"Little Red Corvette" is a song by American recording artist Prince. The song combines a Linn LM-1 beat and slow synth buildup with a rock chorus, over which Prince, using several automobile metaphors, recalls a one-night stand with a beautiful promiscuous woman. Backing vocals were performed by Lisa Coleman and Dez Dickerson; Dickerson also performs a guitar solo on the song.
Released in 1983 as the second single from 1999, the song was, at that point, Prince's highest charting and his first to reach the top 10 in the U.S., peaking at number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was also his first single to perform better on the pop chart than the R&B chart. Later, it was rereleased as a double A-side with "1999", peaking at number two on the UK Singles Chart in January 1985. Following Prince's death in April 2016, "Little Red Corvette" re-charted on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 29, rising to number 20 the following week. It has sold more than 900,000 copies in the United States.
The initial US single was backed with album track "All the Critics Love U in New York", while UK releases featured "Lady Cab Driver" or "Horny Toad". An extended dance remix of "Little Red Corvette," featured on some 12" releases, was later featured on the 2006 compilation Ultimate.
Origins
Prince got the idea for the song when he dozed off in band member Lisa Coleman's 1964 pink Mercury Montclair Marauder after an exhausting all-night recording session. The lyrics came to him in bits and pieces during this and other catnaps. Eventually, he was able to finish it without sleeping.
Composition
"Little Red Corvette" is written in the key of D major and moves at a tempo of 123 beats per minute in common time. Prince's vocals span from A2 to D7 in the song. The lyrics use car imagery as a double entendre for sex, also making use of horse-related imagery for similar purposes. For this reason the song has been rated as "Explicit" (E) on the audio streaming service Spotify.
Jack Hamilton of Slate noted that the song is about "ambivalence, vulnerability, and fear" of casual sex. "It’s not about sex as fun...but rather about the entirety of the act: its physical, emotional, psychological, even spiritual dimensions. And uniquely, 'Little Red Corvette' isn’t really about anything other than sex." With its instrumentation of guitars, synthesizers, and a drum machine, Hamilton identifies "Little Red Corvette" as a post-disco song "in every respect."
Critical reception
Cash Box said that "a Vangelis-like synth bottom provides the smokey mood, while Prince’s vocals traverse from the plaintive to the depraved." Billboard called it "a typically racy rock number, thick with electronics" and said that Prince's urgent vocal performance "makes even the more innocent lyrics sound illicit."
Music video
"Little Red Corvette" (directed by Bryan Greenberg and released in February 1983) was Prince's second music video played on MTV. The first was "1999" the previous year before Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean" and after Musical Youth's "Pass the Dutchie". The video was filmed in late January 1983 at the Lakeland Civic Center during the final week of rehearsals for the second leg of the 1999 Tour.
Awards and accolades
Rolling Stone ranked the song #108 on its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time(2004). Dickerson's guitar solo was ranked #64 all time by readers of Guitar World. On Acclaimed Music the song is ranked the 179th greatest of all time as well as the third best of 1982.
Personnel
Credits sourced from Guitarcloud and Benoît Clerc
Prince – lead and backing vocals, electric guitar, bass guitar, Oberheim synthesizers, Linn LM-1, Pearl SY-1 Syncussion Dez Dickerson – electric guitar solo and backing vocals Lisa Coleman – backing vocals
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
References
External links
Uptown: The Vault – The Definitive Guide to the Musical World of Prince: Nilsen Publishing 2004,
1982 songs
1983 singles
Funk songs
Prince (musician) songs
Song recordings produced by Prince (musician) Songs about cars Songs about casual sex Songs written by Prince (musician) Warner Records singles Chevrolet Corvette