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"'''Let's Go Crazy'''" is a 1984 song by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_(musician) Prince] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Revolution_(band) The Revolution], from the album ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purple_Rain_(album) Purple Rain]''. It was the opening track on both the album and the film ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purple_Rain_(album) Purple Rain]''. "Let's Go Crazy" is one of Prince's most popular songs, and is almost always a staple for concert performances, often segueing into other hits. When released as a single, the song became Prince's second number-one hit on the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billboard_Hot_100 ''Billboard'' Hot 100], and also topped the two component charts, the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_R%26B/Hip-Hop_Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs][http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Let%27s_Go_Crazy#cite_note-2 [2]] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_Dance_Club_Play Hot Dance Club Play] charts,[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Let%27s_Go_Crazy#cite_note-3 [3]] as well as becoming a UK Top 10 hit. The [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A-side_and_B-side B-side] was the lyrically controversial "[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erotic_City Erotic City]". In the UK, the song was released as a double A-side with "[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Take_Me_with_U Take Me with U]".

Common to much of Prince's writing the song is thought to be exhortation to follow [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_ethics Christian ethics], with the "De-elevator" of the lyrics being a metaphor for the Devil.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Let%27s_Go_Crazy#cite_note-4 [4]]

The extended "Special Dance Mix" of the song was performed in a slightly edited version in the film ''Purple Rain''. It contains a longer instrumental section in the middle, including a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solo_(music) solo] on an apparently out-of-tune piano and some muddled lyrics, repeating the track's introduction.





==Contents==

 [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Let%27s_Go_Crazy# hide]] *[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Let%27s_Go_Crazy#Musical_style 1 Musical style]

*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Let%27s_Go_Crazy#Track_listing 2 Track listing]

*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Let%27s_Go_Crazy#Cover_versions 3 Cover versions]

*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Let%27s_Go_Crazy#Sampling 4 Sampling]

*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Let%27s_Go_Crazy#Charts 5 Charts]

*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Let%27s_Go_Crazy#References_in_other_media 6 References in other media]

*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Let%27s_Go_Crazy#YouTube_controversy 7 YouTube controversy]

*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Let%27s_Go_Crazy#References 8 References]





==Musical style[[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Let%27s_Go_Crazy&action=edit&section=1 edit]]==

The song was also notable for opening with a funeral-like [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organ_(music) organ] solo with Prince giving the "eulogy" for "this thing called life." That eulogy ends with a distinctive [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drum_machine drum machine] pattern and then quickly becomes a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard_rock hard rock] number with heavy[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guitar guitar], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bass_guitar bass] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synthesizers synthesizers]. The song's percussion was programmed with a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linn_LM-1 Linn LM-1] drum machine, an instrument frequently used in many of Prince's songs. The song is also known for its two guitar solos both performed by Prince.

==Track listing[[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Let%27s_Go_Crazy&action=edit&section=2 edit]]==

;7" Warner Bros. / 7-29216 (US)

#"Let's Go Crazy" (edit) – 3:46

#"Erotic City" (edit) – 3:53

;7" Warner Bros. / W2000 (UK)

#"Let's Go Crazy" (edit) – 3:46

#"Take Me with U" – 3:51

;12" Warner Bros. / 0-20246 (US)

#"Let's Go Crazy" (Special Dance Mix) – 7:35

#"Erotic City ("make love not war Erotic City come alive")" – 7:24

;12" Warner Bros. / W2000T (UK)

#"Let's Go Crazy" (Special Dance Mix) – 7:35

#"Take Me with U" – 3:51

#"Erotic City ("make love not war Erotic City come alive")" – 7:24

==Cover versions[[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Let%27s_Go_Crazy&action=edit&section=3 edit]]==

*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternative_rock Alternative rock] band [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incubus_(band) Incubus] covered the song on their 2 CD greatest hits/rarity album, ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monuments_and_Melodies Monuments and Melodies]'', released in 2009.

*A cover by the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riverboat_Gamblers Riverboat Gamblers] was included on the 2009 tribute compilation ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purplish_Rain Purplish Rain]''. A free download of the song was offered by ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spin_(magazine) Spin]'' magazine.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Let%27s_Go_Crazy#cite_note-5 [5]]

*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punk_rock Punk rock] band [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Day Green Day] performed a cover of the song at a stop on their [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/21st_Century_Breakdown_World_Tour 21st Century Breakdown World Tour].

*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orianthi Orianthi] performed a cover of the song during [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Glam_Nation_Tour The Glam Nation Tour].

==Sampling[[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Let%27s_Go_Crazy&action=edit&section=4 edit]]==

*Two segments of Prince's unaccompanied guitar solo in the song's coda were sampled into [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_Enemy_(band) Public Enemy]'s single "[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fear_of_a_Black_Planet Brothers Gonna Work It Out]".

*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinbad_(comedian) Sinbad]'s "Brain Damaged" sampled the introduction to this song for his 1990 comedy album of the same name.

*Heavily sampled by hip-hop group [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Get_Busy_Committee Get Busy Committee] in their song, "Opening Ceremony".

==Charts[[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Let%27s_Go_Crazy&action=edit&section=5 edit]]==

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:14.3999996185303px;margin-right:0px;border-color:rgb(170,170,170);color:black;font-family:sans-serif;line-height:17.9200000762939px;"

! align="left"|Chart (1984)

! align="center"|Peak

position

|-

| align="left"|New Zealand Singles Chart

| align="center"|13

|-

| align="left"|[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UK_Singles_Chart UK] Singles Chart

| align="center"|7

|-

| align="left"|Netherlands Singles Chart

| align="center"|11

|-

| align="left"|Australian Singles Chart

| align="center"|10

|-

| align="left"|Canadian Singles Chart

| align="center"|2

|-

| align="left"|US ''Billboard''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billboard_Hot_100 Hot 100]

| align="center"|1

|-

| align="left"|US ''Billboard''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_R%26B/Hip-Hop_Songs Hot R&B Singles]

| align="center"|1

|-

| align="left"|US ''Billboard''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_Dance_Club_Songs Hot Dance Club Songs]

| align="center"|1

|}

==References in other media[[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Let%27s_Go_Crazy&action=edit&section=6 edit]]==

*In the American animated sitcom, ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Dad American Dad]'' in the episode, "[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iced,_Iced_Babies Iced, Iced Babies]", when Roger disguises himself as a college literature professor he recites part of the spoken opening verse as follows: "This class isn't about literature! It's about life! Electric word: life. It means forever and that's a mighty long time. But I'm here to tell you there's something else...my office hours. It's from Tuesday to Thursday from 1 PM to 3 PM."

*The [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota_Twins Minnesota Twins] have played the song when a Twins player hits a home run since they moved to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Target_Field Target Field] in 2010. Likely a nod to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_(musician) Prince]'s Minnesota roots

*A cover of the song is performed at the fourth version of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beetlejuice%27s_Rock_and_Roll_Graveyard_Revue Beetlejuice's Rock and Roll Graveyard Revue] at [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Studios_Florida Universal Studios Florida].

==YouTube controversy[[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Let%27s_Go_Crazy&action=edit&section=7 edit]]==

In 2007, Stephanie Lenz, a writer and editor from [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gallitzin,_Pennsylvania Gallitzin, Pennsylvania] made a home video of her 13-month-old son dancing to "Let's Go Crazy" and posted a 29-second video on the video-sharing site [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YouTube YouTube]. Four months after the video was originally uploaded, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Music_Group Universal Music Group], which owned the copyrights to the song, ordered YouTube to remove the video enforcing the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Millennium_Copyright_Act Digital Millennium Copyright Act].

Later in August 2008, U.S. District Judge [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Fogel Jeremy Fogel] of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Jose,_California San Jose, California] ruled that copyright holders cannot order a deletion of an online file without determining whether that posting reflected "fair use" of the copyrighted material. Lenz notified YouTube immediately that her video was within the scope of fair use, and demanded that it be restored. YouTube complied after six weeks—not two weeks, as required by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act—to see whether Universal planned to sue Lenz for infringement. Lenz then sued Universal Music in California for her legal costs, claiming the music company had acted in bad faith by ordering removal of a video that represented fair use of the song.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Let%27s_Go_Crazy#cite_note-6 [6]]

==References[[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Let%27s_Go_Crazy&action=edit&section=8 edit]]==

*Uptown: ''The Vault – The Definitive Guide to the Musical World of Prince'': Nilsen Publishing 2004, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/916315482X ISBN 91-631-5482-X]

#'''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Let%27s_Go_Crazy#cite_ref-1 Jump up^]''' Uptown, 2004, p. 50

#'''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Let%27s_Go_Crazy#cite_ref-2 Jump up^]''' [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joel_Whitburn Whitburn, Joel] (2004). ''Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004''. Record Research. p. 471.

#'''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Let%27s_Go_Crazy#cite_ref-3 Jump up^]''' [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joel_Whitburn Whitburn, Joel] (2004). ''Hot Dance/Disco: 1974-2003''. Record Research. p. 208.

#'''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Let%27s_Go_Crazy#cite_ref-4 Jump up^]''' http://books.google.com/books?id=qXDoK4oZfsYC&pg=PA268&lpg=PA268&dq=de-elevator+devil+prince&source=bl&ots=MblJnCGrsc&sig=VeAu7Z3Rild9s9fN2lOMrmVdBdM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=z2ryUp2cBqXMsQTwz4LQDQ&ved=0CDIQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=de-elevator%20devil%20prince&f=false

#'''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Let%27s_Go_Crazy#cite_ref-5 Jump up^]''' [http://www.spin.com/articles/get-your-free-copy-spins-prince-tribute "Get Your FREE Copy of SPIN's Prince Tribute!"]. SPIN.com. Retrieved 2011-07-11.

#'''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Let%27s_Go_Crazy#cite_ref-6 Jump up^]''' Egelko, Bob (August 21, 2008). [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/08/20/MNU412FKRL.DTL "Woman can sue over YouTube clip de-posting"]. ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco_Chronicle San Francisco Chronicle]''. Retrieved 2008-08-25.

{| class="wikitable succession-box" style="font-size:13.6000003814697px;margin:0.5emauto;border-color:rgb(170,170,170);color:black;font-family:sans-serif;clear:both;"

|- style="text-align:center;"

| align="center" rowspan="1" width="30%"|Preceded by

"[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missing_You_(John_Waite_song) Missing You]" by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Waite John Waite]

| rowspan="1" width="40%"|'''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billboard_Hot_100 ''Billboard'' Hot 100] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Billboard_number-one_singles number one single]'''

September 29, 1984 - October 6, 1984

| align="center" rowspan="1" width="30%"|Succeeded by

"[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Just_Called_to_Say_I_Love_You I Just Called to Say I Love You]" by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stevie_Wonder Stevie Wonder]

|-

|

|- style="text-align:center;"

| align="center" rowspan="1" width="30%"|Preceded by

"[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caribbean_Queen Caribbean Queen]" by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Ocean Billy Ocean]

| rowspan="1" width="40%"|'''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_R%26B/Hip-Hop_Songs Billboard's Hot Soul Singles] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_number-one_R%26B_hits_(United_States) number one single]'''

October 6, 1984

| align="center" rowspan="1" width="30%"|Succeeded by

"[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Just_Called_To_Say_I_Love_You I Just Called To Say I Love You]" by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stevie_Wonder Stevie Wonder]

|- style="text-align:center;"

| align="center" rowspan="1" width="30%"|Preceded by

"[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Favors No Favors]" by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temper_(band) Temper]

| rowspan="1" width="40%"|'''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_Dance_Club_Play ''Billboard'' Hot Dance Club Play] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Number-one_dance_hits_of_1984_(USA) number-one single]'''

(with "[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erotic_City Erotic City]")

September 29, 1984

| align="center" rowspan="1" width="30%"|Succeeded by

"[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Medicine_Song The Medicine Song]" by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephanie_Mills Stephanie Mills] 

|}

[[Category:1984 singles]]

Musichub.wikia.com

Let's Go Crazy (Single):Prince