Raspberry Beret

Lore & Background

The song's lyrics concern a sexual experience with a girl who wears a raspberry-colored beret. The sound expanded upon previous Prince arrangements, incorporating stringed instruments, Middle Eastern finger cymbals, and a harmonica in the extended version. The song was more in the pop vein than before, though the 12-inch single and video feature a funky intro. The extended version was included on the compilation album Ultimate in 2006. The song hit number one in Cash Box and reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US (behind 'A View to a Kill' by Duran Duran), and reached number 25 on the UK Singles Chart. Following Prince's death, it 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 had sold 691,421 copies in the United States.

In Their Own Story

The arena lights drop to a warm amber. A single spotlight finds Prince at the mic stand, a raspberry beret tilted low over one eye, a guitar slung across his chest. The band hits the intro—four bars of that insistent, walking bassline—and the crowd's hum swells into a chant before the first verse even lands. He grins. He tilts his head. Then, at the chorus, he points two fingers at the sea of faces and mouths the words: *shave it all off.* The roar that erupts shakes the floor monitors. He steps back, lets them have it, and when the silence snaps back he's already strumming the next phrase, the beret still askew, the whole night smelling of hairspray and electricity. Somewhere in the third row, a teenager with a fresh buzz-cut raises a fist. The song is over in three minutes, but the feeling lingers like the last note of a bassline that refuses to decay.

Reader's Guide

The US B-side is 'She's Always in My Hair', a rock and roll number with guitar and organs and emotional lyrics screamed toward the end. The UK B-side is 'Hello', which was included on the U.S. release of 'Pop Life'. The music video was filmed on June 5, 1985, at S.I.R. in Los Angeles, directed primarily by Prince, with animation by Drew Takahashi. It combines footage of Prince & The Revolution performing surrounded by dancers and overlaid with animations. The video uses an extended version of the song with a longer intro. Guitarist Pat Smear appears as a background dancer; according to Dave Grohl, he was nearly fired but allowed to stay because Prince liked his hair. The video also features the debut of actress Jackie Swanson, who hands Prince his guitar. Producer Simon Fields recalled that after filming a whole video, Prince got a Japanese animator to do a completely different video and they mashed the two up. Prince's hair stylist Earl Jones stated that Prince damaged his hair so badly prior to the video that the hairstyle in the video was all he could do with it.

Did You Know?

• The song was a perennial live favourite, initially performed in full for the 1986 Hit N Run World Tour, and later as a stripped-down piece on piano during the Lovesexy Tour.
• Warren Zevon performed the song on Late Night with David Letterman; he had previously recorded a version as part of the Hindu Love Gods, released in 1990.
• In 2016, Paste ranked the song number eight on their list of the 50 greatest Prince songs, and in 2022, American Songwriter ranked it number four on their list of the 10 greatest Prince songs.