Controversy

Prince recorded the track in late spring or summer 1981 at his Kiowa Trail Home Studio in Chanhassen, Minnesota, then completed the album with overdubs and mixing at Sunset Sound in Hollywood, California, in August 1981. Lisa Coleman added backing vocals, and Morris Day is credited with possible drum involvement on the studio version. Released in September 1981 as the lead single from Controversy, it became a sharp statement of Prince’s public persona and the social attention surrounding his sexuality, race, religion, and image. It reached number 3 on Billboard’s Hot Soul Singles chart and became his first number 1 on the dance chart. The song remains one of Prince’s defining early statements and a staple of his catalog, later reissued and performed in live versions. It has also been recognized in retrospective rankings of great dance tracks, underscoring its lasting cultural reach.