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17 Days (full title as copyrighted 17 Days (the rain will come down, then U will have 2 choose. If U believe look 2 the dawn and U shall never lose.)) was released as the b-side of the single When Doves Cry, the first single to be released from Purple Rain, released worldwide. In 1993, it was included as the 15th track on The B-Sides compilation (included as the third and final disc on The Hits / The B-Sides). A 1983 piano rehearsal of the track was also included on the 2018 posthumous release Piano & A Microphone 1983, and released two weeks prior to the album as a pre-release download. The same version was released as the A-side of a 7" vinyl 17 Days (Piano Version) single distributed as cover mount with the October 2018 edition of Rolling Stone magazine in Germany in September 2018.
While specific recording dates for 17 Days are not known, it was initially recorded at The Warehouse in St. Louis Park, Minnesota in August 1983, likely a couple of days after Let’s Go Crazy and Computer Blue, with Brenda Bennett on vocals. By this time Vanity had just left the Prince camp and Apollonia was yet to be cast as her replacement. Because Vanityhad just left the PRN camp at the time of the recording, it was thought to have never really intended for either Vanity 6 or Apollonia 6, but Brenda Bennett remembers it was originally recorded for a second Vanity 6 album and says it was at some point also earmarked for a solo project Prince had in mind with Brenda.
The song was later re-recorded on 8 January 1984 at Sunset Sound in Hollywood, California (three days after Oliver’s House) with Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman providing some background vocals and worked on further in March. While the When Doves Cry single was credited only to Prince, 17 Days was credited to Prince and the Revolution, marking it the earliest release of a track containing this credit. In 2000, a fan asked on NPGonlineltd "Who is singing the backup on 17 Days, especially near the very end vamp? It doesn't sound like Wendy or Lisa."  replied : "BRENDA BENNETT". Her contribution is not credited and may come from her own version.
The song had its first public airing in early April 1984, when Prince brought a tape of it to First Avenue to be played there.
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Recording Information
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Recording Sessions
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| Date
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Studio
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Additional info
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| August 1983
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The Warehouse,
St. Louis Park, MN, USA
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Tracking of jam version
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| August 1983
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Kiowa Trail Home Studio,
Chanhassen, MN, USA
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Brenda Bennett vocals
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| Late Summer - Autumn 1983
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Kiowa Trail Home Studio,
Chanhassen, MN, USA
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Rehearsal recording - (Piano & A Microphone 1983 Version)
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| 18 September 1983
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Sunset Sound - Studio 3 ,
Hollywood, CA, USA
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Jam (new recording)
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| 8 January 1984
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Sunset Sound - Studio 3 ,
Hollywood, CA, USA
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Tracking, re-recording
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| 18 March 1984
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Sunset Sound - Studio 3,
Hollywood, CA, USA
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Overdubs
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| 21 March 1984
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Sunset Sound- Studio 3,
Hollywood, CA, USA
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Edits
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Recording Personnel
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Vanity 6/Apollonia 6 version
Prince and the Revolution version
Piano & A Microphone 1983 version
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Versions
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Released Versions
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Video Versions
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Sampled, Referred to, Quoted in...
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Unreleased Versions
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| Title
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Version
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Additional Info
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| 17 Days
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Studio
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Version with Brenda Bennett on lead vocals
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| 17 Days
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Studio
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Studio jam
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| 17 Days
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Studio
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Full length version
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