"I Wanna Be Your Lover" is a song by American recording artist

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. ...

. It was released on August 24, 1979, as the

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release s ...

from his second album, ''

''. The song was Prince's first major hit single in the United States, reaching number 11 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 on January 26, 1980, holding the number 11 position for two weeks, and peaking at number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot Soul Singles chart for two weeks.

Composition

"I Wanna Be Your Lover" was written after Warner Bros. requested a follow-up to Prince's debut album '' For You'', which had underperformed commercially. In response, Prince recorded "I Wanna Be Your Lover." Musically, it is a funk song sung exclusively in falsetto, detailing Prince's love for a woman and how he would treat her better than the men she is with, and frustration that she thinks of him as "a child". The single edit stops after 2:57, but the album version goes off on a jam of keyboards and synthesizers, including a

Polymoog The Polymoog is a hybrid polyphonic analog synthesizer that was manufactured by Moog Music from 1975 to 1980. The Polymoog was based on divide-down oscillator technology similar to electronic organs and string synthesizers of the time. Histo ...

, played by Prince. It was later revealed that the song concerned a crush Prince had at the time on pianist and singer

Patrice Rushen Patrice Louise Rushen (born September 30, 1954) is an American jazz pianist and R&B singer. She is also a composer, record producer, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and music director. Her 1982 single "Forget Me Nots" received a Grammy Awar ...

Promotion

Prince promoted the song by lip-syncing it with his band on '' The Midnight Special'' and ''

American Bandstand ''American Bandstand'', abbreviated ''AB'', is an American music-performance and dance television program that aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989, and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as the pr ...

'', where he gave host

Dick Clark Richard Wagstaff Clark (November 30, 1929April 18, 2012) was an American radio and television personality, television producer and film actor, as well as a cultural icon who remains best known for hosting '' American Bandstand'' from 1956 to 19 ...

an awkward interview, answering his questions with one-word answers. Prince claimed to be 19 but was 21 at the time. Clark later said, "That was one of the most difficult interviews I've ever conducted, and I've done 10,000 musician interviews."Bream, Jon
"Clark long remembered his tough interview with a quiet Prince,"
StarTribune, Minneapolis, MN, May 3, 2013. Retrieved on December 18, 2015. The song was also Prince's debut single released in the UK; it was not a hit, only reaching No. 41 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 ...

and when Prince tried to promote it with shows in London, he was forced to cancel due to poor attendance. It would not be until '' Purple Rain'' (1984) that Prince would break big in Europe. The song additionally reached No. 2 on the Hot Dance Club Play chart and No. 2 in New Zealand. Prince included a sample of this song in the opening of his 1992 hit single " My Name Is Prince".

Music video

There are two versions of the music video of the hit single. The main version has Prince in an unbuttoned leopard shirt and jeans singing alone in a black background with only a mic, notably with straight/wavy hair and a departure from his afro from a year before. Various shots show him playing the instruments by himself. The other version, which has not aired and was not featured on The Hits Collection compilation shows Prince and his band members performing the song in a painted room. The video was pulled due to skimpy clothing and a sexually suggestive theme (Prince was clad in blue stockings and a tan shirt).

Track listings

;7" single *A. "I Wanna Be Your Lover" (edit) – 2:57 *B. "My Love Is Forever" – 4:08 ;7" single (UK) *A. "I Wanna Be Your Lover" (edit) – 2:57 *B. "Just as Long as We're Together" (edit) – 3:25 ;7" single (DEU) *A. "I Wanna Be Your Lover" (edit) – 2:57 *B. "Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?" – 3:49 ;12" single (UK) *A. "I Wanna Be Your Lover" – 5:47 *B. "Just as Long as We're Together" – 6:24 ;12" promo *A. "I Wanna Be Your Lover" (edit) – 2:57 *B. "I Wanna Be Your Lover" – 5:57

Personnel

– lead and backing vocals, rhythm and bass guitar, keyboards and synthesizers,

polymoog The Polymoog is a hybrid polyphonic analog synthesizer that was manufactured by Moog Music from 1975 to 1980. The Polymoog was based on divide-down oscillator technology similar to electronic organs and string synthesizers of the time. Histo ...

, drums

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Cover versions

*In 1991, hip hop artist M-Doc sampled this song in his single "Are U Wid It?". *In 1994, Gayle & Gillian Blakeney covered the song, which was entitled "Wanna Be Your Lover". It peaked at number 62 on the UK Singles Chart. *In 2009,

Patrick Stump Patrick Martin Stumph (born April 27, 1984), known professionally as Patrick Vaughn Stump, is an American musician, singer, and songwriter. He is the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the rock band Fall Out Boy, originally from Wilmette, ...

did a cover of the song in a RollingStone.com exclusive video. *

Millie Jackson Mildred Virginia Jackson (born July 15, 1944) is an American R&B and soul recording artist. Beginning her career in the early 1960s, three of Jackson's albums have been certified gold by the RIAA for over 500,000 copies sold. Jackson's songs o ...

also covered the track, changing the opening line to "I've got plenty of money..." *

Haywoode Haywoode (Sidney Haywoode, London) is an English female singer. She is best known for the 1986 UK top 20 hit single, "Roses". She later also recorded under the name Sid Haywoode. Career Haywoode trained from an early age at London's Corona Sta ...

covered the song on her 1985 album ''Arrival''. *Rapper

50 Cent Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), known professionally as 50 Cent, is an American rapper, actor, and businessman. Born in the South Jamaica neighborhood of Queens, Jackson began pursuing a musical career in 2000, when he produced ...

added his own verse to the song, dubbing the resulting song "Your Favorite". * In 2010, Japanese pop band

Nona Reeves Nona Reeves () stylized NONA REEVES is a Japanese pop band founded in 1995 by musicians Gota Nishidera, Kensuke Okuda and Shigeru Komatsu. The name Nona Reeves derives from the respective name and surname of Nona Gaye and Martha Reeves. In 1996 ...

released a cover version. *In 2011,

Corinne Bailey Rae Corinne Jacqueline Bailey Rae (; born 26 February 1979) is an English singer and songwriter. She is best known for her 2006 single "Put Your Records On". Bailey Rae was named the number-one predicted breakthrough act of 2006 in an annual BBC po ...

released a cover of the song on her '' The Love E.P.'' *In 2011, Guga Neiva released a cover as lead single on debut album, ''17''. *In 2011, Max Tundra put out a version that sounds like it was recorded lower and slower and then sped up to achieve a falsetto effect on the lead vocal. *In 2012, the song was performed as part of a

medley on the reality singing contest The Voice by the judges (

Christina Aguilera Christina María Aguilera (; ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and television personality. Known for her four-octave vocal range and ability to sustain high notes, she has been referred to as the " Voice of ...

Cee Lo Green Cee or CEE may refer to: * C, third letter of the Latin alphabet * Cee, Spain, A Coruña, Galicia * Center for Excellence in Education, US * Central and Eastern Europe Central and Eastern Europe is a term encompassing the countries in the ...

Adam Levine Adam Noah Levine (; born March 18, 1979) is an American singer and songwriter. He serves as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the pop rock band Maroon 5. Levine began his musical career in 1994 with the band Kara's Flowers, of which ...

and

Blake Shelton Blake Tollison Shelton (born June 18, 1976) is an American country music singer and television personality. In 2001, he made his debut with the single "Austin". The lead-off single from his self-titled debut album, "Austin" spent five weeks at ...

), with

performing his solo part on this song. *Singer

Kimbra Kimbra Lee Johnson (born 27 March 1990), known mononymously as Kimbra, is a New Zealand singer and songwriter. Known for mixing pop with R&B, jazz and rock musical elements, her accolades include four ARIA Music Awards, two Grammy Awards and s ...

has performed "I Wanna Be Your Lover" numerous times in her live shows, later stating in an interview that she felt the song was "incredible." A video of her performance was posted on her official

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

channel, but was later taken down for copyright reasons, which has happened numerous times with videos featuring

's compositions. *In 2013 on the 12th Annual Honda Civic Tour, pop rock band

Maroon 5 Maroon 5 is an American pop rock band from Los Angeles, California. It currently consists of lead vocalist Adam Levine, keyboardist and rhythm guitarist Jesse Carmichael, lead guitarist James Valentine (musician), James Valentine, drummer Matt ...

performed the song regularly as a part of their set.

References

{{authority control Prince (musician) songs Songs written by Prince (musician) 1979 singles Warner Records singles Song recordings produced by Prince (musician) 1979 songs