Song · Prince
“I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man” by Prince
From the album Sign “☮︎” the Times (1987)
“I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man” by Prince appears on 1 radio countdown from 1 station in 2018. It was first released in 1987 on the album Sign “☮︎” the Times. Its best result is #158 on The Current's 893 Essential Songs. In the combined RockLists rankings it is #3,244 indie & aaa song of all time.
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Prince had been sitting on "I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man" since 1979, when he first cut it during the sessions for his self-titled album, and he hauled it back out for Sign o' the Times in 1987. He gutted it and rebuilt it: a fresh LinnDrum pattern, then new bass, synthesizers, guitars and vocals, every part his own. It became the final single from that ninth studio album and its third Top 10 hit.
The setup is pure Prince: a woman wants him to fill the space another man left, and he turns her down, figuring a one-night stand would never satisfy her. It winds out on a long instrumental coda, and on the album cut he takes two guitar solos, one wild, one bluesy. Cash Box praised both the production and the playing.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 158 | The Current | The Current's 893 Essential Songs | 892 |
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