"I Wanna Be Your Lover" is a song by American recording artist Prince. It was released on August 24, 1979, as the lead single from his self-titled second album. The song was Prince's first major hit single in the United States, reaching number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 on January 26, 1980, holding the number 11 position for two weeks, and peaking at number one on the Billboard Hot Soul Singles chart for two weeks.

Composition

"I Wanna Be Your Lover" was written after Warner Bros. requested a follow-up to Prince's debut album For You, which had underperformed commercially. In response, Prince recorded "I Wanna Be Your Lover." Musically, it is a funk song sung exclusively in falsetto, detailing Prince's love for a woman and how he would treat her better than the men she is with, and frustration that she thinks of him as "a child". The single edit stops after 2:57, but the album version goes off on a jam of keyboards and synthesizers, including a Polymoog, played by Prince. It was later revealed that the song concerned a crush Prince had at the time on pianist and singer Patrice Rushen.

Promotion

Prince promoted the song by lip-syncing it with his band on The Midnight Special and American Bandstand, where he gave host Dick Clark an awkward interview, answering his questions with one-word answers. Prince claimed to be 19 but was 21 at the time. Clark later said, "That was one of the most difficult interviews I've ever conducted, and I've done 10,000 musician interviews." The song was also Prince's debut single released in the UK; it was not a hit, only reaching No. 41 on the UK Singles Chart and when Prince tried to promote it with shows in London, he was forced to cancel due to poor attendance. The song additionally reached No. 2 on the Hot Dance Club Play chart and No. 2 in New Zealand. Prince included a sample of this song in the opening of his 1992 hit single "My Name Is Prince".

Music video

There are two versions of the music video of the hit single. The main version has Prince in an unbuttoned leopard shirt and jeans singing alone in a black background with only a mic, notably with straight/wavy hair and a departure from his afro from a year before. Various shots show him playing the instruments by himself. The other version, which has not aired and was not featured on The Hits Collection compilation shows Prince and his band members performing the song in a painted room. The video was pulled due to skimpy clothing and a sexually suggestive theme (Prince was clad in blue stockings and a tan shirt).

Track listings

Personnel

Information taken from Benoît Clerc and Guitarcloud.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications