Kiss (Prince song)

"Kiss" is a 1986 single by Prince and The Revolution, from the album Parade.

The song ranked number 464 on the Rolling Stone list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.[2] NME ranked the song number 4 in their list of The 150 Greatest Singles of All Time. The same magazine voted "Kiss" the best single of the year 1986.

Contents 1 Version history, development and release 2 Music video 3 Track listings 4 Charts 5 Art of Noise feat. Tom Jones version 5.1 Track listings 5.2 Charts 6 Other cover versions/appearances in media 7 Notes 8 External links

Version history, development and release
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"Kiss" started as a short acoustic demo, about a minute in length, consisting of a single 12-bar blues verse. Prince gave the song to the funk band Mazarati for their debut album. Mazarati and producer David Z drastically reworked the song, giving it its stripped-down minimalist sound. When Mazarati delivered the song to Prince, he was amazed at their work and decided to take back the song for himself. He replaced their lead vocal, added the guitar break in the chorus and edited the song to its present form. Mazarati were credited for their backing vocals, which Prince left intact. Prince added the song at the last minute to Parade.

Despite Warner Bros. not wanting to release it as a single, "Kiss" became Prince's third number-one U.S. hit following 1984's highly successful "When Doves Cry" and "Let's Go Crazy". It was also a big hit across the Atlantic, reaching #6 on the UK Singles Chart. The song won Prince another Grammy Award for Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group, and was nominated for Best Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Song.[3] The song has become a staple at Prince's concerts and is usually sung partially by the audience.

The 12" single of the song is an extension of the album track. The extended section is based on the funky guitar line and contains much fuller instrumentation than the main track, including bass guitar, organ and horns. New lyrics are present from Prince, along with Jill Jones, that end with a humorous dialogue between a wife and her husband watching Prince on television. The B-side of "Kiss" was "♥ or $" ("Love or Money"), sung in a processed, higher-pitched vocal, which Prince would later use for his Camille material. The song relates to the theme in Under the Cherry Moon, and a bit of the song was heard in the film, as was a bit of the extended version of "Kiss". The extended "Kiss" was included on 2006's Ultimate; "♥ or $" was recently re-released as a digital B-side on iTunes.

Music video
The music video is directed by Rebecca Blake. In the plot of the video, Prince appears in a half shirt and leather jacket and then all shirtless and performs dance choreography in a hall. He is accompanied by the veiled dancer Monique Manning wearing black lingerie and aviator sunglasses while Revolution member Wendy Melvoin sits playing guitar.

Track listings
7" single 1."Kiss" – 3:46 2."♥ or $" – 3:57

12" single 1."Kiss" (extended version) – 7:16 2."♥ or $" (extended version) – 6:50

CD single 1."Kiss" (extended version) – 7:16 2."Girls & Boys" – 5:30 3."Under the Cherry Moon" – 2:57

Charts
Chart (1986)

Peak position

U.S. Billboard Hot 100 1 U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play 1 U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs 1 Canadian Singles Chart 4 UK Singles Chart 6 Irish Singles Chart 11 German Singles Chart 4 Austrian Singles Chart 8 Swiss Singles Chart 3[4] Dutch Top 40 2 French Singles Chart 29 Norwegian Singles Chart 10 Swedish Singles Chart 16 New Zealand Singles Chart 2 Australian Singles Chart 2

Preceded by "Rock Me Amadeus" by Falco Billboard Hot 100 number one single April 19, 1986 – April 26, 1986 Succeeded by "Addicted to Love" by Robert Palmer Preceded by "What Have You Done for Me Lately" by Janet Jackson Billboard's Hot R&B Singles & Tracks number-one single March 22, 1986 Succeeded by "I Have Learned to Respect the Power of Love" by Stephanie Mills Preceded by "I Can't Wait" by Nu Shooz Billboard Hot Dance Club Play number-one single April 12, 1986 – April 19, 1986 Succeeded by "Whenever You Need Somebody" by O'Chi Brown

Art of Noise feat. Tom Jones version
"Kiss"

Single by Art of Noise featuring Tom Jones

from the album The Best of The Art of Noise

B-side "E.F.L."

Released October 28, 1988

Format 7" vinyl, 12" vinyl

Recorded 1987

Genre Synthpop, funk

Length 3:30

Label Polydor

Writer(s) Prince

Producer(s) Anne Dudley, J. J. Jeczalik

Art of Noise chronology

"Dragnet (The '88 Mix)" (1988) "Kiss" (1988) "Paranoimia '89" (1989)

Tom Jones chronology

"I Was Born to Be Me" (1987)[5] "Kiss" (1988) "Move Closer" (1987)

In 1988, British synthpop group Art of Noise released a cover of the song, featuring British singer Tom Jones on vocals. The song became the band's biggest hit to that point, reaching number eighteen on the US dance chart[6] and number five on the UK Singles Chart, higher than the original in that country. The guitar and horns break in the middle of this cover musically references the themes to Dragnet and Peter Gunn (two songs the Art of Noise covered with much commercial success) as well as their own breakthrough hit, "Close (To the Edit)" and "Paranoimia", their 1986 collaboration with Max Headroom. This cover was later included as part of an episode of the series Listed on MuchMoreMusic, which was on the Top 20 cover songs. It can also be heard during the main title sequence of the movie My Stepmother Is an Alien. Tom Jones later recorded a version of the song for his 2003 Reloaded: Greatest Hits album.

Track listings

7" single 1."Kiss" – 3:30 2."E.F.L." (The Art of Noise) – 5:15

12" single 1."Kiss" (The Battery Mix) – 8:17 2."Kiss" (7" version) – 3:30 3."E.F.L." – 5:15

CD single 1."Kiss" (7" version) – 3:30 2."E.F.L." (The Art of Noise) – 5:15 3."Kiss" (The Battery Mix) – 8:17

Charts

Chart (1988–1989)

Peak position

Australia (ARIA)[7] 8 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[8] 4 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[9] 5 Germany (Official German Charts)[10] 16 Ireland (IRMA) 8 Italy (FIMI)[11] 25 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[12] 6 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[13] 1 Norway (VG-lista)[14] 8 Spain (AFYVE)[15] 1 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[16] 5 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[17] 11 UK Singles (The Official Charts Company) 5 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 31 U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play 18 U.S. Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks 14

Preceded by "Angel of Harlem" by U2 New Zealand Singles Chart February 24, 1989 – March 2, 1989 Succeeded by "She Drives Me Crazy" by Fine Young Cannibals

Other cover versions/appearances in media
"Kiss"

Single by Age of Chance

Released 1986

Writer(s) Prince

Another early cover version was released in 1987 by the Dutch rock band Bertus Staigerpaip under the title "Rits" (zipper), Their version sung in a Prince-like falsetto by drummer Edwin Broeders, the Dutch lyrics are about a guy having trouble with a pair of pants with a busted zipper. Musical wise their version follows the original pretty closely, until the guitar solo where it suddenly goes from funk into hard rock. Bertus Staigerpaip still perform "Rits" live combining it with Tom Jones' version where Broeders shows the flexibility of his voice by going from falsetto to baritone, aping Jones' vocals. Julia Roberts performed the song in her star-making 1990 film Pretty Woman. Kiss is featured as a sample in the Britney Spears' unreleased demo "Guilty" (known also as "Guilty Kiss" for the same reason) Alicia Keys, Gwen Stefani and Missy Elliott performed the song during their appearance on the 2004 BRIT Awards.[18] "Kiss" is Norma Jean's (Nicole Kidman) heartsong in the 2006 animated film Happy Feet. The song is sung by Kidman and Hugh Jackman, as a mash-up with the song "Heartbreak Hotel". The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain has covered the song for their third album A Fist Ful Of Ukuleles in 1994 and included it in their best of album Top Notch from 2006. German singer/band leader Max Raabe and Palast Orchester covered in cabaret/big band style for his 2001 album Super Hits.[19] The song was released as the first solo single from WWIII frontman, Mandy Lion in 2008.[20] The song is covered by Richard Thompson using acoustic guitar and percussion in his 1000 Years of Popular Music show and related live albums and DVD. The song is covered by Tony DeSare on his "Last First Kiss" album. The song is performed live by Westlife on their The Greatest Hits Tour. The song is covered on the TV series Glee in the 37th episode, Sexy. At the 2011 CMT Music Awards, Lady Antebellum performed the song after their original song Just a Kiss. A remix of the track by DJ Z-Trip was unofficially released with raps by Murs. A cover of the song including a segment of the song Corcovado was done by the Klazz Brothers with vocalist Edson Cordeiro on the album Klazz Meets the Voice released in 2007. The song is covered by Maroon 5 on their album Overexposed, released in June 2012. Belgian Selah Sue has performed the song live on several occasions. The song is covered by Celine Dion for her residency show at Las Vegas since 2015. The song is covered by Howard Tate on his 2003 album Rediscovered.
 * An early cover of the song was released in 1986 by Age of Chance. The single was accompanied by a video which received some airplay on MTV in the United States, and reached #50 on the pop charts in the United Kingdom in early 1987.[citation needed]