Baby I'm a Star

"Baby I'm a Star"
Song by Prince and The Revolution
from the album Purple Rain
A-side	"Take Me with U" (US)
Released	June 25, 1984
Recorded	First Avenue, Minneapolis, August 3, 1983 (live recording) Sunset Sound, Los Angeles, Mid August-Mid September, 1983 (overdubs)
Genre	Hard rock [1] psychedelic rock [1] synth-funk [2]
Length	4:24 (Album Version) 2:55 (7" Edit)
Label	Warner Bros.
Songwriter(s)	Prince
Producer(s)	Prince

"Baby I'm a Star" is a song written and recorded by American musician Prince from his album Purple Rain . It is also the B-side on the "Take Me with U" single.

Release

"Baby I'm a Star" has been played live many times since its inception and was one of the songs Prince played during the Halftime Show of Super Bowl XLI. It was also in the original cut of Tim Burton's 1989 film Batman , used in the Joker's parade scene. However, when Prince agreed to compose the Batman soundtrack, he opted for the song to be replaced by "200 Balloons" (of which when rejected, turned up as a B-side on "Batdance") and later with "Trust", the latter of which seemed the most musically similar to "Baby I'm a Star", for both songs are about the same length, have a similar drum loop and lyrical pace. "Baby I'm a Star" is often played in sequence with "I Would Die 4 U", the track prior to it, on Purple Rain.

Personnel

Credits sourced from Duane Tudahl, Benoît Clerc, and Guitarcloud ^{[3] [4] [5]}

• Prince – lead and backing vocals, electric guitar, synthesizers, piano, Linn LM-1, handclaps, string arrangement
• Wendy Melvoin – electric guitar, backing vocals, string conductor
• Lisa Coleman – synthesizers, handclaps, backing vocals, string arrangement, string conductor
• Matt Fink – synthesizers (including solo)
• Brown Mark – bass guitar
• Bobby Z. – Simmons SDS-V, Pearl SY-1 Syncussion, cymbals
• Novi Novog – electric violin
• David Coleman – cello
• Suzie Katayama – cello
• Jill Jones – backing vocals

Cover versions and sampling

• 2000: Tina Turner recorded a version which is included on Target-exclusive greatest hits All That Glitters. It was also included on her Twenty Four Seven Tour and Celebrate! – 60th Birthday Special setlists.
• 2006: American artist P. Diddy sampled the song on his song "Special Feeling", featuring singer Mika Lett, released on his album Press Play .
• 2009: A cover by Craig Wedren was included on the Prince tribute compilation Purplish Rain . A free download of the song was offered by Spin magazine. ^[6]

References

1. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Prince / Prince & the Revolution - Purple Rain". Allmusic . Retrieved March 26, 2013.
2. Breihan, Tom (November 15, 2022). "Prince - "When Doves Cry". The Number Ones: Twenty Chart-Topping Hits That Reveal the History of Pop Music. New York: Hachette Book Group. p. 165.
3. Tudahl, Duane (2018). Prince and the Purple Rain Era Studio Sessions: 1983 and 1984 (Expanded ed.). Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN   9781538116432.
4. Clerc, Benoît (October 2022). Prince: All the Songs. Octopus. ISBN   9781784728816.
5. "Purple Rain". guitarcloud.org. Retrieved 2023-05-02.
6. "Get Your FREE Copy of SPIN's Prince Tribute!". SPIN.com. 12 June 2009. Retrieved 2011-10-22.