Prince wrote numerous hits for other artists

Prince had an eclectic range of influences

Early in his career, Prince would sometimes claim in interviews that he didn't listen to much music outside of his own. In later years, he'd admit that was a lie born out of arrogance. In reality, he listened to a wide array of artists, with great admiration for people like the Cocteau Twins, D'Angelo, Led Zeppelin, Joni Mitchell, Miles Davis, De La Soul, and many others. This survey of his career's interviews collects all those mentions of other artists, creating a fascinating database of the music that inspired Prince.

Prince often used pseudonyms when working with other people

Prince was seemingly everywhere in the '80s, though his ubiquity wasn't always apparent on the surface, thanks to a number of pseudonyms he used when contributing to other artists' projects.

In the week after his death, 5 Prince albums appeared in the Billboard top 10

After his death in 2016, the public revisited Prince's catalog in a big way. For the first time in modern Billboard history, half of the magazine's Billboard 200 was concurrently occupied by a single artist. Three of those titles were compilations ("The Very Best of Prince," "The Hits/The B-Sides," and "Ultimate"), with the remaining two taken by studio albums ("Purple Rain" and "1999").

Hal Prince holds the record for most Tonys, with 21

As the producer and director of iconic shows like "West Side Story," "Sweeney Todd," and "Evita," Hal Prince made a huge impression on Broadway history. This episode of the "Anything Goes" podcast is part of a three-part series that highlights the songs that defined Prince's career.

'Purple Rain' was a massive hit, in theaters and on radio

The semi-autobiographical film featured a first-time director and an amateur cast, yet it became a box-office hit, grossing over $70M. Likewise, the accompanying album was a huge success, with four songs reaching the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100. It was a watershed moment for Prince, who became a bona fide pop superstar.

Prince's 'Sign O' the Times' was considered a major artistic milestone

The double album was an ambitious collection of songs that traversed musical styles—drawing on the emerging hip-hop records of the genre's golden age and technological experimentation—and explored social issues, including the AIDS epidemic, addiction, and violence. It would go on to be one of the most critically acclaimed albums of the year and eventually be considered one of the most important in pop music history.

Prince's Super Bowl halftime show is widely considered one of the best

The 2007 performance was idiosyncratic, featuring a handful of songs by other artists (including Foo Fighters' "Best of You" and Jimi Hendrix's rendition of "All Along the Watchtower" and a torrential rainstorm. Its differences, along with Prince's legendary stage presence, have led many critics to call it the best Super Bowl halftime performance ever.

Prince wrote a song for Kenny Rogers under the name Joey Coco

The enigmatic artist was wildly prolific and, when he wasn't churning out his own records, often wrote and produced other people. He contributed "You're My Love" to country icon Kenny Rogers' 1986 album "They Don't Make Them Like They Used To," though you wouldn't have known that reading the record's credits because the song was attributed to Joey Coco, a pseudonym Prince sometimes used.

After Warner Bros signed him at 18, Prince wrote a song to thank them

The label scooped the young artist in 1977, eager to ink a deal with the promising young savant. In response, Prince wrote a song called "I Hope We Can Work It Out," which suggested together they'd make "Music for the young and old, music bound to be gold." An official recording of the song was never released, but the Minnesota Historical Society acquired the original handwritten lyrics in 2017. You can see them below.

Prince's first TV appearance was in 1980

Prince appeared on "The Midnight Special" on Jan. 11, 1980, and played two songs from his self-titled album, "I Wanna Be Your Lover" and "Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad." It's a goofy, lip-synced performance, as was not uncommon for music on TV at the time, but the 21-year-old, clad in thigh-high boots and leopard print, made the most of the performance, offering a preview of the over-the-top persona he'd refine over the next few decades.

Prince's sexually explicit 1984 track 'Darling Nikki' attracted the ire of the Parents Music Resource Center, an advocacy group that inspired the Parental Advisory sticker, even though the song ends with a Christian message.

Springsteen is considered one of rock's greatest songwriters

Springsteen is considered one of rock's greatest songwritersThe New Jersey native has sold over 150 million albums, won 20 Grammy Awards, and influenced several generations of heart-on-sleeve songsmiths. In 1999, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

The artists with the most No. 1 singles

Scoring a No. 1 single is a difficult task—less than 4% of the songs that have made Billboard's Hot 100 chart have ever reached the top spot. This list breaks down the most elite hitmakers in Billboard history, including the Supremes, Taylor Swift, and the Beatles, who released an incredible 20 No. 1 singles.

A comprehensive list of the best Bob Dylan covers

Bob Dylan’s songwriting quickly became part of the great American songbook, thanks in large part to many major artists of the '60s popularizing their own versions of his songs. As this list proves, though, that tradition continued all the way to today. Learn about essential covers of Dylan songs by Adele, Guns N’ Roses, The White Stripes, and others.

'Islands in the Stream' was another massive crossover hit for Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton

The country stars each earned their second pop No. 1 hits with the duet, eventually selling over 3 million units. In 1998, the Fugees’ Pras scored a hit with an interpolation of the song on his track “Ghetto Supastar (That Is What You Are),” which was eventually certified platinum.

Prince's 'Darling Nikki' inspired an '80s censorship campaign

The song, which tells the story of the titular "sex friend," was repeatedly cited by Elizabeth "Tipper Gore," the wife of then Senator Al Gore, in her work leading the Parents Music Resource Center, a group of women advocating for parental advisories on explicit music recordings. "Darling Nikki" was included on the group's "Filthy 15" list, alongside songs by Madonna, Cyndi Lauper, and others.

Watch Taylor Swift write a song

Taylor Swift is one of the most famous and successful entertainers of the modern era, whose music wins fans and Grammy awards, and secures billions of streams on Spotify. In this clip from the Netflix documentary Miss Americana, Taylor lets cameras film her in the process of writing a song.

'Success has brought me world idolization and millions of pounds. But it's prevented me from having the one thing we all need: A loving, ongoing relationship.'

- Queen frontman Freddie Mercury (1946-1991)

The band 'The Bangles' was initially named 'The Bangs'

Legal troubles forced the band to change their name. See a slew of other music facts, like how Taylor Swift's "All Too Well (Taylor's Version) is the longest song to reach number one on the US singles chart. The song is over 10 minutes long, and surpassed Don McLean's "American Pie."

Performance artist Laurie Anderson had an unexpected pop hit with 'O Superman'

Anderson was a working performance artist in New York through the 1970s and pressed a small run of the song—an idiosyncratic, vocoder-driven piece that sounded unlike anything on pop radio. Thanks to a push from influential British DJ John Peel, the song became an unexpected hit, propelling Anderson (and her art) into the mainstream.

Sun Records was responsible for some of rock 'n' roll's biggest artists

Memphis' Sun Records was one of the most important labels in American musical history, releasing pivotal records by Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison, and countless others.

Why Neil Young is sometimes called 'the godfather of grunge'

The legendary singer-songwriter's work with his band Crazy Horse, especially "Rust Never Sleeps" and "Ragged Glory," married infectious melodies with overpowering guitars, a formula that many grunge acts would replicate. Young would go on to perform with Pearl Jam (like in the performance of "Rockin' in the Free World" below) and record the 1995 album "Mirror Ball" with them.

In addition to his plays, Shakespeare wrote nearly 200 poems

Beyond his famous plays, Shakespeare penned 154 sonnets, including the well-known romantic ode “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” He also wrote two long poems as well as several minor pieces.

Carole King regrets writing a song excusing domestic violence

While working at the Brill Building, Carole King became one of the architects of the classic girl group sound, penning hits like the Shirelles’ “Will You Love Me Tomorrow” and the Chiffons’ “One Fine Day.” One song she regrets writing, though, is the Crystals’ “He Hit Me (It Felt Like a Kiss),” a song she now believes normalizes domestic violence.

Brian Wilson said ‘Be My Baby’ is ‘the greatest record ever produced’

The legendary Beach Boy was shocked the first time he heard the Ronettes’ song. “I was driving and I had to pull over to the side of the road — it blew my mind.” He claims he spent his career trying in vain to do something as good. “It’s the greatest record ever produced. No one will ever top that one.”

The Clash's breakthrough hit wasn't listed on ‘London Calling’

“Train in Vain” was a hit in the US, something that hadn’t yet happened for other first-wave punk acts. But the song was added to “London Calling” at the last minute, after the record jackets were already printed, making it one of the more popular “hidden tracks” in popular music.

The Beatles' US label rejected the band's first two singles, 'Please Please Me' and 'From Me to You,' with one executive calling the band 'dead in the water.'

A small portion of The Winstons' 'Amen, Brother,' an obscure '60s gospel record, is the basis for thousands of hip-hop tracks, making it one of the most sampled records ever that's informally known as 'the Amen break.'

A century of Billboard issues documenting the evolution of popular music.

One disco producer saw 'Star Wars' four times on its opening weekend and was so inspired that he recorded the album 'Star Wars and Other Intergalactic Funk,' which produced a chart-topping single.

Quincy Jones' 'Big Band Bossa Nova' helped introduce bossa nova—a jazz-influenced Brazilian genre—to the US

In preparation for this weekend's Eurovision finale, which is something like the World Cup of pop music, here's a young Céline Dion performing (for Switzerland?) at the 1988 competition.

The Ramones' 'Pet Sematary,' the theme song for the Stephen King novel of the same name, was written while the band was admiring the writer's collection of horror memorabilia.

English mathematician Ada Lovelace wrote the first computer algorithm a century before computers existed and hypothesized that computing devices would one day be able to compose music—foreseeing the generative AI systems of today.

The power and influence of the American presidency have expanded significantly over time—far beyond what the founders envisioned.

Warren Buffett's former professor Benjamin Graham is known as the 'father of value investing,' a strategy in which investors seek to buy stocks trading below their intrinsic worth.

Art theft is the third-largest source of criminal revenues worldwide, thanks in part to the subjective nature of valuing a work of art.

The Nasdaq's 'Magnificent 7' companies are responsible for roughly 40% of the Nasdaq 100 index's gains, while the remaining 93 companies account for the other 60%.

SpongeBob exemplifies Aristotle's philosophy for living well because he understands that happiness doesn't come from external factors like money, recognition, or power.

American short story writer Flannery O'Connor raised 40 peacocks, which became potent symbols for her fiction's elegant violence

The 19th-century painters of the Hudson River School were among the first American romantics, with portraits that displayed the natural beauty of the young country.

Mark Twain spent decades feuding with the US Postal Service, convinced its costs and regulations were bureaucratic overreach.

Explore a list of the 100 best novels of all time, compiled by some of the world's best living writers, including Salman Rushdie, Stephen King, and Jennifer Egan.

Many legends about George Washington, including his supposed wooden teeth and the story of cutting down the cherry tree, lack evidence.

One of the most famous portraits ever taken is 'Afghan Girl' (1984) by Steve McCurry, yet the subject Sharbat Gula went much of her life without being identified or benefitting from the image's success.

A Yale student wrote a profound essay about the consulting industry's influence on elite college students that was published in a book of her writing after she died in a post-graduation car accident.

Poison ivy is in the same family as mangoes, cashews, and pistachios—and they all produce oily urushiol in their raw, unprocessed state—but they are typically prepared in ways to avoid causing human discomfort.

Domino's Pizza's 30-minute delivery guarantee was responsible for the chain's 1980s surge, but it was discontinued after the company was found liable for delivery driver accidents.

44% of Americans say they pray at least once a day—discover how your state's religiosity stacks up against the rest of the country.

Firework or sparkler burns, even if they cover a relatively small area of skin, can significantly affect our range of motion.