}}
|recording personnel       = 
'''Hitnrun Phase One version'''
*[[Prince]] - all vocals, bass and guitar, except where noted (assumed)
*[[Joshua Welton]] - keyboards & drum programming (assumed)
<br>
'''Rosie Gaines version'''
*[[Rosie Gaines]] - vocals and keyboards
*[[Prince]] - vocals and all instruments, except where noted
*[[Michael B.]] - drums
*[[Sonny T.]] - bass guitar
*[[Levi Seacer, Jr.]] - guitar
*[[Tommy Barbarella]] - keyboards
*[[Michael B. Nelson]] - trombone
*[[Steve Strand]] - trumpet
*[[Dave Jensen]] - trumpet
*[[Kathy Jensen|Kathy J.]] - baritone saxophone
*[[Brian Gallagher]] - tenor saxophone
<br>
'''Nona Gaye version'''
*[[Nona Gaye]] - lead vocals
*[[Prince]] - vocals and all instruments, except where noted
*[[Michael B.]] - drums
*[[Sonny T.]] - bass guitar
*[[Levi Seacer, Jr.]] - guitar
*[[Tommy Barbarella]] - keyboards
*[[Rosie Gaines]] - keyboards
*[[Michael B. Nelson]] - trombone
*[[Steve Strand]] - trumpet
*[[Dave Jensen]] - trumpet
*[[Kathy Jensen|Kathy J.]] - baritone saxophone
*[[Brian Gallagher]] - tenor saxophone
|released versions       =
{{Songchart|
|line =
{{Songline|
|1= '''1000 X’s & O’s'''
|2= 4:27
|3= [[Album: Hitnrun Phase One|Hitnrun Phase One]]
|4= Studio
|5= 
}}
}}
|unreleased versions       = 
{{SongUnreleased|
|unreleased versions       = 
{{Unreleased|
|line=
{{Unreleasedline|
|1= '''A 1,000 Hugs And Kisses'''
|2= Studio
|3= [[Rosie Gaines]] version; recorded late April - early May 1992
}}
{{Unreleasedline|
|1= '''A 1,000 Hugs And Kisses'''
|2= Studio
|3= [[Nona Gaye]] version; recorded late 1993
}}
}}
}}
|video versions            = 
|broadcasts, streaming     =
|sampled in                = 
|first live appearance     = [[28 August 2007|28 August 2007: The O<sub>2</sub> Arena, London, England]] ''(instrumental tease)'' / [[31 August 2007|31 August 2007: The O<sub>2</sub> Arena, London, England]] ''(full)''<br>
* [[21 March 2016-1|21 March 2016 (show 1): Théâtre Maisonneuve - Place des Arts, Montreal, QC, Canada]]
|performed regularly on    = none
|performed occasionally in = [[All Concerts#2007|2007]], [[All Concerts#2016|2016]] <small>''(solo piano)'' </small> 
|trivia                    = Charts:<br>
:'''USA''': Billboard’s Adult R&B Songs chart / 17 Oct. 2015 / Peak = 13 / Weeks = 7.
:'''USA''': Billboard’s R&B/Hip Hop Airplay chart / 14 Nov. 2015 / Peak = 41 / Weeks = 1.
:'''Belgium''': Ultratop ''Ultratip'' chart / 7 Nov. 2015 / Peak = 38 / Weeks = 4.
:'''Belgium''': Ultratop ''Urban'' chart / 14 Nov. 2015 / Peak = 27 / Weeks = 8. 
|see also                  = [[Album: Hitnrun Phase One|Hitnrun Phase One]] album
*[[Album: MPLS (1994)|MPLS]] album
|references                = ''[[Book:_The_Vault|The Vault: The Definitive Guide to the Musical World of Prince (2004)]]''
*[http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-33649080 '''Prince’s band 3rdEyeGirl confirm new album for 2015''' (BBC: 24 July 2015)]
*[https://www.facebook.com/ywbdmin/videos/231107501433606/ Joshua and Hannah Welton : '''100TH YWBD Live! Special!!! - Let’s Talk About Prince!''' (Your Will Be Done Ministries Facebook page : 22 April 2020)]
|categories                = [[Category:1992]][[Category:Recorded 1992]][[Category:2015]][[Category:Recorded 2014]][[Category:Songs (Prince)]][[Category:Released Songs (Prince)]]
}}