Album of the Day

By the mid-1980s, Prince was dominating the charts even as a writer/producer with songs he'd composed and recorded for others. In addition to releasing nine of his most commercially successful full-length albums, he also wrote and recorded endless reels of material for proteges. Released last month, ORIGINALS features 15 tracks – all but one previously unreleased - that illuminate the vital, behind-the-scenes role Prince played in other artists' careers. Among the iconic songs here are “The Glamorous Life,” “Manic Monday,” “Jungle Love” and “Love... Thy Will Be Done,” which became considerable hits when recorded by Sheila E., The Bangles, The Time and Martika. ORIGINALS pulls back the curtain to reveal the origins of these familiar songs, in addition to deeper album cuts by such performers as Vanity 6, Jill Jones and Kenny Rogers.