Sign 'O' the Times at 30: 10 facts about Prince's finest album

This Friday, join Drive host Rich Terfry as he celebrates the career and legacy of the legendary Prince with a deep dive into his most critically acclaimed album, Sign o' the Times. Tune in for songs and stories behind the influential album, as it turns 30 this year: Friday at 6 p.m. (6:30 NT), on CBC Radio 2 Drive.

It's been a year since the death of Prince and in reflecting on his musical legacy, we are taking a close look at Sign "O" the Times, arguably his definitive album which recently marked its 30th anniversary.

While 1984's Purple Rain and the film of the same name were a pop culture phenomenon, vaulting Prince to superstar status, his ninth album, Sign "O" the Times, is his definitive work, a distillation of his musical range and seemingly endless virtuosity.

Here are 10 things you may not know about Prince's best album.

1. It was supposed to be a triple album

Sign "O" the Times was originally intended to be a triple album entitled Crystal Ball. However, Prince's label refused to release it, and after more recording sessions — including songs from another unreleased project Dream Factory — he ended up with the double album we now know as Sign "O" the Times.

2. Prince's fiancée was a co-writer

Prince wrote "Starfish and Coffee" in collaboration with his fiancée, Susannah Melvoin, sister of Wendy Melvoin, who was a member of Prince's band, the Revolution. The song's nursery-rhyme feel is no mistake: it was partly inspired by an eccentric classmate the Melvoin sisters had growing up. Prince would later perform the song with the Muppets.

3. It marked Prince's return as a solo act

Sign "O" the Times featured Prince as a completely solo artist for the first time in many years. The immediately preceding albums — Purple Rain, Around the World in a Day and Parade — were recorded with his band, the Revolution. However, Prince fired most of band after a European tour where relationships deteriorated.

4. Some of the songs were intended for 'Camille'

Sign "O" the Times also contains songs that were originally intended for a Prince alter ego named Camille. Prince conceived the androgynous character the day after firing the Revolution, when he recorded "Housequake." The Sign "O" the Times single "If I Was Your Girlfriend," is also considered to be a Camille song.

5. Prince wanted a hit single

Prince's "U Got the Look" was an unapologetic attempt to craft a hit single in the vein of Robert Palmer's "Addicted to Love." The video for the song, featuring the Scottish singer Sheena Easton, was filmed in Paris and was part of the Sign "O" the Times concert film.

6. The album includes a happy mistake

"The Ballad of Dorothy Parker" was actually derived from a mistake and was the first song recorded at Prince's Paisley Park compound. According to Prince engineer Susan Rogers, Prince was impatiently trying to capture the inspiration he'd garnered by listening to Kate Bush, but because of his impatience with equipment getting installed in his new recording space, the song, which also incorporated Joni Mitchell's "Help Me," was recorded without any high-end frequencies.

7. Some elements were recorded via telephone

The rap on the song "It's Gonna be a Beautiful Night," performed by Prince's longtime percussionist Sheila E. and referred to as "transmississippirap," is actually from an Edward Lear poem and was recorded onto the album via a phone conversation. The rest of the song is from one of the Revolution's last live performances while on tour in Europe.

8. The album addressed a pressing social issue

In addition to the music, Sign "O" the Times packed a social punch: the album's title track makes reference to the AIDS crisis at a time when the disease was just emerging into the public consciousness.

9. The concert film was not widely seen

Prince's 1986 film Under the Cherry Moon, a musical drama, was roundly criticized and not a successful box office release and may have impacted the very short run of the Sign "O" the Times concert film. Consequently, the film has rarely been seen or made available to purchase for North American audiences since.

10. The Joshua Tree edged out Sign "O" the Times

Sign "O" the Times was nominated for best album at the Grammys but ultimately lost to U2's The Joshua Tree. The album garnered a total of three Grammy nominations and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2017.

— Del Cowie, q digital staff