The Truth about "Kiss" 

Prince write Nothing compares 2 u for his side project The Family, not for Sinead O'Conor

What Maserati did was arrange Kiss. It is still Prince's idea. He is the writer.

I know it’s hard doing prince with all the copyright but thank you for your efforts and the show 😂🎉

The acoustic version of the prince demo appears to have the same lyrics and chords progression. That's the song right there. Prince should be the sole writer. Whitney Houston doesn't suddenly become a co-writer of I Will Always Love You with Dolly Parton simply because the production was better with her version. It just doesn't work that way. Dolly wrote the lyrics and the chord progression. Studio musicians don't get writing credits for coming up with a cool solo. Kiss was written by prince. Hearing it with a full band made him realize he wanted it for himself. It was his all along.

I listened to all 3 versions. Using your architect analogy. Prince was the architect and builder Mazarati was the subcontractor that came in and put in the finishings Prince came back as the interior decorator and got the house sold for millions over asking. It's his song. Thanks for the help Mazarati.

The ding-a-ling intro to ‘Kiss’ is one of the most instantly recognisable in music history. From the very first few seconds, it sounds like a hit, but the story of how it came to be is rather more fraught than the instantaneously ear-worming piece of quintessentially 1980s jangling suggests. The track reached number one in the States and eventually won Prince the 1986 Grammy Award for Best Rhythm & Blues Vocal Performance, but the tale of how it came to be is not without controversy. The central protagonist in the story of ‘Kiss’ is not, in fact, Prince but rather Mark Brown, better known by his stage name ‘Brownmark’. Brown’s early fame came as a member of The Revolution, Prince’s original touring band. Brown worked his way into favour amongst the plethora of musicians surrounding Prince, owing to his unique heavily funk-based style of musicianship. Eventually, Brownmark formed the funk-rock outfit Mazarati in 1986. When making the band’s debut album, he reached out to his former frontman and asked if he had any songs that he could spare for their record. Prince, at the time, was recording Parade, the soundtrack for his own bizarre cinematic directorial debut, Under the Cherry Moon, a production that would bear none of the hallmarks of his musicals success with the exception of working a fruit into the title. The movie may well have won the novelty accolade of Worst Picture at the tongue-in-cheek Golden Raspberry Awards, but the soundtrack behind it went on to sell well over a million copies, proving that to be creatively daring you’ve got to take the rough with the smooth. That’s a lesson that would prove tough to take for Brownmark, new to the world of going it alone in music. Prince gladly took up Brown’s offer and relished a break from the insular world of the studio and he dashed off a minute-long bluesy acoustic demo for Mazarati on a mini tape recorder. Brownmark, his band, and legendary producer David Z reworked the acoustic demo into an upscale funk beat, capturing an irresistible groove and catapulting the song from its humble minute-long beginnings to the glossy chart-topping ’80s heights it would eventually reach. Prince heard the track and essentially embodied the attitude of ‘I love what you’ve done with the place, I’ll take it’. He replaced their lead vocal, added the guitar break in the chorus and flung it last-minute onto his own LP. Prince struck a deal with Brownmark to let him record the song in exchange for a writers credit, an offer which would have resulted in an irresistible paycheck for his former bassist. Brownmark agreed, but as he thought that sounded like a good deal. He spread the bad news to Maserati, who were pretty angry. In the end, I didn’t even get paid for it. He totally stiffed me. I quit the band shortly after that. He treated me so bad, but I don’t care. He gave me a ton of opportunities, so I look at the good things.”

The definition of a composition to get the rights on a song. The melody and the harmony whichever will be the definitive tonality and arrange . After a listening of the demo , Prince wrote the song, period.

I think James Brown had the biggest influence on this with "Papa's got a brand new bag".

Very rarely do I stumble on a channel that quickly becomes a favorite but sometimes I do and today is that day. Top tier work.

Love this channel! I recently found this channel and I love the energy,history and work that goes into every video. 10 out of 10, would definitely recommend!

I just found your channel last week and I’ve just finished watching all of your videos. They’re so great. Looking forward to seeing what else you’re working on!

After going back & studying all 3 versions, I feel like Prince got super inspired by Mazarti’s version. He reconnected with the song & added his special touch which is why it became a hit. He got rid of the bass but brought emotion to the track w his vocals & guitar solo. He should have def given production & BGV credits to the guys tho!

Love your videos!!! Rooting for you from Japan! Also, explaining about Prince in "Rapper's Delight" style… I love it!

Everytime I take the time to listen to one of your video's, I'm blown away. Because of how well done they are and how interresting they are. You're awesome. (Patreon member)

Once again, you got me to go search up the original songs, and listen to them, and compare the different versions (Indiana was the other one I did while in this one night rabbit hole) and man, I learned some things! I wish I knew you personally so I could geek out on music.

There's a lot of information out there, information that's readily available and easily found, that you did not include in your video. Mark Brown has claimed, more than once, that he "wrote" Kiss. His words, not mine. However, there are also multiple interviews, on youtube none the less, where David Z gives an account of his involvement in the creation of Kiss. According to him Prince wrote the song, recorded the acoustic demo, and gave it to Mazarati, as you pointed out. But there's more to it. The demo only had a verse and chorus, so they asked Prince, who was working next door, for more lyrics and he quickly came up with the rest of the lyrical content for the song at that moment. That swiftness for writing was something he did a lot when he needed to. David, in more than one interview, says that he created the arrangement himself and that he was deliberately trying to create a Prince sound. He even goes as far to discuss, in detail, the effect he used to create that weird rhythmic delay on the high hat. Prince heard this and took it back. I have Mazarati's version. And as good as the groundwork was, it is definitely not the same song. Their vocals lack any real soul or feeling and there's no "hook". Prince removed the bass because he felt it didn't work. The same reason he removed it from When Doves Cry, a song that absolutely no one else was involved with. And listening to the two versions of Kiss back to back, he was right. Somehow, its funkier without bass. But that's Prince for you. Prince also added his wonderfully distinct falsetto vocals and screaming, he added that rhythmic guitar and solo and what he did to it made it "pop". If they had released Mazarati's version it would've been a foot note. It is not the same song aurally. It is a different listening experience altogether and you could say that what Prince did to the song smacked it around and woke it up. He gave it a much more appealing sound and made it a hit. On the Parade album, and the single release of Kiss, David Z was officially given credit for the arrangement. So, did Mark brown write it as he says? No, Prince did. Did David Z arrange it? Yes. Did Prince take it back for himself? Yes. But did he "steal" it? No, he didn't. He gave credit where credit was due. Or at the very, very, very least, gave credit where he thought credit was due. What he did with Kiss was not "malicious" and it was not stealing. Not even "kinda". All you gotta do is compare the accounts of Brown and David and you almost always wanna go with the person who's story is more detailed and thorough. But of course a video about Prince NOT stealing Kiss probably wouldn't have been as interesting to people and potentially wouldn't have gotten as many views, right? There are people out there who know Prince's music better than anyone else. And those people were his recording engineers in the studio. People such as David Z, Peggy Macreary and the unending firehose of Prince information , Susan Rogers. They didn't just spend hours with him, they spent days on end with him, alone with just him, in the studio, for years at a time, when he was doing the thing he did best: creating music. Really, the only thing he seemed to do. It's not hyperbole to call these people experts on his music. If anyone wants to know anything about his creativity those are the interviews to seek out. When it comes to the tension with The Revolution at the end you tell people to "google that or maybe don't" . Something that it seems you failed to do yourself because a simple google search on Kiss would've told you the tid bit of information that David Z was given arranging credit. So maybe you took your own advice before the fact? There have been other claims of cowriting songs by members of the Revolution, but at the same time there are others(including the aforementioned engineers) who were around at the time who have called those people out on it or have given different accounts. People who don't seem to have anything personal to gain by what they say. Hell, there's a guy who's writing a series of books documenting Prince's work in the studio. Even he admits its a hard task that has taken him years to do and he's only covered around 5 years so far. Prince did collaborate, and did give people credit numerous times. Even members of the Revolution have said he gave credit to people who did nothing. This happened with his father so he could throw a little money his way. And not just the father. Because Prince produced so much music it is possible that people didn't get credit where credit was do, but that's not the same as "stealing". And we're talking about Kiss here. Your video is anything but the "truth" about Kiss. And with some research, knowledge and a little deductive reasoning it aint hard to figure out the truth. This kind of video appeals to people who are not avid Prince fans because they think they're getting the story, in particular about the hits, in a condensed way, even though the condensed way isn't always the best way. But for anyone who has more than a passing interest in Prince there's a lot out there. You just have to look. One of Prince's assets was also somewhat of a liability. He wasn't just one musical artist, he was 30 musical artists packed into one and its going to take decades to unravel his career completely. But so far, there is some damn good info out there. You present your video as "what we do know" but actually leave out a lot that we do know. Maybe in the future do a little more work instead of spending so much time on your video trying to be funny, or trying to be clever, because Jesus H Christ you made it really, really hard to sit through a video that's only 10 minutes long. Do better.

Firstly I love your videos I can't get enough! You have such a great voice too. Thank you for the content. Sidenote I can't wait for the J Dilla video!

Did this dude say that Prince does not have a lot of bass in his music. He OBVIOUSLY doesn't listen to a lot of Prince. BTW Prince could play the heaven out of a bass. Go look at a Prince bass compilation on RU-vid.

Your videos are funny and informative, I normally don't subscribe let alone write comments to people's videos but yours was so good I had to, Thank you for the content

Great video. Love the accapellas ! :D

The acoustic version has the entire structure, including the melody, of the song. That means Prince wrote the song. What Brown Mark did was flesh it out. In some bands (in functional bands, frankly) you could (and perhaps should) give the person who fleshes it out writing credit. But technically, it's really producing.

Prince did write some songs for others to perform. But some songs were COVERED by other artists too. I feel for you (Chaka) and Nothing Compares (Sinead) were cover songs.

Found your channel a few days ago via the Soulquarians vid thanks to the Algorithm Gods. Ending up checking out all the vids. As a fellow music nerd, Dj, music creator, record collector, & music history buff, I enjoy your presentation and delivery. Keep up the good work. Looking forward to future vids. “Haters” may require a more interesting background. A green screen can take you anywhere you wanna go and be as interactive as you’d like (or not). “Broadcasting from: Paisley Park/Studio 54/The Paradise Garage/Woodstock/Etc.

I really enjoy your Videos, I learn something and I enjoy your lighthearted approach. Great.

Yyeeaah I heard the Mazarati version and I’m glad Prince took it back

Let’s get some facts straight here! The Revolution didn’t have a record contract. They were Prince’s employees. Prince had the record deal. The band didn’t disband, they were fired. Prince, the artist with the record deal, decided to move on in a different direction. If Brown Mark and all these other posthumously co-songwriters of Prince classics had any talent let them list their subsequent hits! David Z got a co production credit for Kiss. An arrangement or production does not give you song writing credit. Ask Nile Rodgers and his production of “Let’s Dance”. David Bowie’s acoustic demo version was far removed from the finished product.

Fellow musician who's relatively new to the DTG family & loving the content. That's what's up!

Love this channel

The lack of bass in "Kiss" and other Prince songs ("When Doves Cry") bothered me until I was old enough to hear it with proper loud bass bins. There's some kind of low end harmonic or something that tricks my ear into thinking it hears a note on the downstroke.

Mazarati gave the entire structure of Kiss, so yes, Prince did steal it. But, they both should have the writing credit, since the demo was Prince's.

Mann! You got me cracking up trying to do Prince Acapella song: "I Feel for You!😆😂

Legally, it doesn't matter. Prince wrote the song, so he is the songwriter. You can make the most extraordinarily transformative cover version of any song, and at no point will you have a writing credit unless the original songwriter grants you one in a contract.

Written by Prince. Produced and arranged by Prince, David Z, and Mark whatever. Is that better? It was his song to give or perform. You can’t steal your own song. You can still the production work. Prince didn’t need a band outside of touring and movies. He was a largely self contained band (piano, drums, guitar, bass, synths, writing, arranging and vocals). Was he always fair to those he worked with, absolutely not. Ask Morris Day, Jimmy Jam, and Terry Lewis about working with Prince. They liked him and didn’t like him at the same time because of his ways. Most likely respect than like. Yet, Jam & Lewis credit being fired by Prince as the best thing that ever happened to them and it was. At the same time they feel they benefited from being around him. Without Kiss, he probably was going to hit the same trajectory he was headed on anyways.

Brandon, i fuckin LOVE your style, bro!! ❤❤❤ these videos SLAP!!!

The primary guitar used in the original happened to be the Ibanez Roadstar Seiries II (same model that Marty McFly used in his band The Pinheads,including the strap). The acoustic demo was played on a Takamine and sang an octave lower. The higher vocal was a spur of the moment decision. The main effect on drums was on a vintage vocoder/Tone Gen.

I’ve been enjoying your videos, wondering why you didn’t include “for you” at the beginning as that was his first album.

Dude I love your energy! You made me laugh . Love your channel brother ! Keep up the good work.If you ever need a vocalist let me know .

Love your videos.... the acapella bit you did is epic... EPIC!!! BRILLIANTLY executed.

I think this quote is very apt here: Pablo Picasso is widely quoted as having said that “good artists borrow, great artists steal.”

You're , very entertaining and informative , looking forward to watching more thanks 👍

These videos keep getting better. Nice job BSHAW

Very nice content - Love your channel!! Do you know sth about the extended version of Kiss by any chance? Did this version exist before the release of Prince's Kiss version or did he added a new section to the song afterwards?

Grande pelado ! Eres un genio. Sigue con tus vídeos. 💕

Love these videos. Keep ‘em coming

No Prince isn’t a thief. And using the word thief for a man that wrote thousands of his own songs is a little sad. Prince still wrote Kiss and it’s still his idea.

Prince was in a group before he went solo.. The group is "94 east"

How can you steal something that you created? That was his song. He was going to give it to another groupe. When he heard it modified, he decided to keep it for himself. For those who DONT know. A demo is a rough draft. He liked the finished product. So, he kept it.

I have wondered whether Frank Williams "You Got To Be A Man", which sounds very close to "Kiss", was an influence.

Prince is the songwriter. And David Z and Brown Mark were contract for hire FIRST. Mazarati was a contract band under Prince's Paisley label, yes, BUT Mark was a contracted for hire employee under Prince and the Revolution during the Parade Tour & album (*kiss song) at the same time as he was starting up Mazarati, also. And who knows what other arrangements were made that aren't being said involving bonuses and other gratuity ( trip to Paris courtesy of Warner Bros and Prince while filming Under the Cherry Moon?) Any other comps? It isnt as though the song was licensed to Mazarati and then Prince refused to provide under licence of the song. It doesnt sound the same at all from demo - Maz version. But neither does it sound as though only lead vox and bass are the only changes either. And again, David Z and Mark were contract for hire sound engineer & bass/vox.

'Kiss' is one of my favourite ever songs, period. I'm not a huge fan of Purple Rain (the album), it's too Rock...this is pure Funk. It's crazy how simple it is, it's like a piece of modern art. That groove too, the way it feels like it's constantly being pulled back, it adds so much tension - it's the musical equivalent of being on the edge of orgasm. Sounds ridiculous but it's true. I just listened to my 12" of Kiss, loudly. The drum track is incredible, whoever did it. The way the open hats kinda trip over each other at the end of the bar, that big thumping kick drum. I love the vocal too. It's very very dry and you can tell Prince was super close to the mic as you can literally hear the saliva in his mouth bubbling and moving as he sings. It's a perfect record.

They can't copyright what they added which is production and arrangement. It's melody and lyrics that can be. (Which is why the Blurred Lines ruling was really bad).

Prince wrote Kiss but Brown Mark who was in the Revolution did do the arrangement after Prince gave the song to Mazarati, who was a Prince protege band from the eighties. Prince didn't like the demo of Kiss and gave it to.Mazarati. When Prince heard what Brown Mark did to his demo, he liked Brown Mark's version and gave it back. Now I never heard the story of David Z but Prince did write Kiss but Brown Mark and David Z did the arrangements.

Songwriters write songs. Producers produce songs. Sounds like, from everything presented here, Prince wrote "Kiss" and those other guys made productions of it. When Jimi Hendrix changed up Bob Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower," he didn't co-write it. Even though that's how Bob came to play it. Bob still wrote it.

What an amalgamation of a song as this was an awesome activity for us audience to sink our teeth into. Props 🎉

I’m amazed RU-vid didn’t ban your acapella version of the song. It is so close to the original😂😂😂

I have a bootleg cassette somewhere with a version of Kiss that says it was a demo for Jill Jones. The track is like old school electro sounding and if I recall on the vocal sings "you don't have to be rich to be my man"

I came for Prince (All Hail The Purple Yoda!), I stayed for the acapella... 😉👍💜 Prince wrote "Kiss". The Time (💜!), The Family, Mazarati, Vanity 6/Apollonia 6 etc. would not have existed without his songs, although recognizing the other artists' input would have been the cool thing to do.... There is a Prince-shaped hole in the world.

Prince wrote the song they did production and arrangement. it's almost lie they did a funky cover of his song

Just listened to the original demo, which was a very bluesy version of the fundamental bones of the song (60%), then the Mazarati version, which adds some style and effects (+20%), and the final single version (+20%) which adds his falsetto, guitar and tightness. Yes, Brownmark and David Z definitely added to the song but it was still down and lazy by comparison to the final. Production and arrangement credit’s probably due but songwriting credits? I’m not so sure. As an example, would you give Soft Cell writing credits for reimagining Tainted Love? Another awesome and entertaining video!! Love it.

love the channel ! keep em coming !

Love all the architecture metaphors.

I've heard both versions of the story before -- But I've also heard that the song "Got To Be A Man" by Framk Williams & The Rocketeers comes into play also...I'm assuming that Brown Mark or a Mazarati member was inspired by the arrangerment

I finally subscribed when you accapella'd, gen lols.

great video

Your redentions are WAAAAAY better than getting a copystrike!

Why did RU-vid block the video for kiss? Do they block it for everyone including Prince channel?

I'm here for the acapella versions of the songs.

Haha I thought this was about the band. Great channel.

having worked with David Z in the 90s, i give him credit for a lot of the production of the final "Kiss".

Thank you impressive from a prince fan you educated me

@Digging the Greats You need to drop the Soulquarian link in at 7:45 :D

Your the MANN in my book‼️👌

This song was recorded on my 17th birthday. 4-28-85 😊

Correction!! I meant to say 'Marr Starr'. He was one of the keyboard players.

someone else wrote “act your age, mama, not your shoe size”? cause that’s writing

Upvote simply for the acapella efforts only; 10/10 would watch again

Prince definitely had a 'Napolean Complex'.

I'd say it was a good idea to get rid of the bass as it allows the hit hat keyed guitar pattern to become a feature of the recording. There are substantial differences between the arrangement of the Prince released version and the Mazarati version. I'm not sure there is any case for Mazarati or Mark Brown to be given a co-writing credit as arrangement and production are not writing, otherwise George Martin would have been richer than Jeff Bezos with all his co-writing credits for Beatles, post-beatles and other hits he produced. Anyway, I love the channel and your presenting these nuggets and posing these questions to us. Also I love the commitment you show on the Acapella work.

Lol I love this channel 😂

The country version of Kiss bout murdered me😂😂.

to add to your house analogy,at the end of the day the house was built on prince owned land.it's a tough industry

still cant believe he is gone

Mazzarattis background and Hook vocals are on the song he left them on there!! everyone that grew up in that era knows that.

I thought it was Married Starr (Marvin OneGunn) who sang the lead vocals on the Mazarati demo of Kiss...

It’s not guitar, it’s synth. But this is awesome

Having time to Dig really made this video Great! A real DYOR! At the end of the day I believe Prince's creativity and his contract with dubya bee had reached a tipping point. I think he was forced to split from the musical family he created because his ideas were being split amongst multiple artists thus costing a lot of money

I am glad that the video says that Prince wrote it. Yes, it´s his song. The demo tape is available on RU-vid and everything is there: the melody, the harmony and the lyrics. Mazerati did a fantastic job with the arrangement, and Prince gave the arranger credit to David Z. Don´t know if other members like Brown Mark should have been credited as arrangers too, but certainly not as writers. And it´s so cool that Prince took their arrangement, but gave it some ´edge´. It´s hard to imagine it without that guitar intro, his vocals, etc. I heard Mazerati´s version only today and missed some of these elements, although it´s a pretty good version also.

pls do a video explaining why prince, a funk artist, if he could ever be labeled, didn’t always give basslines the appropriate level of love (kiss, when doves cry).

I almost forgot to listen to this outro today

I had to like this video just for the acapella version of "I Feel For You." XD

Wowowow

You got me with that “feel for you” performance. Bravo sure made the video made my day. Keep on doing whatcha do.

Prince did give David Z production credit in the "Parade" album (arranged by David Z it says) and credits Mazarati with vocals. Just FYI. Liked the video though.

most entertaining music channel right now!

So this is the 6th video of yours I've watched in 2 days now lol

to be fair, Prince did give the song 100 M.P.H. to Mazarati as compensation for taking back Kiss, and that song became their only hit on the R&B chart. and it's a pretty damned good song.

I love how u make a fool of yourself for Prince ( i feel for you- Rrrrickaaa lol). I'd do the same. On the other hand, I think Brown Mark had to take back his story for fear of being sued by WB. He originally said he wrote the song with Maz & gave it to Prince. Prince then threw tha Purple magic on it. IDK. This story has been flipped er'whichway. Thanks 4 da Vid.

You are very funny person enjoyed your video new subscriber here!

The greatest performance of "I Feel For You" right here.

You were innthe right key actually. I just listened to Kiss before the video lol