Darling Nikki
{{song-2|
|song name = Darling Nikki
|single image = 
from the album Purple Rain
|performer = Prince and the Revolution
|first released = 25 June 1984 - Purple Rain album
|album(s) = Purple Rain
|writer(s) = Prince (credited to Prince and the Revolution)
|producer(s) = Prince (credited to Prince and the Revolution)
|previous song = Darlene Marie
|next song = Data Bank
|introduction = 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 1984-5. 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, initial tracking took place in August 1983 at Prince's Kiowa Trail Home Studio, Chanhassen, MN, USA. The song ends with a "backmasked" 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. |recording info = |- align="left" |style="border-top:1px dotted #ccc;"|August 1983 |style="border-top:1px dotted #ccc;"|Kiowa Trail Home Studio, Chanhassen, MN, USA |style="border-top:1px dotted #ccc;"|Initial tracking |recording personnel =
- Prince - all vocals and instruments
|released versions =
| Title | Length | Released | Version | Additional info |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Darling Nikki | 4:13 | Purple Rain |
Studio | |
| Darling Nikki | 4:13 | Purple Rain Deluxe |
Remastered 2015 |
|video versions = |- |style="color:#AB3E00" |Video Versions
|- | valign="top"|
| Title | Length | Released | Version | Additional info |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Darling Nikki | 4:00 | Prince And The Revolution: Live VHS/laserdisc |
Live | 30 March 1985, Carrier Dome, Syracuse, NY, USA |
|unreleased versions = |- |style="color:#AB3E00" |Unreleased Versions
|- | valign="top"|
| Title | Version | Additional Info |
|---|---|---|
| Darling Nikki | Studio | original full-length version with spoken intro and additional instrumental break |
|sampled in =
|broadcasts, streaming =
|first live appearance = 14 August 1984: First Avenue, Minneapolis, MN, USA
- 22 March 2016 (a.m.): Muzique, Montreal, QC, Canada (during sampler set)
|performed regularly on = Purple Rain Tour
|performed occasionally in = 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) |trivia = Notes from [[Prince]'s Dreams notebook that was on display in the 'My Name Is Prince' exhibit in the O<sub2</sub> in London reveal that Prince considered naming Vanity's character in the film Nicarthra Ann, Nikki for short. |see also = Purple Rain album
|references = The Vault: The Definitive Guide to the Musical World of Prince (2004)
- Prince and the Purple Rain Era Studio Sessions 1983 and 1984, Duane Tudahl (2017)
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parents_Music_Resource_Center
|categories = }}
