With the shocking news of Prince’s death, the icon’s towering influence on music is being celebrated. On top of solo hits like “Little Red Corvette,” and “I Wanna Be Your Lover,” the rock star’s influence has trickled down to the works of musicians like Stevie Nicks, Sheila E, and Chaka Khan among others.
In fact, some could argue that some of today’s award-winning artists owe their careers to the Minneapolis native. Take for instance Sinead O’Connor’s “Nothing Compares 2 U,” which shot the singer to super stardom. Or the key advice he gave pop music’s reigning queen, Beyoncé.
“I was really curious as to how much she knew musically and I was really pleased to find out that she knew a lot about scales. Mixolydian scales and Egyptian styles and different things like that and … I was trying to show her some chords on the piano and help her to respect the fact that if she learns piano a la Aretha Franklin and Ray Charles … and things like that I mean … the sky’s the limit as to what she can do, ’cause she’s so very talented,” he once said of schooling the “Formation” singer on the importance of education.
While Prince has crafted numerous albums, reshaping the music industry, some of his most successful hits may actually surprise you, especially since he wasn’t featured on the tracks. For seven hits you probably know, but never knew were written by Prince, hit the flip.
