Raspberry Beret

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"Raspberry Beret" is the official lead single from Prince & The Revolution's 1985 album Around the World in a Day. It was the album's first US and second UK single.

Video Raspberry Beret

Background

The sound of the song expanded upon previous Prince arrangements, incorporating stringed instruments, Middle Eastern finger cymbals, and even a harmonica on the extended version. The song was also more in the pop vein than ever before, though the 12-inch single and video of the song feature a funky intro. Although the song was originally recorded on April 27, 1982 in studio 2 at Sunset Sound, Prince drastically reworked it in September 1984 with The Revolution to give it more of an international sound. The string section comprised Novi Novog on violin, Suzie Katayama and David Coleman on cello.

The song tells of a teenage romance and first sexual experience with a girl who wears the titular hat. According to watchmojo.com, this was inspired by a deleted scene from Purple Rain, where The Kid and Apollonia made love in a barn. The video for the song was directed primarily by himself, with animation created by Colossal Pictures co-founder Drew Takahashi. The extended version was included on Ultimate in 2006. While the song hit number 1 in Cash Box and reached number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US, behind "A View to a Kill" by Duran Duran, it reached only number 25 on the UK Singles Chart.

Maps Raspberry Beret

Releases

The US B-side, "She's Always in My Hair", is a rock and roll number, with guitar and organs and emotional lyrics screamed toward the end. The UK B-side was "Hello", which was included on the US release of "Pop Life".

The 12" version of "Raspberry Beret" has an incorrect time listing on the label. It is listed as 7:25, when the actual length of the song is 6:35.

Following Prince's death, "Beret" re-charted on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 33 on the chart dated the week of May 14, 2016. As of April 30, 2016, it has sold 691,421 copies in the United States.