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Sign o' the Times cover

Album dossier / 1987

Sign o' the Times

Prince · Funk/Pop

Sign o' the Times rose from the ashes of three albums Prince scrapped in 1986 -- the band-driven Dream Factory, the androgynous alter-ego project Camille (built on pitch-shifted vocals), and the triple-LP Crystal Ball -- after he disbanded the Revolution and lost Wendy & Lisa. Engineer Susan Rogers, his studio right hand throughout, recalled sessions running full 24-hour cycles at Sunset Sound Studio 3 and at his Galpin Boulevard home studio, with the Fairlight CMI, Linn LM-1 and Yamaha DX7 driving the sound and the Camille voice achieved by slowing the tape and pitching Prince's vocal up on tracks like 'Housequake' and 'If I Was Your Girlfriend.' Warner Bros. forced him to cut the planned triple album down to a double LP; the result peaked at #6 on the Billboard 200, went platinum, and is now widely ranked among his very best work.

Record facts

Label
Paisley Park/Warner Bros.
Producer
Prince
Chart peak
#6 Billboard 200
Notable tracks
  • Sign o' the Times
  • If I Was Your Girlfriend

Artist & discography

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Source register

pistand.com, magazine.waxpoetics.com, en.wikipedia.org · cover art: coverartarchive.org

Last enriched: 2026-08-24