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Keith Law
The 5pm Quiz: #1 Songs Written by Prince
by Keith Law - May 28, 2009 - 5:00 PM

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Editor’s Note: This summer, we’ll be inviting a handful of special guests to contribute a week’s worth of quizzes in the 5pm time slot. Our first such guest is baseball expert/food critic/bookworm Keith Law of ESPN. Make him feel welcome!

I’ve been asked in ESPN chats to name my favorite rock band, but my answer depends on the day on which I’m asked. I’ve said U2 at least once; I’m a pretty big Soundgarden partisan, even if Chris Cornell kind of went off the reservation with Audioslave; and every time I pull out an old Soul Coughing disc, I wonder if peak value should trump longevity.

 But if the question is my favorite artist regardless of genre, the answer will never change. It’s the artist who fits into so many genres that he fits into none: Prince. A singer, songwriter, and multi-talented musician (Wikipedia repeats the long-heard claim that he played 27 different instruments on his debut album, For You, which was released a few weeks before his 20th birthday),

Prince has had the very definition of a Hall of Fame career, with a long and high peak, writing six songs that hit #1 on the Billboard pop singles chart. Can you name them?

Take the Quiz: Name the #1 Songs Written by Prince

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Comments (9)

  1. I thought I was so smart knowing “Nothing Compares 2 U,” but BATDANCE!?I?!

    Well played, Mr. Law.

    posted by Tina on 5-28-2009 at 8:55 pm

  2. I figured one of them would be something I didn’t expect, but I never expected Sinead O’Connor’s catalog to come into this. Good quiz!

    posted by Brian J. on 5-28-2009 at 9:10 pm

  3. Awesome quiz… I’m in Minnesota, so maybe I had an advantage? My wife and I worked together and got all but Cream. Surprised that Purple Rain, Little Red Corvette, 1999 and others didn’t get to #1.

    Josh

    posted by Josh on 5-28-2009 at 9:36 pm

  4. Ok, does anybody know how Batdance even sounds?
    Because I sure don’t.
    Who knew that was a “hit?”

    posted by holly on 5-28-2009 at 10:20 pm

  5. Batdance got me, too! Crap! I thought for sure I had this one in the bag. Stupid Batman soundtrack. I even tried Manic Monday. He wrote it for The Bangles because he was all about some Susanna Hoffs. (What man wasn’t back then?) Did that ever hit #1?

    And sadly, Holly, I remember exactly what Batdance sounded like.

    recaptcha: laxative first

    Lovely.

    posted by nikki on 5-29-2009 at 9:19 am

  6. Thanks – glad you’re all enjoying it. This was the original quiz idea I sent to Jason that led to the weeklong gig.

    “Manic Monday” peaked at #2. The #1 song that week was “Kiss.”

    posted by Keith Law on 5-29-2009 at 9:48 am

  7. Add me to the list of Batdance fist-shakers. I also thought I was so smrt for getting Nothing Compares 2 U. Dangit.

    posted by stacy on 5-29-2009 at 10:27 am

  8. I did awful.
    Only got “Kiss” and “When Doves Cry”. Everything else I could think of wasn’t there. – Little Red Corvette, Purple Rain, Raspberry Beret, Manic Monday, Most Beautiful Girl In the World…

    posted by Nerak on 5-29-2009 at 3:32 pm

  9. I actually ended up getting “Batdance” in an act of desperation, but also wasted a lot of time on ones I thought were sure things like “Purple Rain.”

    Nice quiz.

    posted by Adam on 5-30-2009 at 4:47 am

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