"International Lover"
Song by Prince
from the album 1999
LanguageEnglish
PublishedOctober 27, 1982 (1982-10-27)
RecordedJanuary 14, 1982
StudioSunset Sound Recorders
Length6:37
Songwriter(s)Prince
Producer(s)Prince

"International Lover" is a song by American musician Prince from the album 1999. It was the song for which he received his first Grammy Award nomination.

Details

"International Lover" was the final song on the 1999 double album. "International Lover" is associated with Prince as a descriptor of his personage.[1]

"International Lover" is one of the earliest examples of Prince performing a song for a lover who is the subject of the song.[2] The song's lyrics are seductive[3][4] and considered to be metaphorical with sex being compared to air travel and Prince serving as the captain.[5] Don Kaplan of the Daily News describes the song as "a sexy number where he invites a woman to board a plane dubbed the Seduction 747, which is 'fully-equipped with anything your body desires.'"[6]

It is considered to be one of the songs that vaulted him to stardom and a good example of his vocal range from bass to falsetto.[7][8] The song is also considered to be one of the best examples of Prince's screaming vocal machinations.[9] Prince received his first Grammy Award nomination (at the 26th Annual Grammy Awards in the Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male category) for "International Lover".[10]

Personnel

Credits sourced from Benoît Clerc, Guitarcloud, and Prince Vault.[11][12][13][nb 1]

Notes

  1. ^ Prince is generally credited for playing drums, but International Lover's final take was recorded the same day as the song's first take and The Walk by The Time, which both feature Morris Day behind the kit.[13]

References

  1. ^ France, Lisa Respers (April 22, 2016). "The women Prince loved". CNN. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  2. ^ Sweetman, Simon (June 24, 2013). "Prince's great Controversy". Stuff New Zealand. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  3. ^ Dukes, Howard (April 24, 2016). "The night Purple reigned in Michael Jackson's town". South Bend Tribune. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  4. ^ Gonzales, Michael A. (June 25, 2014). "'Purple Rain' Turns 30!". Ebony. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  5. ^ Runnells, Charles (April 21, 2016). "Runnells: My top 10 Prince songs". The News-Press. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  6. ^ Kaplan, Don (April 21, 2016). "Prince was a one-man sexual revolution whose gender-conscious style made him an undeniable icon". Daily News. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
  7. ^ Dillingham, Maud (April 22, 2016). "In Prince, an icon who defied easy categorization". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  8. ^ Gray, Madison J. (April 21, 2016). "Prince, the Musical Visionary of a Generation, Dead at 57". Ebony. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  9. ^ Schonfeld, Zach (June 7, 2015). "Prince's 30 Best Screams, Ranked". Newsweek. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  10. ^ Weiss, Shari (April 21, 2016). "Grammys Mourn Prince – See Statement From Grammy Awards Recording Academy". Gossipcop.com. Archived from the original on April 24, 2016. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
  11. ^ Clerc, Benoît (October 2022). Prince: All the Songs. Octopus. ISBN 9781784728816.
  12. ^ "1999". guitarcloud.org. Retrieved May 3, 2023.
  13. ^ a b "International Lover – Prince Vault". princevault.com. Retrieved May 3, 2023.
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