"Raspberry Beret" is a song written by American musician

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

and is the lead single from Prince & the Revolution's 1985 album ''

Around the World in a Day ''Around the World in a Day'' is the seventh studio album by American recording artist Prince, and the second release where his backing band The Revolution is billed. It was released on April 22, 1985, by Paisley Park Records and Warner Bros. R ...

''.

Background

The sound of the song expanded upon previous Prince arrangements, incorporating

stringed instruments String instruments, stringed instruments, or chordophones are musical instruments that produce sound from vibrating strings when a performer plays or sounds the strings in some manner. Musicians play some string instruments by plucking the st ...

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

ern

finger cymbal Zills or zils (from Turkish 'cymbals'), also called finger cymbals, are small metallic cymbals used in belly dancing and similar performances. They are called () in Egypt. They are similar to Tibetan tingsha bells. In Western music, several pai ...

s, and a

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...

on the extended version. The song was also more in the pop vein than before, though the

12-inch single The twelve-inch single (often written as 12-inch or 12″) is a type of vinyl ( polyvinyl chloride or PVC) gramophone record that has wider groove spacing and shorter playing time with a 'single' or a few related sound tracks on each surfac ...

and

video Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) syste ...

of the song feature a

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

y intro. The song tells of a teenage romance and first sexual experience with a girl who wears a raspberry-colored

beret A beret ( or ; ; eu, txapela, ) is a soft, round, flat-crowned cap, usually of woven, hand-knitted wool, crocheted cotton, wool felt, or acrylic fibre. Mass production of berets began in 19th century France and Spain, and the beret rema ...

. The extended version was included on the compilation album ''

Ultimate Ultimate or Ultimates may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Albums * ''Ultimate'' (Jolin Tsai album) * ''Ultimate'' (Pet Shop Boys album) *''Ultimate!'', an album by The Yardbirds *''The Ultimate (Bryan Adams Album)'', a compilatio ...

'' in 2006. While the song hit number one in ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' and reached number two on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in the US (behind "

A View to a Kill ''A View to a Kill'' is a 1985 spy film and the fourteenth in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions, and is the seventh and final appearance of Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Although the title is adapted ...

" by

Duran Duran Duran Duran () are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer and bassist Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor (bass guitarist), John Taylor. With the addition of drummer Roger ...

), it only reached number 25 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

Releases

The US

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

, "She's Always in My Hair", is a

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...

number, with guitar and

organs In biology, an organ is a collection of tissues joined in a structural unit to serve a common function. In the hierarchy of life, an organ lies between tissue and an organ system. Tissues are formed from same type cells to act together in a f ...

and emotional lyrics screamed toward the end. The UK B-side was "Hello", which was included on the U.S. release of " Pop Life".

Reception

'' described the single as "an immediately accessible track, melodic and teasingly sexual." Following Prince's death, "Raspberry Beret" re-charted on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 at number 33 on the chart dated the week of May 14, 2016. As of April 30, 2016, it has sold 691,421 copies in the United States.

Music video

The video for the song was directed primarily by Prince, with animation created by

Colossal Pictures Colossal Pictures (also styled as (Colossal) Pictures or (C)P) was an entertainment company that developed and produced television programming, advertising, network branding, and visual effects. Colossal's work has won every major industry award, ...

co-founder Drew Takahashi. It combines footage of Prince & The Revolution performing the song surrounded by dancers and overlaid with various animations. The video uses an extended version of the song with a longer intro. Guitarist

Pat Smear Georg Albert Ruthenberg (born August 5, 1959), better known by his stage name Pat Smear, is an American musician. He is best known for being the lead guitarist and co-founder of Los Angeles-based punk band The Germs and for being a rhythm guita ...

of Germs and

Foo Fighters Foo Fighters are an American rock band formed in Seattle in 1994. Foo Fighters was initially formed as a one-man project by former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl. Following the success of the eponymous debut album, Grohl (lead vocals, guitar) re ...

fame, appears as one of the background dancers in the video but, according to bandmate Dave Grohl, he was nearly fired. In the 2010 book ''I Want My MTV'', Grohl elaborates further: "everyone has to do a synchronized dance. Pat can't dance so they sent him home ..Prince whispers in the bodyguard's ear. The bodyguard says, "You can stay. He likes your hair." In the same book, producer Simon Fields also recalls production on the video: "For 'Raspberry Beret', we filmed a whole video, then Prince got a Japanese animator to do a completely different video and we mashed the two up." In an interview with Earl Jones, Jones recalls that Prince damaged his hair so poorly prior to the Raspberry Beret video that "the hairstyle... was literally all I could do with it."

Live performances

"Raspberry Beret" remained a perennial live favourite in Prince's concerts for many years. It was initially performed in a full version for his 1986 Hit N Run World Tour whilst later performances including those on his Lovesexy Tour feature it as a stripped-down piece performed solely by Prince on piano, often as part of a medley with other songs from around the same period.

Warren Zevon Warren William Zevon (; January 24, 1947 – September 7, 2003) was an American rock singer, songwriter, and musician. Zevon's most famous compositions include "Werewolves of London", " Lawyers, Guns and Money", and " Roland the Headless Th ...

performed the song on ''

Late Show with David Letterman The ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the The Late Show (franchise), ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by ...

''. Zevon had previously recorded a version as part of the Hindu Love Gods, which was released in 1990.

Legacy

"Raspberry Beret" is widely considered one of Prince's finest songs. In 2016, '' Paste'' ranked the song number eight on their list of the 50 greatest Prince songs, and in 2022, ''

American Songwriter ''American Songwriter'' is a bimonthly magazine covering songwriting. Established in 1984, it features interviews, songwriting tips, news, reviews and lyric contest. The magazine is based in Nashville, Tennessee. History The ''American Songwri ...

'' ranked the song number four on their list of the 10 greatest Prince songs.

Track listings

* US 7″ single :A. "Raspberry Beret" – 3:31 :B. "She's Always in My Hair" – 3:27 * US 12" single :A. "Raspberry Beret (New Mix)" – 6:34 :B. "She's Always in My Hair (New Mix)" – 6:32 * UK 7" single :A. "Raspberry Beret" – 3:31 :B. "Hello" – 3:23 * UK 12″ single :A. "Raspberry Beret (New Mix)" – 6:34 :B. "Hello (Extended Remix)" – 6:23

Personnel

– vocals, guitar, harmonica *

Brown Mark Mark Brown (born March 8, 1962), better known by the stage name Brown Mark, also styled Brownmark and BrownMark, is an American musician, bassist and record producer. Life and career Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, Brown's early ...

– bass, background vocals *

Wendy Melvoin Wendy Ann Melvoin (born January 26, 1964) is an American guitarist and singer-songwriter, best known for her work with Prince as part of his backing band The Revolution, and for her collaboration with Lisa Coleman as one half of the duo Wendy ...

– acoustic guitar, background vocals * Lisa Coleman – keyboards, background vocals *

Doctor Fink Matt Fink (born February 8, 1958), better known as Dr. Fink, is a keyboardist, producer, and songwriter best-known for playing keyboards in Prince's band, The Revolution. At Prince concerts, he was distinguished onstage for performing dressed i ...

– keyboards *

Bobby Z. Robert B. Rivkin (born January 9, 1956), better known by the stage name Bobby Z., is an American musician and record producer, most known as being the original drummer for Prince's backing band The Revolution from 1978 to 1986. Life and ca ...

– drums, percussion * David Coleman –

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...

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, fingercymbals *

Susannah Melvoin Susannah Melvoin (born January 26, 1964) is an American vocalist and songwriter. Melvoin is best known for her association with Prince in the mid-1980s. Melvoin comes from a musical family and is the twin sister of musician Wendy Melvoin, sister ...

– background vocals *

Novi Novog Novi Novog is an American viola player. She is sometimes simply credited as "Novi" and is a cousin of Lauren Wood (also known as "Chunky"). In 1973, Novi became one of three members of her cousin's band Chunky, Novi and Ernie with the bassist Ern ...

– violin * Suzie Katayama – cello

Charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 1985 singles Cashbox number-one singles Music videos directed by Prince (musician) Paisley Park Records singles Prince (musician) songs Song recordings produced by Prince (musician) Songs written by Prince (musician) Warner Records singles Psychedelic pop songs 1984 songs Berets