When You Were Mine
Encyclopedia
"When You Were Mine" is a song written and released by Prince
on his 1980 album, Dirty Mind
. Though not released as a single, the song received a promotional 12" release (which included "Gotta Broken Heart Again" and "Uptown
"). "When You Were Mine" was later the B-side for Prince's "Controversy
" single in 1981.
Prince has performed the song many times in concert, and a live version was included on his 2002 live album, One Nite Alone... Live!
. The original studio version was also included on The Hits/The B-Sides
in 1993. Prince said he was inspired to write the rock song while listening to John Lennon
. The track is full of guitar licks, and includes a Farfisa
-inspired organ sound played on an Oberheim OB-X
.
's mid-tempo ballad cover version of "When You Were Mine" is also synthesizer
-based for her debut album, She's So Unusual. It was released as the album's seventh and final single from her album. Lauper did not change the pronoun gender in the song lyrics, which caused it to allude that the lost love to whom she is singing is another woman or a gay/bisexual man. Lauper performed the single at the 1985 American Music Awards
. It was released exclusively as a promotional single in the United States and receive a commercial release in the Canada and Japan.
and David Surkamp's Seattle-based band Hi-Fi were the first to record a cover version of the song, for their 1981 album Moods for Mallards. The version features Matthews on lead vocals. It was released on cd in 2006 by Blue Rose Records on the compilation, Hi-Fi: Complete Works.
In 1983, Mitch Ryder
released his cover of "When You Were Mine" as a single. It was also a track on his album Never Kick a Sleeping Dog. The single featured production work by John Mellencamp
and was released on his record label, Riva Records
. The track received some airplay in the United States and charted on the Billboard Hot 100
. The video starred Kitten Natividad
. Ryder's version also appeared in the 1984 film Hot Dog... The Movie
.
Prince (musician)
Prince Rogers Nelson , often known simply as Prince, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Prince has produced ten platinum albums and thirty Top 40 singles during his career. Prince founded his own recording studio and label; writing, self-producing and playing most, or all, of...
on his 1980 album, Dirty Mind
Dirty Mind
Dirty Mind is the third studio album by American musician Prince, released October 8, 1980 on Warner Bros. Records. Produced, arranged and composed primarily by Prince, it contains prominently sexual lyrics and incorporates musical elements of funk, dance and rock music. The album debuted at number...
. Though not released as a single, the song received a promotional 12" release (which included "Gotta Broken Heart Again" and "Uptown
Uptown (song)
"Uptown" was the lead single in the U.S. to Prince's third album, Dirty Mind. Beginning with a lone drum intro, the track explodes into the keyboards of the chorus. The verses feature a more prominent funk guitar. The song breaks down to a more instrumental section toward the end that is mainly...
"). "When You Were Mine" was later the B-side for Prince's "Controversy
Controversy (song)
"Controversy" is the title track and lead single to the 1981 album by Prince. One of his most respected classic funk songs, "Controversy" addresses certain speculation about Prince at the time such as his sexuality, religion and racial background, and how he could not understand the curiosity...
" single in 1981.
Prince has performed the song many times in concert, and a live version was included on his 2002 live album, One Nite Alone... Live!
One Nite Alone... Live!
One Nite Alone... Live! is a live album box set by Prince and The New Power Generation, containing live recordings from the intimate One Nite Alone... Tour performances...
. The original studio version was also included on The Hits/The B-Sides
The Hits/The B-Sides
-Disc 2 :-Disc 3 :...
in 1993. Prince said he was inspired to write the rock song while listening to John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
. The track is full of guitar licks, and includes a Farfisa
Farfisa
Farfisa is a manufacturer of electronics based in Osimo, Italy.The Farfisa brand name is commonly associated with a series of compact electronic organs, and later, a series of multi-timbral synthesizers. At the height of its production, Farfisa operated three factories to produce instruments, in...
-inspired organ sound played on an Oberheim OB-X
Oberheim OB-X
The Oberheim OB-X is an analog polyphonic synthesizer. It was the first Oberheim synthesizer that was created with internal prewired modules and not with the bulky SEM modules. Because of this, it was more functional for live performance, and therefore more portable. It was introduced in 1979 and...
.
Cyndi Lauper version
Cyndi LauperCyndi Lauper
Cynthia Ann Stephanie "Cyndi" Lauper is an American singer, songwriter, actress and LGBT rights activist. She achieved success in the mid-1980s with the release of the album She's So Unusual and became the first female singer to have four top-five singles released from one album...
's mid-tempo ballad cover version of "When You Were Mine" is also synthesizer
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
-based for her debut album, She's So Unusual. It was released as the album's seventh and final single from her album. Lauper did not change the pronoun gender in the song lyrics, which caused it to allude that the lost love to whom she is singing is another woman or a gay/bisexual man. Lauper performed the single at the 1985 American Music Awards
American Music Awards
-Conception:The AMAs were created by Dick Clark in 1973 to compete with the Grammys after the move of that year's show to Nashville, Tennessee led to CBS picking up the Grammy telecasts after its first two in 1971 and 1972 were broadcast on ABC...
. It was released exclusively as a promotional single in the United States and receive a commercial release in the Canada and Japan.
Charts
| Chart (1985) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canadian Singles Chart Canadian Singles Chart The Canadian Singles Chart is currently compiled by the U.S.-based music sales tracking company, Nielsen SoundScan . The chart is compiled every Wednesday, and is published by Jam! Canoe on Thursdays.... |
62 |
Cover versions
Iain MatthewsIain Matthews
Iain Matthews is an English musician and songwriter. He was born Iain Matthew McDonald, in Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, England. He was known in the 1960s first as Ian McDonald, then as the 1960s progressed, as Ian Matthews...
and David Surkamp's Seattle-based band Hi-Fi were the first to record a cover version of the song, for their 1981 album Moods for Mallards. The version features Matthews on lead vocals. It was released on cd in 2006 by Blue Rose Records on the compilation, Hi-Fi: Complete Works.
In 1983, Mitch Ryder
Mitch Ryder
William S. Levise, Jr , better known by his stage name Mitch Ryder, is an American musician who has recorded over two dozen albums in more than four decades.-Career:...
released his cover of "When You Were Mine" as a single. It was also a track on his album Never Kick a Sleeping Dog. The single featured production work by John Mellencamp
John Mellencamp
John Mellencamp, previously known by the stage names Johnny Cougar, John Cougar, and John Cougar Mellencamp, is an American rock singer-songwriter, musician, painter and occasional actor known for his catchy, populist brand of heartland rock that eschews synthesizers and other artificial sounds...
and was released on his record label, Riva Records
Riva Records
Riva Records was a record label founded the UK in 1975 by Billy Gaff, manager of Rod Stewart.Rod Stewart signed to the label in the UK, but stayed with Warner Bros. Records in the US. Another well known artist on the label was John Cougar Mellencamp, distributed by PolyGram in the US, and WEA in...
. The track received some airplay in the United States and charted on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
. The video starred Kitten Natividad
Kitten Natividad
Kitten Natividad is a Mexican American film actress and exotic dancer, noted for her 44-inch chest and appearances in cult films by her ex-partner, director Russ Meyer.-Early years:...
. Ryder's version also appeared in the 1984 film Hot Dog... The Movie
Hot Dog... The Movie
Hot Dog…The Movie is a teen comedy film released in January 1984. The film went on to gross over $17 million and became one of the iconic teen comedies of the 1980s.-Premise:...
.
Other cover versions
- Bette Bright and The IlluminationsBette BrightBette Bright is an English rock singer.-Career:In the late 1970s Bright was a singer for the art rock band Deaf School. After Deaf School disbanded, Bright went solo with her backing band, 'The Illuminations'. Band members were Henry Priestman , Rusty Egan and Glen Matlock...
released a 7" single on the KorovaKorova (record label)Korova is a record label, distributed by the Warner Elektra Asylum group of record companies.The imprint was founded in 1979 as an outlet for Echo & the Bunnymen, with its first album release being their debut Crocodiles...
label in 1981, and on the 1981 album Rhythm Breaks the Ice. - New York No WaveNo WaveNo Wave was a short-lived but influential underground music, film, performance art, video, and contemporary art scene that had its beginnings during the mid-1970s in New York City. The term No Wave is in part satirical word play rejecting the commercial elements of the then-popular New Wave genre...
singer CristinaCristina (singer)-Studio albums:* Cristina * Sleep It Off * Doll in the Box - Expanded re-issue of Cristina* Sleep It Off - Expanded re-issue-Singles:* "Disco Clone"...
for her 1984 album, Sleep It OffSleep It OffSleep It Off is the second album from No Wave pop singer Cristina.-Music:Sleep It Off was produced by Don Was. The songs were written by Cristina collaborating with Was and her backing musicians, Barry Reynolds and Ben Brierly , and Doug Frieder...
. - The Blue Rubies (Susan Maunu and Mitzi Johnson) performed a version accompanied only by a luteLuteLute can refer generally to any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back, or more specifically to an instrument from the family of European lutes....
. It can be heard on the 1989 compilation, Legacy: A Collection of New Folk MusicLegacy: A Collection of New Folk Music- Legacy II: A Collection of Singer-songwriters :The second volume was released several years after the first. As Will Ackerman's liner notes explain:...
. - Swiss band Züri WestZüri WestZüri West is one of Switzerland's best-known rock bands. The majority of their lyrics are written in Bernese German.The name is ironic and refers to Bern as merely being a place west of Zürich or as the westside of Zürich....
released a Swiss German version, "I ha di gärn gha", on their 1994 album Züri West. - Australian singer Penny FlanaganPenny FlanaganPenny Flanagan attended high school at Monte Sant' Angelo Mercy College and is a Sydney based singer/songwriter and novelist. Her musical career began in 1989 when she cut her teeth on the workings of the Australian music industry as one half of the widely acclaimed folk-pop duo, Club Hoy...
released an acoustic version on her 1996 album, Seven Flights Up. - Japanese rock band The PillowsThe PillowsThe Pillows are a Japanese rock band. The group has released more than a dozen original studio albums, along with several EPs, singles and compilations...
on the B-side of their 1996 single, "Swanky StreetSwanky Street"Swanky Street" is a maxi single by the Japanese rock band The Pillows. It is considered one of the band's the best songs amongst fans. The song was included on their 1997 release Please Mr. Lostman. "Swanky Street" was featured ending music on an Asahi TV music program...
". - Ani DiFrancoAni DiFrancoAni DiFranco is an American Grammy Award-winning singer, guitarist, poet, and songwriter. She has released more than 20 albums, and is widely considered a feminist icon.-Biography:...
performed the song with Maceo ParkerMaceo ParkerMaceo Parker is an American funk and soul jazz saxophonist, best known for his work with James Brown in the 1960s, as well as Parliament-Funkadelic in the 1970s. Parker was a prominent soloist on many of Brown's hit recordings, and a key part of his band, playing alto, tenor and baritone saxophones...
as an encore live performance in Minnesota in 1999. DiFranco and Parker often collaborate with Prince. - Crooked FingersCrooked FingersCrooked Fingers is a North Carolina band led by former Archers of Loaf lead singer Eric Bachmann. The band was previously based in Seattle, Washington and Atlanta, Georgia before moving to Denver. The band released albums on WARM Records and Merge Records before going completely independent in 2008...
on their 2002 EP, Reservoir SongsReservoir SongsReservoir Songs is an EP recorded by the indie rock band Crooked Fingers and released in 2002. A five song EP which collects some of the band's favorite covers which they had been playing for the past couple of years on tour, it marks the first release for Crooked Fingers on the Merge Records label...
. - Casiotone for the Painfully AloneCasiotone for the Painfully AloneCasiotone for the Painfully Alone was the musical solo-project of musician Owen Ashworth of Redwood City, California.-History:Ashworth started CFTPA after he dropped out of film school in 1997...
on their 2005 single, "Young Shields". - BoyracerBoyracer-History:Boyracer was founded by vocalist/guitarist Stewart Anderson in 1990 and released their first single in 1991. Richard Adams left the group in 1993, after which the group released its first EP, Naked. They then arranged to release further recordings via Sarah Records including two more EPs...
on their 2007 release, Jukebox Volume One. - Joshua James on his 2007 album, Joshua James and the Runaway TrainsJoshua James and the Runaway TrainsJoshua James and The Runaway Trains is the third studio album by Joshua James. It has been released by Old Freight Rail Records in Select markets as of 2007 and will be fully released in 2008....
. - Australian alternative rock band GrinspoonGrinspoonGrinspoon are an Australian rock band from Lismore, New South Wales formed in 1995 and fronted by Phil Jamieson on vocals and guitar with Pat Davern on guitar, Joe Hansen on bass guitar and Kristian Hopes on drums. Also in 1995, they won the Triple J-sponsored Unearthed competition for Lismore,...
recorded a cover for radio station Triple JTriple Jtriple j is a nationally networked Australian radio station intended to appeal to listeners between the ages of 18 and 30. The government-funded station is a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation...
's popular Like a VersionLike A VersionLike a Version is a segment on the Australian radio station Triple J. It was created by Mel Bampton as part of the Mel in the Morning program. Currently the segment pops up whenever artists are available and willing to do it, though mainly on the Breakfast show...
segment, and it appears on the 2010 album, Like a Version: Volume Six. - Tegan and SaraTegan and SaraTegan and Sara are a Canadian indie band composed of identical twin sisters Tegan Rain Quin and Sara Keirsten Quin . Both Tegan and Sara play guitar and keyboard and write songs.-History:...
- Dent MayDent May-Biography:May attended Jackson Prep, then later NYU Film School and Ole Miss, where he studied English and Southern studies, and found his home in the music of Serge Gainsbourg and Lee Hazlewood...
& His Magnificent Ukelele - Heidi MortensonHeidi MortensonHeidi Mortenson is a Danish electronic composer, singer and producer. Heidi is performing live as a onewomanband building up songs by sampling her voice through efx pedals imitating instruments and singing....
from the free double album Run For Covers (2010)