11 Songs You Didn’t Know Were Written By The Late Music Icon Prince

It wasn’t just his own songs that he added his unique flair to. Here are just a few of the handful of songs written by Prince for other artists…

Alicia Keys – ‘How Come You Don’t Call Me’
Few people realise that this early Alicia Keys cut – taken from her debut album ‘Songs In A Minor’ – was actually a cover of a lesser-known 80s track by Prince.

Chaka Khan – ‘I Feel For You’
Both ‘I Feel For You’ and Prince’s single ‘I Wanna Be Ur Lover’ were actually written for Patrice Rushen.

While the former went on to become a hit for Chaka Khan, the latter is now considered one of Prince’s trademark tunes.

Cyndi Lauper – ‘When You Were Mine’
Similarly, this Cyndi Lauper tune – which featured on her breakthrough album ‘She’s So Unusual’ – was also originally recorded by Prince.

Madonna – ‘Hung Up’
Back in 1989, Madonna and Prince collaborated on the duet ‘Love Song’ for her critically-acclaimed album ‘Like A Prayer’.

15 years later, and she revisited the track for what became her comeback single, ‘Hung Up’, lifting the lyrics ‘those who run seem to

The Bangles – ‘Manic Monday’
Prince offered this song to The Bangles years after writing it, under the simple pseudonym ‘Christopher’. It went on to reach the top 10 in countries all over the world.


Sheila E – ‘The Glamorous Life’
This 80s floor-filler reached the UK top 10 in 1984, with Prince serving as the sole writer on the track.


Celine Dion – ‘With This Tear’
Album track ‘With This Tear’ was a gift from Prince to Celine, who wrote it especially for her, for her second English album.

Sheena Easton – ‘Sugar Walls’
Listening to the lyrics of this song, it didn’t exactly take a genius to work out that Prince was the writer of ‘Sugar Walls’, which he did under the pseudonym Alexander Nevermind.

Martika – ‘Love… Thy Will Be Done’
Later covered by Jessie Ware and Delta Goodrem, ‘Love Thy Will Be Done’ was co-written by Prince and Martika.

Sinéad O’Connor – ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’
One of the most memorable ballads of the 1990s, and Sinéad’s signature tune, ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’ was originally recorded by The Family, one of Prince’s side projects, but gained universal acclaim when the Irish singer put her own stamp on it at the beginning of the decade.

Prince – ‘Ain’t About 2 Stop’, feat. Rita Ora
Few might realise that what would eventually become Prince’s final release before his death actually featured a collaboration with none other than Rita Ora, featuring the oh-so-Prince lyric: “If you’re not a Ritabot, you’re a blood clot.”