It’s been over five years since we lost legendary soul icon Prince, but his legacy still burns bright.
In fact, he was so prolific during his incredible career that he had plenty of chart-bound hits to hand out to other artists.
Some of these songs you’ve definitely already heard, some you definitely haven’t. That’s why we’ve made a list of the ten best songs he wrote for, or co-wrote, with other musicians:
Sinead O’Connor – ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’
Arguably the most famous song on the list, ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’ was initially written for The Family in 1985 who were signed to Prince’s very own Paisley Park Records label, making its way to Sinead O’Connor five years later.
Her emotive rendition took the tear-jerking ballad to No.1 in the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, No.1 here in the UK, and made a global icon of O’Connor.
Sheena Easton – ‘Sugar Walls’
You wouldn’t necessarily put Scottish pop princess Sheena Easton and Prince together, but he penned the Grammy Award-winning star’s 1984 hit ‘Sugar Walls’ under the pseudonym “Alexander Nevermind”.
“He was very quiet and shy,” recalled Easton several years later. This raunchy track, however, is anything but.
The Bangles – ‘Manic Monday’
Let’s face it: here’s another stone-cold classic. Prince wrote ‘Manic Monday’ for girl-group The Bangles which proved to be their mainstream breakthrough.
They went on to release hit singles ‘Walk Like An Egyptian’ and ‘Eternal Flame’, but Prince had a major hand in getting them seen and heard.
Kenny Rogers – ‘You’re My Love’
Prince pulled on his cowboy boots to secretly write the country ballad ‘You’re My Love’ for Kenny Rogers’ 1986 album They Don’t Make Them Like They Used To.
Written under the alias “Joey Coco”, it seemed that Prince wasn’t quite ready to embrace country music in the spotlight despite it coming to him naturally.
Stevie Nicks – ‘Stand Back’
Prince co-wrote ‘Stand Back’ with Stevie Nicks after she’d flown the Fleetwood Mac coop and was a chart star in her own right.
Even crediting ‘Little Red Corvette’ as the track’s inspiration, Nicks reached No.5 in the Billboard Hot 100 on its release.
Madonna – ‘Love Song’
A coming together of the era’s most risque icons, Prince and Madonna got hot and heavy – so to speak – to co-write the sultry ‘Love Song’.
Appearing on Madonna’s groundbreaking, empowered album Like A Prayer, it’s more of a duet given that you can hear Prince’s instantly recognisable falsetto, but we’re including it. Why? Because it’s bloody brilliant.
Patti LaBelle – ‘Yo Mister’
‘Lady Marmalade’ legend Patti LaBelle remained pretty successful throughout the 1980s, but still turned to Prince for some inspiration with ‘Yo Mister’.
Prince wrote and produced the funk-fuelled pop track, becoming one of LaBelle’s highest-charting R&B hits at the tail end of the decade.
Sheila E. – ‘The Glamorous Life’
Sheila E.’s breakthrough hit ‘The Glamorous Life’ had Prince’s fingerprints all over it, and gave the R&B star a platform for success.
The singer, who was also a dab hand on the drums, had become acquainted with Prince several years earlier before her rise through the charts. He supposedly replied “Oh, I know who you are,” after she introduced herself, suggesting he’d been keeping tabs on her having saw her pop music potential early doors.
Martika – ‘Love… Thy Will Be Done’
After ‘Toy Soldiers’ – famously sampled years later by Eminem – turned Martika into a household name, she sought out Prince for some help with her difficult second album eventually titled Martika’s Kitchen.
He eventually wrote and produced four songs in total, with the soothing, reflective hit ‘Love… Thy Will Be Done’ charting the highest.
Kate Bush – ‘Why Should I Love You?’
The most unlikely collaboration on the list, two pop visionaries on opposite ends of the spectrum combined to create something quite magical.
Though we have to admit Kate Bush technically wrote the lyrics, Prince produced, performed on, and arranged the track from 1993’s The Red Shoes which became her highest charting album in the US – years before her Stranger Things-induced comeback with ‘Running Up That Hill’ – and earned Bush a BRIT Award nomination for Best British Female Artist.