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From album
Sign “☮︎” the Times
Prince · 1987
Details
Duración4:46
ÁlbumSign “☮︎” the Times
Año1987
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The story behind
The song The Cross, which is part of Prince's ninth album, Sign O’ The Times, has a rather peculiar genesis. It was recorded in a single day, on July 13, 1986, at Sunset Sound studios. Curiously, another track, Everybody Want What They Don’t Got, was also conceived on the same day. The peculiarity of this day doesn't end there: early in the morning, a 5.4 magnitude earthquake shook the coast of San Diego, in Southern California. This event, although not the first of its kind that week, profoundly impacted Prince. According to Susannah Melvoin, he felt great fear of earthquakes, a sense of loss of control that disturbed him even spiritually. This experience, of feeling that "the gods were speaking," ended up awakening his creative impulse, leading him to compose.
With that commotion still present, Prince arrived at the studio with the idea for a song that would express his faith and the solace he found in his connection with God. The Cross was conceived as a response for someone seeking relief. While the idea of a man "carrying the cross" had already appeared in his song Heaven the previous year, here it detailed more directly the profound comfort his beliefs about Jesus provided him. The piece begins with an intimate and serene guitar, which might have taken inspiration from the initial notes of Santana's Samba Pa Ti. From there, Prince lays out the problem to be solved and the solution God can offer. The song grows with the addition of drums, bass, sitar, and a distorted guitar, all enhanced by multiple layers of vocal choirs, culminating in a sonic climax.
Regarding the recording, Susan Rogers recalls a detail that unsettled her: the drums. Prince recorded them entirely in a single take, and according to Rogers, the tempo progressively sped up. She thought it was a mistake and expected them to redo it, but he was satisfied, confident in his vision. Prince performed all the instruments and vocals, and the sound engineering was handled by Coke Johnson and Susan Rogers. This track was released as a promotional single only in South Africa in 1987. Later, in 1996, The Cross was included in the soundtrack of the film Girl 6, directed by Spike Lee, occupying the tenth position on the compilation.