"Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?" is the US follow-up single to

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. T ...

's first big hit, "

I Wanna Be Your Lover "I Wanna Be Your Lover" is a song by American recording artist Prince. It was released on August 24, 1979, as the lead single from his second album, ''Prince''. The song was Prince's first major hit single in the United States, reaching number 11 ...

". It is also Prince's first

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

-inspired single release. It did not make the

top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or "cont ...

of the

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streamin ...

charts, although it did reach #13 on the R&B Singles charts. The lyrics explore a relationship with a cruel lover. The song prominently features

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

and bass, with the

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

featured in a less prominent role. A highlight of the song is a soaring guitar solo at the end, played by Prince himself. The song was played live on Prince's first three tours, always being the second number. The extended lyrics on the live version continue the main theme, although, later on the ''

Dirty Mind ''Dirty Mind'' is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Prince. It was released on October 8, 1980, by Warner Bros. Records and produced entirely by Prince at his home studio in Minneapolis, Minnesota ...

'' tour, these were replaced by screaming "bitch!" and following this with a blazing guitar solo. The B-side of the song was "Baby" (from '' For You'') in the US and "

Bambi ''Bambi'' is a 1942 American animated drama film directed by David Hand (supervising a team of sequence directors), produced by Walt Disney and based on the 1923 book ''Bambi, a Life in the Woods'' by Austrian author and hunter Felix Salten ...

" in New Zealand. In 1987, the song was covered by American actress turned singer

Tuesday Knight Tuesday Lynn Knight (born Monday, February 17, 1969) is an American actress, singer and designer. She is best known for her role as Kristen Parker in the 1988 film '' A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master'', replacing Patricia Arquette i ...

's self-titled debut album. In September 2009, Prince released a recording of a live performance of the song at

Paisley Park Studios Paisley may refer to: *Paisley (design), an ornamental Persian pattern or motif commonly identified with the town of Paisley, Renfrewshire, in west Scotland People * Paisley (name), including a list of people with the name * Lord Paisley, in the ...

on the Internet.

Charts

Personnel

Information taken from Benoît Clerc and Guitarcloud. *

- lead and backing vocals, electric guitars, clavinet, Yamaha CP-70 electric grand piano, Oberheim 4-Voice, ARP String Ensemble, bass guitar, drums *

André Cymone André Cymone (born Andre Simon Anderson; June 27, 1958) is an American bassist, songwriter and record producer. Cymone was a bass guitarist for Prince's touring band, pre-Revolution. Cymone began a solo career in 1981. His song, "The Dance El ...

- backing vocals

References

{{Authority control Prince (musician) songs Songs written by Prince (musician) 1980 singles Warner Records singles 1979 songs Song recordings produced by Prince (musician)