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In celebration of Prince’s acclaimed Controversy album, originally released 40 years ago on October 14, 1981, The Prince Estate and Warner Records are pleased to present yet another hidden gem from Prince’s storied Paisley Park vault: a previously unheard 1979 solo demo-recording of his quintessential slow-jam “Do Me, Baby.”
Available in two limited edition physical formats exclusively from the Official Prince Store: a special replica cassette single (limited to 1,981 units), and an etched 7” single pressed on purple vinyl. The replica cassette matches the original source format stored in Prince’s Paisley Park vault for decades, and the 7” vinyl incorporates Prince’s original hand-written lyrics for the song.
“Do Me, Baby” is best known as the centerpiece of 1981's Controversy, but Prince first recorded the song years earlier. A demo featuring Prince and his best friend and creative collaborator André Cymone was initially recorded in 1978. Then a year later, Prince fully reimagined the track as a solo recording during the April 1979 recording sessions for Prince at Alpha Studios in North Hollywood, CA, with overdubs added in the same period at Hollywood Sound Records in Hollywood, CA.
From that 2" multitrack master tape, a cassette rough mix – recently discovered in Prince’s legendary vault and labeled in the artist’s own handwriting – was rendered but ultimately shelved. This special release of “Do Me, Baby (Demo)” has been newly mixed to match the original demo cassette specs by Prince’s GRAMMY-nominated engineer Chris James, and mastered by Prince’s longtime collaborator and multiple GRAMMY-winning engineer Bernie Grundman.
Available in two limited edition physical formats exclusively from the Official Prince Store: a special replica cassette single (limited to 1,981 units), and an etched 7” single pressed on purple vinyl. The replica cassette matches the original source format stored in Prince’s Paisley Park vault for decades, and the 7” vinyl incorporates Prince’s original hand-written lyrics for the song.
“Do Me, Baby” is best known as the centerpiece of 1981's Controversy, but Prince first recorded the song years earlier. A demo featuring Prince and his best friend and creative collaborator André Cymone was initially recorded in 1978. Then a year later, Prince fully reimagined the track as a solo recording during the April 1979 recording sessions for Prince at Alpha Studios in North Hollywood, CA, with overdubs added in the same period at Hollywood Sound Records in Hollywood, CA.
From that 2" multitrack master tape, a cassette rough mix – recently discovered in Prince’s legendary vault and labeled in the artist’s own handwriting – was rendered but ultimately shelved. This special release of “Do Me, Baby (Demo)” has been newly mixed to match the original demo cassette specs by Prince’s GRAMMY-nominated engineer Chris James, and mastered by Prince’s longtime collaborator and multiple GRAMMY-winning engineer Bernie Grundman.
Additional Details
As was typical with Prince, he revisited the song afresh more than two years later when he created an entirely new solo recording of “Do Me, Baby” at Sunset Sound in June 1981. That master recording was released on October 14, 1981, as the epic final song on Side A of Controversy.
*Please note that we do not ship partial orders. Any items purchased in the same order as this media will be shipped at the same time as the media on its scheduled release date. Max order quantity of 2 units per person.
SIDE A
Do Me Baby
SIDE B
etching
*Please note that we do not ship partial orders. Any items purchased in the same order as this media will be shipped at the same time as the media on its scheduled release date. Max order quantity of 2 units per person.
SIDE A
Do Me Baby
SIDE B
etching
Customer Reviews
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Thomas Kozlowski jrFebruary 3, 2022So hard to believe that something this amazing just sat in the vault, I actually prefer this to the version on Controversy.
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ErosDecember 13, 2021It's astonishing really. It's almost as if we heard a reimagining of the iconic song itself. Despite it being unpolished, through this demo we're clearly hearing the artist at work experimenting with every element of the track until we finally got the second take that ended up on the Contraversy album. And for what it is, I gained not only a new perspective of this song, but even more of an appreciation for the piece. 100/10 will be playing this for my anniversary with my girlfriend. Long live the greatest musician that has ever lived?????
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Julie McNamaraOctober 14, 2021This gem is already on my iPhone! Cannot stop playing it. It’s so beautiful! Prince never fails to astound me with hidden treasures that have been tucked away in that incredible packed Vault! Love him and his amazing work!
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