Darling Nikki

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Darling Nikki

from the album Purple Rain Song details Performer: Prince and the Revolution First Released: 25 June 1984 - Purple Rain album Album(s): Purple Rain Purple Rain Deluxe Edition and Deluxe Expanded Edition Prince And The Revolution: Live Writer(s): Prince (credited to Prince and the Revolution) Producer(s): Prince (credited to Prince and the Revolution) Live Appearances First and last live appearance: 14 August 1984: First Avenue, Minneapolis, Minnesota 22 March 2016 (a.m.): Muzique, Montreal, QC, Canada (during sampler set) Performed regularly on tour: Purple Rain Tour Jam Of The Year World Tour New Power Soul Festival Tour Hit N Run Tour A Celebration Performed occasionally in shows: 1984, 1998, 2000, 2007, 2011 (clip only during sampler set), 2012 (clip only during sampler set), 2013 (clip only during sampler set), 2015 (clip only during sampler set)

Darling Nikki is the fifth track on Prince’s sixth album Purple Rain, the first album to be credited to Prince and the Revolution. The song also features in the movie Purple Rain. Darling Nikki was discussed a lot in the media in 1984-85. Tipper Gore (author and wife of Al Gore), having overheard her eleven-year-old daughter, Karenna, listening to the track, was inspired to found the Parents Music Resource Center. The Center advocated the mandatory use of a warning label ("Parental Advisory: Explicit Lyrics") on the covers of records judged to contain language or lyrical content unsuitable for minors. The recording industry voluntarily complied with the Center’s request in response to the Senate hearings (Sugar Walls was also listed on The Parents Music Resource Center’s "Filthy Fifteen" which led to the introduction of parental advisory stickers). See here for more details. While specific recording dates are not known, basic tracking took place in late July 1983 at Prince’s Kiowa Trail Home Studio in Chanhassen, Minnesota, USA. The song ends with a "back-masked" vocal coda to close out the first side of the album (on vinyl and cassette). It was included as the fourth track on the 7 November 1983 and 23 March 1984 configurations of Purple Rain, but became the fifth track on the final 14 April 1984 configuration after the addition of Take Me With U. Notes from Prince’s Dreams notebook that was on display in the 'My Name Is Prince' exhibit in the O2 in London reveal that Prince considered naming Vanity’s character in the film Nicarthra Ann, Nikki for short. Recording Information Recording Sessions Date Studio Additional info Mid-late July 1983 Kiowa Trail Home Studio, Chanhassen, MN, USA Tracking 18 September 1983-19 September 1983 Sunset Sound, Hollywood, CA, USA Adding coda, mixing 21 March 1984-22 March 1984 Sunset Sound, Hollywood, CA, USA Edit/crossfade Recording Personnel Prince - all vocals and instruments Don Batts - engineer Susan Rogers - engineer Versions Released Versions Title Length Released Version Additional info Darling Nikki 4:13 Purple Rain Strange Tales From The Rain promotional album Studio Darling Nikki 4:13 Purple Rain Deluxe Edition and Deluxe Expanded Edition Remastered 2015 Darling Nikki 3:30 Prince And The Revolution: Live Live 30 March 1985, Carrier Dome, Syracuse, NY, USA Darling Nikki 5:02 Prince And The Revolution: Live (2022 re-release) Live 30 March 1985, Carrier Dome, Syracuse, NY, USA. Remastered Video Versions Title Length Released Version Additional info Darling Nikki 4:00 Prince And The Revolution: Live VHS/laserdisc Purple Rain Deluxe Expanded Edition – Live at the Carrier Dome (DVD) Prince And The Revolution: Live (2022 re-release) Live 30 March 1985, Carrier Dome, Syracuse, NY, USA Sampled, Referred to, Quoted in... Title Length Released Version Additional info Purple Medley 11:03 Purple Medley single Studio medley See Purple Medley for more details Purple Medley (Edit) 3:14 Purple Medley single Edit See Purple Medley for more details Unreleased Versions Title Version Additional Info Darling Nikki Studio Original full-length version with additional instrumental break, but no back masked ending

Additional Information See also Trivia Purple Rain album Purple Rain Deluxe Expanded Edition References The Vault: The Definitive Guide to the Musical World of Prince (2004) Prince and the Purple Rain Era Studio Sessions 1983 and 1984 (Expanded Edition, paperback), Duane Tudahl (2018) Parents Music Resource Center (Wikipedia)

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