Album: Controversy

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1980: Dirty Mind ◄ All Prince Albums All Related Artists Albums ► 1982: 1999
Controversy

Album details

Released: 14 October 1981 (USA)

13 November 1981 (UK)

Length: 37:18
Label(s): Warner Bros. Records
Studio(s): Kiowa Trail Home Studio, Chanhassen, MN, USA; Hollywood Sound Recorders, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Sunset Sound, Hollywood, CA, USA

Charts, Certifications & Awards

Charts
America
Country: Chart Entry Date Peak Position Weeks in Chart
USA: Billboard Top LP’s & Tapes 7 Nov. 1981 21 32
USA: Billboard Soul LPs 7 Nov. 1981 3(8) 35
USA: Billboard 200 Chart 25 Aug. 1984 ??R 31
USA: Billboard 200 Chart ? ??R 1
USA: The Billboard 200 14 May 2016 55R 2
R indicates re-entry of an album that had already charted.
 
Europe
Country: Chart Entry Date Peak Position Weeks in Chart
The Netherlands: Nationale Hitparade LP Top 50 19 Dec. 1981 50 1
Certifications
Institution, Country Date Certification
RIAA, USA 14 Jan. 1982 Gold (500,000)
RIAA, USA 11 Jan. 1985 Platinum (1 million)
BPI, UK 17 Nov. 1989 Silver (60,000)
BPI, UK 7 Mar. 2014 Gold (100,000)
Awards
This album has not received any awards in the USA

Singles released

Controversy
b/w When You Were Mine
Sexuality (Germany, Australia and Japan only)
b/w Controversy
Let’s Work
b/w Ronnie, Talk To Russia
Do Me, Baby
b/w Private Joy

See also

Controversy Tour  
Controversy is the fourth full-length studio album by Prince. It was released worldwide in October 1981 (twelve months after his previous album, Dirty Mind).


Sessions and compiling

Specific recording dates for most of the album’s tracks are not known. The album was completed at Sunset Sound in Hollywood, California, between 14-23 August 1981.

Do Me, Baby was initially recorded in February 1978, and was written by André Cymone (although it was credited to Prince on the album). The version included on the album is a re-recording from the album sessions, however, which took place in Spring and Summer 1981, at Prince’s Kiowa Trail Home Studio in Chanhassen, Minnesota and Hollywood Sound Recorders in Los Angeles, California.

Let’s Work had initially been recorded in July 1979 as Let’s Rock, during sessions for The Rebels album. Let’s Rock was named after a dance Prince had seen in clubs during the summer of 1979, and Prince wanted to release it as a single immediately after recording. Warner Bros. declined, and while Prince liked the track, he felt it needed to be renamed when released to avoid it seeming dated.

Private Joy was the last song recorded, on 16 August 1981 at Sunset Sound, during a week of final work on the album, following some equipment problems at nearby Hollywood Sound Recorders (marking the first Prince track recorded at Sunset Sound, where Prince would continue to work throughout the 1980s, and return again in 2008).

Controversy was largely a solo recording project by Prince, although Bobby Z. (drums), Lisa Coleman (keyboards and background vocals) and Dr. Fink (keyboards) all appear on the final track, Jack U Off. Additionally, Lisa Coleman also sings background vocals on Controversy and Ronnie, Talk To Russia.


Promotion

The album produced four commercially-released singles, Controversy, Let’s Work, Do Me, Baby and Sexuality (released in Germany, Australia and Japan only).

Prince toured extensively in the USA to support the album on the Controversy Tour, which largely focused on the album.

The album reached number 21 on the US Billboard Top LP’s & Tapes Chart and number 3 for 8 consecutive weeks on the Billboard Soul LPs Chart.

On 14 January 1982 Controversy was certified gold by the RIAA, indicating 500,000 copies shipped in the USA. Most probably boosted by the success of Purple Rain album and film, it was certified platinum on 11 January 1985, indicating 1,000,000 copies shipped in the USA.



Track listing
CD LP

The compact disc version is a reissue from the LP.

  1. Controversy (7:14)
  2. Sexuality (4:20)
  3. Do Me, Baby (7:43) 1 
  4. Private Joy (4:37)
  5. Ronnie, Talk To Russia (1:51)
  6. Let’s Work (3:52)
  7. Annie Christian (4:21)
  8. Jack U Off (3:08)

The vinyl long play format is the initial release.

  • Side 1:
  1. Controversy (7:14)
  2. Sexuality (4:20)
  3. Do Me, Baby (7:43) 1 
  • Side 2:
  1. Private Joy (4:37)
  2. Ronnie, Talk To Russia (1:51)
  3. Let’s Work (3:52)
  4. Annie Christian (4:21)
  5. Jack U Off (3:08)

All songs written by Prince, except where noted.

1  Written by André Cymone (credited to Prince)



Personnel
Musicians


Production


Thanks
  • "Special thanks to God and U."



Releases
LP, CD, Cassettes and Other versions
Country Format Cat. Number Comments Front Back Label 1 Label 2
USA LP BSK 3601
USA CD 3601-2 Long Box
USA Cassette M5 3601
USA 8-Tracks M8 3601

Variants, Special Editions and Reissues
Country Format Cat. Number Comments Front Back Label 1 Label 2
None
 

 

 
Additional Information
Promotion (at time of release) Trivia
  • US press adverts.

US press advert published in Billboard (24 Oct. 1981).  

US press advert published in Rolling Stones (12 Nov. 1981). 

  • Billboard Top LP’s & Tapes chart progression:
    Entry position 71 (7 Nov. 81), 25 (14 Nov. 81), 21 (21 Nov. 81), 21 (28 Nov. 81), 21 (5 Dec. 81), 35 (12 Dec. 81), 49 (19 Dec. 81) 52 (26 Dec. 81), ?? (2 Jan. 81), 58 (9 Jan. 81), 58 (16 Jan. 81), 56 (23 Jan. 81), 54 (30 Jan. 81), 52 (6 Feb. 81), 64 (13 Feb. 81), 58 (20 Feb. 81), 50 (27 Feb. 81), 50 (6 Mar. 81), 49 (13 Mar. 81), 47 (20 Mar. 81), 65 (27 Mar. 81), 73 (3 Apr. 81), 94 (10 Apr. 81), 92 (17 Apr. 81), 90 (24 Apr. 81), 89 (1 May 81), 114 (8 May 81), 114 (15 May 81), 114 (22 May 81), 155 (29 May 81), 157 (5 Jun. 81), exit position 179 (12 Jun. 81).
    Weeks in Top 10: 0, weeks in Top 40: 5.
  • Billboard Soul LPs chart progression:
    Entry position 25 (7 Nov. 81), 9 (14 Nov. 81), 3 (21 Nov. 81), 3 (28 Nov. 81), 3 (5 Dec. 81), 3 (12 Dec. 81), 3 (19 Dec. 81) 3 (26 Dec. 81), 3 (2 Jan. 81), 3 (9 Jan. 81), 6 (16 Jan. 81), 14 (23 Jan. 81), 16 (30 Jan. 81), 16 (6 Feb. 81), 29 (13 Feb. 81), 29 (20 Feb. 81), 28 (27 Feb. 81), 27 (6 Mar. 81), 23 (13 Mar. 81), 19 (20 Mar. 81), 17 (27 Mar. 81), 15 (3 Apr. 81), 13 (10 Apr. 81), 13 (17 Apr. 81), 15 (24 Apr. 81), 25 (1 May 81), 31 (8 May 81), 31 (15 May 81), 37 (22 May 81), 45 (29 May 81), 45 (5 Jun. 81), 46 (12 Jun. 81), 59 (19 Jun. 81), 68 (26 Jun. 81), exit position 74 (3 Jul. 81).
    Weeks in Top 10: 10, weeks in Top 40: 29.
  • In his autobiography On Time: A Princely Life in Funk, Morris Day states that he played drums on Controversy and on Let’s Work, without mentioning that it was on the extended version of the latter. Since different recordings were made for Controversy, it is not known if Morris plays on the album version or on an unreleased version.
References
1980
Dirty Mind 		All Albums All Related Artists Albums 1982
1999
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