"The Ballad of Dorothy Parker" is a song written and performed by

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 ...

. It is the fourth track on his 1987

double album A double album (or double record) is an audio album that spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically either records or compact disc. A double album is usually, though not always, released as such because the recording i ...

'' Sign o' the Times'', and features a reference to one of Prince's favorite artists,

Joni Mitchell Roberta Joan "Joni" Mitchell ( Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian-American musician, producer, and painter. Among the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitchell became known for her sta ...

. The track was planned to be the album's fifth and final single, but this never came to fruition and remains unreleased in that format.

Background

Prior to the release of his album ''

Parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, float (parade), floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually ce ...

'', Prince had already begun recording music for his next project. One of the first things he worked on was this track, which was being recorded on newly installed equipment, according to Prince's engineer

Susan Rogers Susan Rogers is an American professor, sound engineer and record producer best known for being Prince’s staff engineer during his commercial peak (1983-1987), including albums like '' Purple Rain'', ''Around the World in a Day'', ''Parade'', ''Si ...

: Eventually, Rogers realized a fatal error which meant that the whole recording sounded like it was underwater: The issue was resolved after the discovery that only half of the bipolar power supplies on the console was on, but it wasn't fixed for the track, retaining its "underwater" quality. Lyrically, the track mentions a waitress who offers him a bath, which retrospectively fits the recording's underwater sound. The track makes a reference to one of Prince's favorite artists,

, by one of her songs. Midway through the song, the lyrics "...and it was Joni singing 'help me, I think I'm falling'..." reference Mitchell's biggest hit single, " Help Me". A few months after the track's recording, the two tried to collaborate on a track, with Prince sending her the track "Emotional Pump" to sing. Mitchell rejected the track, reasoning that the track was too risqué. Despite this, the two continued to praise each other's work, even after Prince's death.

Personnel

Credits from Duane Tudahl, Benoît Clerc and Guitarcloud *

– lead and backing vocals,

Yamaha DX7 The Yamaha DX7 is a synthesizer manufactured by the Yamaha Corporation from 1983 to 1989. It was the first successful digital synthesizer and is one of the best-selling synthesizers in history, selling more than 200,000 units. In the early 1980 ...

, Fairlight CMI,

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs generated s ...

, bass guitar,

Linn LM-1 The Linn LM-1 Drum Computer is a drum machine manufactured by Linn Electronics and released in 1980. It was the first drum machine to use samples of acoustic drums, and one of the first programmable drum machines. Its designer, the American en ...

* Susannah Melvoin – backing vocals

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ballad of Dorothy Parker 1987 songs Prince (musician) songs Songs written by Prince (musician)