Baby I’m A Star

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Baby I’m A Star

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 Expanded Edition Prince And The Revolution: Live Diamonds And Pearls Super Deluxe Edition 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: 3 August 1983: First Avenue, Minneapolis, MN, USA 14 April 2016 (Show 2): Fox Theatre, Atlanta, GA, USA Performed regularly on tour: Purple Rain Tour Nude Tour Diamonds And Pearls Tour Act II Jam Of The Year World Tour New Power Soul Festival Tour Hit N Run Tour World Tour 2003 Musicology Live 2004ever Prince Live 2010 Performed occasionally in shows: 1983, 1984, 1990, 1991, 1997, 1999, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2016 (solo piano)

Baby I’m A Star is the eighth track on Prince’s sixth album Purple Rain, the first album to be credited to Prince and the Revolution, and, seven months after the album’s release, an edited version was also included as the B-side of Take Me With U, the album’s fifth and final single. The track is also featured in the movie Purple Rain. Prince first recorded a studio version of the song possibly on 7 December 1981 at Sunset Sound in Hollywood, California. And (with I Would Die 4 U) it was (possibly first) rehearsed with the band on 15 June 1983 at The Warehouse in St. Louis Park, Minnesota. And again on 21 June 1983, in a rehearsal session with the band that also included I Would Die 4 U and Possessed. It was recorded in rehearsal once more on 12 July 1983, before it was cut live on 3 August 1983 at First Avenue in Minneapolis, Minnesota (at the same concert where I Would Die 4 U and Purple Rain were also recorded). This First Avenue live version was eventually released, albeit with considerable overdubs. It was included as the eighth track on the 7 November 1983 configuration of the album, and the seventh track on the 23 March 1984 configuration, but became the eighth track on the final 14 April 1984 configuration after some track list changes to the album. In 1989, Tim Burton used Baby I’m A Star in a rough draft of the Batman movie, during a scene where The Joker leads a parade of large balloons, to indicate the kind of music he wanted in that scene. Once Prince was brought in to provide the music, he provided 200 Balloons as a replacement, which was eventually replaced itself by Trust. Recording Information Recording Sessions Date Studio Additional info Possibly 7 December 1981 Sunset Sound, Hollywood, CA, USA Preliminary version 21 June 1983 The Warehouse, St. Louis Park, MN, USA rehearsal recording 12 July 1983 The Warehouse, St. Louis Park, MN, USA rehearsal recording 3 August 1983 First Avenue Minneapolis, MN, USA Live recording 18 August 1983; 1 September 1983-7 September 1983; 9 September 1983- 12 September 1983 Sunset Sound - Studio 3, Hollywood, CA, USA Overdubs, mix Recording Personnel 1981 solo version Prince - all vocals and instruments Warehouse rehearsal version Prince - vocals Bobby Z. - drums and percussion Brown Mark - bass guitar and vocals Wendy Melvoin - guitars and vocals Lisa Coleman - keyboards and vocals Matt Fink - keyboards and vocals Don Batts - engineer (assumed) First Avenue live versions Prince - all vocals and overdubs on everything but drums Bobby Z. - drums and percussion Brown Mark - bass guitar and vocals Wendy Melvoin - guitars and vocals Lisa Coleman - keyboards and vocals Matt Fink - keyboards and vocals Jill Jones - vocals (uncredited) David Coleman - cello Novi Novog - violin and viola Suzie Katayama - cello David Z. - engineer (First Avenue) David Leonard - engineer (First Avenue) Peggy McCreary - engineer (Sunset) Versions Released Versions Title Length Released Version Additional info Baby I’m A Star 4:20 Purple Rain Strange Tales From The Rain promo Live with overdubs 3 August 1983, First Avenue version; (as recorded) from I Would Die 4 U Baby I’m A Star 4:20 Purple Rain Deluxe Expanded Edition Remastered 2015 Baby I’m A Star (Edit) 2:55 Take Me With U single Edit a.k.a. 7" B-Side Edit Baby I’m A Star (7" B-Side Edit) 2:55 Purple Rain Deluxe Expanded Edition - Single Edits & B-Sides Edit Remastered 2017 Baby I’m A Star 10:57 Prince And The Revolution: Live Live 30 March 1985, Carrier Dome, Syracuse, NY, USA Baby I’m A Star 11:33 Prince And The Revolution: Live (2022 re-release) Live 30 March 1985, Carrier Dome, Syracuse, NY, USA. Remastered 1999 / Baby I’m A Star / Push (Medley) (Live At Glam Slam 1992) 9:12 Diamonds And Pearls Super Deluxe Edition Live 11 January 1992, Glam Slam, Minneapolis, MN, USA Video Versions Title Length Released Version Additional info Baby I’m A Star 4:23 Purple Rain film Live version with overdubs Slightly longer version. Released on VHS and DVD Baby I’m A Star T.B.C. Purple Rain 20th Anniversary DVD Live concert promo video 20 November 1984, Capital Centre, Landover, MD, USA; See Baby I’m A Star video for more details Baby I’m A Star 10:00 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 Baby I’m A Star 1:39 Rave Un2 the Year 2000 VHS/DVD Live 18 December 1999, Paisley Park, Chanhassen, MN, USA 1999 / Baby I’m A Star / Push (Medley) (Live At Glam Slam 1992) 9:12 Diamonds And Pearls Super Deluxe Edition blu-ray Live 11 January 1992, Glam Slam, Minneapolis, MN, USA Let’s Go Crazy / Baby I’m A Star / Push (Medley) (Special Olympics 1991 Soundcheck) ?:?? Diamonds And Pearls Super Deluxe Edition blu-ray Live 20 July 1991, Special Olympics, The Metrodome, Minneapolis, MN Let’s Go Crazy / Baby I’m A Star / Push (Medley) (Special Olympics 1991) ?:?? Diamonds And Pearls Super Deluxe Edition blu-ray Live 20 July 1991, Special Olympics, The Metrodome, Minneapolis, MN Broadcasts/streaming (only) Title Length Released Version Additional info Baby I’m A Star T.B.C. Live performance TV broadcast Live 26 February 1985, Grammy Awards, Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles, California Baby I’m A Star T.B.C. Live concert radio broadcast Live 22 July 1990, Estadio Vicente Calderón, Madrid, Spain Baby I’m A Star T.B.C. Delayed concert TV broadcast Live 29 July 1990, Estadio Santa María del Mar, La Coruña, Spain Baby I’m A Star T.B.C. Delayed concert TV broadcast Live 31 August 1990, Tokyo Dome (東京ドーム), Tokyo, Japan Baby I’m A Star T.B.C. Delayed concert TV broadcast Live 19 January 1991 (a.m.), Estádio Jornalista Mário Filho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Let’s Go Crazy / Baby I’m A Star T.B.C. Live performance TV broadcast Live 20 July 1991, Special Olympics, The Metrodome, Minneapolis, Minnesota Baby I’m A Star T.B.C. Live radio broadcast Live 07 September 1993 (mat.), Simon Bates Show, BBC Broadcasting House, London, England; part of medley containing 1999 / Baby I’m A Star / America / D.M.S.R. / Pope / It’s Gonna Be A Beautiful Night 1999/Baby I’m A Star T.B.C. Delayed concert TV broadcast Live 17 October 2003, Támar Site, Admiralty, Hong Kong, China; 1999 intro only 1999/Baby I’m A Star T.B.C. Live awards performance TV broadcast Live 8 February 2004, 46th annual Grammy Awards Ceremony, Staples Center, Los Angeles, California; with Beyonce; 1999 intro only The Superbowl 11:52 Lotusflow3r.com video stream Live medley 4 February 2007, Dolphins Stadium, Miami Gardens, FL, USA; medley of We Will Rock You / Let’s Go Crazy / 1999 intro / Baby I’m A Star / Proud Mary / All Along The Watchtower / The Best Of U / Purple Rain 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 Baby I’m A Star Studio '81/'82 studio recording Baby I’m A Star rehearsal recording The Warehouse band version Baby I’m A Star Live recording 3 August 1983, First Avenue version; non-overdubbed live recording

Additional Information See also Trivia Purple Rain album Purple Rain Deluxe Expanded Edition Baby I’m A Star video In a notebook where Prince wrote his (undated) synopsis for what would become the movie Purple Rain and included in The Beautiful Ones book (released posthumously in 2019), Baby I’m A Star is listed as one of the songs to be included in the film (along with I Would Die 4 U, Moonbeam Levels, I Can’t Stop This Feeling I Got, Too Tough, Wouldn’t U Love To Love Me, I Just Wanna Be Rich and Bold Generation). The main of the song hook to the song bears a remarkable resemblance to (the intro of a 1979 live rendition of) Disco Child by Mind & Matter, Jimmy Jam’s first band. During the posthumous 2022 edition of the Prince Celebration at Paisley Park Studios, lyric sheets for Funky 4 No Reason, Free The Slave (possibly an alternative title for either Slave or Slave 2 The System), and a note titled Spy were displayed. Spy only contained lyrics from Baby I’m A Star and is therefore not considered as a different song (until further information, if any, becomes available). References The Vault: The Definitive Guide to the Musical World of Prince (2004) The Beautiful Ones (2019)

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