“Baby I’m a Star” by Prince

A "Purple Rain" highlight.

It’s the end of the week, and I want to send everyone off into the weekend with the best vibes possible. That’s why the Daily Music Picks newsletter features a weekly segment called Fun Song Fridays! Regardless of era, genre, or style, the criterion is simple: it must deliver the joy and excitement we all need in our lives.

*You can access the entire Fun Song Fridays archive here. A playlist featuring the songs covered in this segment is coming soon!*

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Hello! 😊👋

Welcome to a new edition of the Best Music of All Time newsletter!

Today’s music pick continues our celebration of Purple Rain with the album’s penultimate party track.

Genre: Pop, Funk

Label: Warner Bros.

Release Date: June 25, 1984

Vibe: 🕺🕺🕺🕺🕺

If Purple Rain’s title track didn’t exist (and, believe me, I don’t want to live in that world), then there’s a case to be made that “Baby I’m a Star” would be the greatest closing number in pop music history. It already serves that purpose in the film, playing under the climactic encore scene and part of the end credits. My personal favorite moment is the cutaway to Morris Day fist-pumping in the middle of the crowd with a delightfully bewildered look on his face. In that split-second, he is the proxy for us all, amazed by this alien clad in nothing but purple and lace.

“Baby I’m a Star” was initially recorded solo by Prince in 1982 at his home studio in Minnesota. The lyrics about his rising superstardom were a real-time commentary on Purple Rain’s success in 1984. The refrain “I don’t wanna stop/Til I reach the top” is one of those moments where you think to yourself, “How much higher can he actually climb?” Anyway, after it was added to his and the Revolution’s touring set in 1983, he recorded a live version that year and, a few overdubs and edits later, became the final version you hear on the album. That recording is notable because it was also guitarist Wendy Melvoin’s first appearance with the band. She’d go on to be a significant contributor to Prince & the Revolution’s signature sound and a guitar legend in her own right (not to mention rivaling Prince’s purple outfit in that closing scene).

In the following decades, the song was covered by everyone from Tina Turner to Buddy Miles. It was also part of Prince’s famous Super Bowl Halftime Show, where a marching band accompanies him in the pouring rain.

I mean, come on. Baby, he is the biggest star we’ve got.

👉 Don’t forget to click the album image to stream the album on your favorite platform 👈