"When Doves Cry" is a song by American musicianPrince, and the lead single from his sixth studio albumPurple Rain. According to the DVD commentary of the filmPurple Rain (1984), Prince was asked by directorAlbert Magnoli to write a song to match the theme of a particular segment of the film that involved Prince's character The Kid's intermingled parental difficulties with his father Francis L. (Clarence Williams III) and mother (Olga Karlatos) and a love affair with Apollonia (Apollonia Kotero). The next morning, Prince had composed two songs, one of which was "When Doves Cry". According to Prince's biographerPer Nilsen, the song was inspired by his relationship withVanity 6 memberSusan Moonsie.
"When Doves Cry" was Prince's firstBillboard Hot 100 No. 1 single, staying there for five weeks, and was also a worldwide hit. According toBillboard, it was the top-selling single of 1984. It is certifiedPlatinum by theRecording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[8] It was the last single released by a solo artist to receive a Platinum certification before the certification requirements were lowered in 1989. "When Doves Cry" was ranked number one on theBillboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1984. Following Prince's death in 2016, the song re-charted on theBillboard Hot 100 chart at number eight, its first appearance in the top 10 since the week ending September 1, 1984.
The music video, directed by Prince, premiered onMTV in June 1984. It opens with white doves emerging from double doors to reveal Prince in a bathtub, then shows him performing the song in various scenes. The video sparked controversy among network executives, who thought that its sexual nature was too explicit for television. "When Doves Cry" is ranked number 37 onRolling Stone's list of the500 Greatest Songs of All Time and is included inThe Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.[9]
Prince wrote and composed "When Doves Cry" after all the other tracks were complete onPurple Rain. In addition to providing vocals, he played all instruments on the track. The song's texture is remarkably stark. There is nobass line, which is very unusual for an '80sdance song; Prince said that there originally was a bass line but, after a conversation with singerJill Jones, he decided that the song was too conventional with it included.[10] The song features aguitar solo intro and aLinn LM-1drum machine, followed by alooped guttural vocal. After the lyrics, there is another, much longer, guitar andsynthesizer solo. The song ends on aclassical music-inspiredkeyboard piece backed by another synthesizer solo. KeyboardistMatt Fink revealed in 2014 that thebaroque synthesizer solo was recorded by Prince at half speed and an octave lower against a half-speed backing track, then sped up to create the final version. Fink was then tasked to learn and perform the solo at the album's speed.[11]
On versions edited for radio, either the song fades out as the long guitar and synthesizer solo begins, or the solo is eliminated altogether and the song skips to the ending with Prince's harmonizing and classical finish.
During live performances of the song on thePurple Rain Tour, Prince's bass playerBrown Mark added bass lines to the song as well as to other songs without bass lines.[12]
In its contemporary review of the song,Cash Box said that "featuring ethereal lyrics, a pounding backbeat and a sometimes ominous musical atmosphere, this single again proves Prince to be one of the most provocative and sophisticated artists in the business."[14]
TheB-side was the cult fan favorite "17 Days", which was originally intended forApollonia 6'sself-titled album. A12-inch single issued in the UK included "17 Days" and two tracks from Prince's previous album,1999: itstitle track and "D.M.S.R.". The entire title of "17 Days (the rain will come down, then U will have 2 choose, if U believe, look 2 the dawn and U shall never lose)" is now the longest-titled flip side of a Hot 100 No. 1, with 85 letters and/or numbers.
"When Doves Cry" became one of Prince'ssignature songs.Spin magazine ranked "When Doves Cry" the No. 6 song of all time.[citation needed] In 2021,Rolling Stone ranked "When Doves Cry" No. 37 on its list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".[16] In 2006,VH1's "The 100 Greatest Songs of the '80s" ranked the song at No. 5. On October 13, 2008, the song was voted No. 2 onAustralian VH1's Top 10 Number One Pop Songs countdown. The "80 of the 80s" podcast ranks it as the No. 59 song of the decade.[17] In 2016,Paste ranked the song number three on their list of the 50 greatest Prince songs,[18] and in 2022,American Songwriter ranked the song number two on their list of the 10 greatest Prince songs.[19]
"When Doves Cry" was licensed for use in film or television for the first time in 2025, being employed in theseries finale of theNetflix streaming seriesStranger Things.
Themusic video (directed by Prince himself) was released onMTV in June 1984. It opens with whitedoves emerging from double doors to reveal Prince in abathtub. It also includes scenes from thePurple Rain film interspersed with shots ofThe Revolution performing and dancing in a white room. The final portion of the video incorporates a mirrored frame of the left half of the picture, creating a doubling effect. The video was nominated forBest Choreography at the1985 MTV Video Music Awards.[20] The video sparked controversy among network executives, who thought that its sexual nature was too explicit for television.
American singerQuindon Tarver recorded a version of "When Doves Cry" (formatted as"When Dove's Cry") for thesecond volume of theRomeo + Juliet soundtrack. Released as a single in June 1997, Tarver's version became a top-three hit in Australia, reaching number three on theARIA Singles Chart that July. It also charted in New Zealand, where it peaked at number 34 on theRIANZ Singles Chart the following month.
A cover version by American singerGinuwine was produced byTimbaland and released a month after Tarver's version, on July 25, 1997, for Ginuwine's albumThe Bachelor; Ginuwine's cover uses actual dove sound effects as texture for the song. The officialmusic video for this version was directed byMichael Lucero.[81]
^abBreihan, 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. 166.
^"100 Greatest Funk Songs".Digital Dream Door. August 7, 2008.Archived from the original on September 25, 2010. RetrievedOctober 7, 2021.
