Songs covered by Prince

As with the samples list it needs some polishing, and the presentation in this form is not the most ideal, but here is here is the list of all covers Prince has performed during his career.

As you can see it’s a massive list and I’m sure it still has some omissions or songs that are listed in the wrong category. So, your comments are welcome. If you do have an addition, please be specific in which part of the list it should go and how it should be listed. also don’t forget to indicate which year(s) it was played et cetera. If possible, name the specific show you have heard this, so it’s easier to verify for us.

Again, much thanks to Housequake- member Rioub for helping compile this list.

See also the related list of Songs sampled in Prince’s work

Cover versions performed by Prince are identified, usually with information about either who wrote and/or originally performed the song and album release information where applicable. Prior to the mid-’60s, songs were often released as singles and only “retrospectively” placed on albums. The details about the cover songs no longer appear in the text the first time Prince performed the song, but instead are listed here. The cover song details are also no longer included as part of the information about every tour Prince has undertaken. Both songs that Prince played live in its entire and lyrics or melody taken from song originally released by other artists are included in the listing.

Songs by other artists are only included if Prince did write, or not share the writing credits of the original. For instance, “Utopia” (From GCS2000), written by Graham and Prince is not listed whereas other tracks from that album are. The rule applied is a writing credit; producing or playing on the original doesn’t count for it not to be a cover.

Songs are listed with the composer and the first released version. If a version of the song exists that is equally or more famous than the original rendition both versions are listed. For example, “Respect” is listed as both the Otis Redding original as the Aretha Franklin version. This is also the case if the arrangement as performed by Prince (clearly) follows a version that was not the first version to be released.

If a song is performed in the same year as both a (more or less) full version and quotes from the song used in another song, the latter is not noted.

If Prince uses a part of a song written by someone else in one of his studio-recordings, it is mentioned only in the list of studio-recording references. If the Prince composition with the reference is subsequently played live, the ‘quoted’ part is considered part of the Prince-track and therefore is not listed again.