Breakdown

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Breakdown

from the album Art Official Age single art for The Breakdown Song details Performer: Prince First Released: 18 April 2014 - The Breakdown single Album(s): Art Official Age Writer(s): Prince Producer(s): Prince and Joshua Welton Live Appearances First and last live appearance: 15 April 2013 (Show 1): The Vogue Theatre, Vancouver, BC, Canada 4 March 2016: Oracle Arena, Oakland, CA, USA Performed regularly on tour: none Performed occasionally in shows: 2013, 2015, 2016 (solo piano)

Breakdown (initially released as The Breakdown) is the third track on Prince’s 37th album Art Official Age, and had been released five and a half months earlier as a stand-alone single, where both the song and the single were titled The Breakdown. After being played live throughout 2013 and Prince announcing it as his favorite current song on his Arsenio Hall Show appearance in March 2014, the song was unexpectedly released a few minutes before midnight on 18 April 2014 several hours after the announcement of a new deal with Warner Bros. Records, though the album Art Official Age was not announced at the time. The song was also included as a download for pre-orders of the album when it was announced on 25 August 2014 (along with Clouds). While specific recording dates are not known, basic tracking is believed to have taken place between Fall 2011 and early 2012 at Paisley Park Studios in Chanhassen, Minnesota, in the same sessions that produced Time, When Stars Collide and What It Feels Like. The track was first heard when DJ Rashida played it prior to Prince’s DJ set on 19 January 2013, Dakota Jazz Club & Restaurant, Minneapolis, Minnesota. During 3rdEye TV Show # 4 the chat moderator announced that Donna Grantis and Hannah Ford had been recording parts for Breakdown that evening at Paisley Park Studios (Studio C), suggesting new recording on the track took place on 22 June 2013, although the released version seems to be identical to the one first heard in January 2013, indicating that the additional recording was not kept. Recording Information Recording Sessions Date Studio Additional info Fall 2011 - early 2012 (assumed) Paisley Park Studios, Chanhassen, MN, USA Tracking 22 June 2013 Paisley Park Studios, Chanhassen, MN, USA Additional recording by Donna Grantis and Hannah Ford Recording Personnel Released version Prince - all vocals and instruments, except where noted (assumed) Joshua Welton - unidentified instruments (assumed) Andy Allo - background vocals Stringenius - strings Unreleased version Prince - all vocals and instruments, except where noted (assumed) Joshua Welton - unidentified instruments (assumed) Hannah Ford - drums Donna Grantis - guitar Andy Allo - background vocals Stringenius - strings Versions Released Versions Title Length Released Version Additional info Breakdown 4:04 Art Official Age The Breakdown single Studio a.k.a. Breakdown Sampled, Referred to, Quoted in... Title Length Released Version Additional info Time 6:49 Art Official Age Studio Unreleased Versions Title Version Additional Info Breakdown Studio With additional recording by Donna Grantis and Hannah Ford

Additional Information See also Trivia Art Official Age album The Breakdown single References Prince Releases New Song "The Breakdown" (Billboard: 19 April 2014) Prince Gets Melancholy in His Latest Song, "The Breakdown" by Sharan Shetty (Slate: 19 April 2014) Prince releases new song, The Breakdown (The Guardian: 21 April 2014)

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