Prince If I Was Your Gilfriend (live)

Prince - Sign 'O' The Times Tour 1987 ~ If I Was Your Girlfriend If your idea of Prince is Purple Rain, When Doves Cry, Little Red Corvette, Raspberry Beret then If I Was Your Girlfriend might not be known to you as at very least a deeply cherished part of his repertoire - perhaps erroneously in some reporting described as 'considered one of his most notable songs'. There's definitely much debate amongst Prince purists about the ultimate Prince song (personally I'd take Pop Life any day) live or on record. Most would agree that Sign 'O' The Times is extremely rare in his live performances and deeply cherished for that and many reasons. I want to say that he played it once in his 21 night run at London's O2. "If I Was Your Girlfriend" was the second single off Prince's 1987 double album Sign 'O' the Times. While it's attained the stature it has in his ouevre it didn't chart well in the U.S. originally likely because of it's androgyneous inversion of a love story by a man. The track arose from the "Camille" project of 1986, which was to be released under the guise of an alter ego named Camille (see Prince's poem in the Lovesexy tour program), rather than by Prince. Regardless, the song is actually sung from a male perspective to a woman, wherein Prince explores the possibilities of a more intimate relationship if he were his lover's (platonic) girlfriend. It is believed that "If I Was Your Girlfriend" deals with the jealousy Prince felt at the close bond shared between then (platonic) girlfriend Susannah Melvoin with Wendy Melvoin. The Sign 'O' the Times was a short European only tour that came at a pivotal juncture in Prince's career. It was the first tour after his split with The Revolution (in particular long-time band members Wendy Melvoin, Lisa Coleman, Brown Mark, and Bobby Z who had been with him from the start in 1978). His new band known colloquially amongst fans as the "Lovesexy Band" did however have a few holdovers from the "Counter-Revolution" line-up (Miko Weaver, Eric Leeds, Atlanta Bliss, and long-time keyboardist Doctor Fink). Sheila E took over on drums while Levi Seacer, Jr. (from Sheila E's band and often used in studio with Prince) moved to bass. Boni Boyer was brought on board to play keyboard and organs and the Cat Glover rounded out the group as choreographer, dancer, and backing vocals. The typical setlist of the Sign 'O' The Times included Sign “O” the Times, Play in the Sunshine, Little Red Corvette, Housequake, Girls & Boys, Slow Love, I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man, Hot Thing, Now's the Time, If I Was Your Girlfriend, Let's Go Crazy, When Doves Cry, Purple Rain, 1999, Forever in My Life, Kiss, The Cross and It's Gonna Be a Beautiful Night. On some nights Mutiny, Raspberry Beret, La La La He He Hee, Dead on It, Condition of the Heart, and The Sex of It, were worked into some setlists. The recorded version of If I Was Your Girlfriend arose from one of those 'happy accidents' in the studio when according to engineer Susan Rogers, a rare technical error on her part led to distortion—albeit only on certain words- Rogers thought Prince "was going to rip my head off" for the mistake. After hearing the playback, Prince loved the effect, which is featured on the released version. The opening seconds include a sound collage that includes an orchestra tuning up, a salesman and a sample of Felix Mendelssohn's Wedding March. (a rare and from the looks of Prince's actually shocked face unscripted picture of him and Susannah Melvoin)