The Prince Estate partnered with Warner Records to drop the previously unreleased song “I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man (1979 Version)” today (July 16).
The track will be featured on the upcoming expanded reissue of the late pop star’s iconic ninth album Sign o’ the Times this fall. Prince originally recorded the song, which layers his voice nine times, in Studio A at Hollywood Sound Recorders on May 23, 1979 during sessions for his 1979 self-titled sophomore album. He retrieved it from the vault and re-recorded it in 1986 with a guitar solo and updated sound that made its way onto the 1987 album, which peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard 200.
Fans can head to Prince’s Instagram and Twitter to read the full handwritten lyrics sheet.
“I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man (1979 Version)” is the oldest recording on the deluxe reissue of Sign o’ the Times, which is available for pre-order here before it officially arrives on Sept. 25. The remastered album features 62 more previously unreleased tracks and a two-hour concert video filmed at his private Chanhassen, Minn. estate Paisley Park on December 31, 1987.
Listen and read the lyrics to “I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man (1979 Version)” below.
