Private Joy

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Lore & Background

The song describes how Prince will never reveal the identity of his secret lover. He explains that his lover is no one's but his, singing about what they do together and the times they share. He claims that he "strangled Valentino," and that she was "his ever since" and that she "belongs to Prince." The song ends with guitar riffs and feedback from Prince, and segues into "Ronnie, Talk to Russia," the next track on *Controversy*. These guitar sounds were sampled and used in "Orgasm," a song on Prince's 1994 album *Come*. American singer La Toya Jackson covered this song for her 1984 album *Heart Don't Lie*. According to Jackson, Prince's publishing company, Controversy Music, "approached me about recording songs of his that hadn't gone over too big the first time around. They submitted several songs and I picked 'Private Joy' because it sounded so up-to-date." Though "Private Joy" was Jackson's favorite song from *Heart Don't Lie*, it was never released as a single outside Japan. Said Jackson at the time, "I loved the song and my record company loved it, but my father manages me and it was his decision to not release that cut." The *Los Angeles Times* stated that "note for note, she matches Prince's intensity with her own hard-edged snap, crackle and pop." Artist Cheyne recorded a version for the soundtrack of the 1985 film *Weird Science*.

In Their Own Story

Prince recorded "Private Joy" for his 1981 album *Controversy*. It was released as the B-side of the single "Do Me, Baby." The track listing for that single is: "Do Me, Baby" (edit) – 3:57 and "Private Joy" – 4:25. Personnel, sourced from Benoît Clerc and Guitarcloud, includes Prince on lead and backing vocals, Oberheim OB-X, ARP Omni, electric guitar, bass guitar, Linn LM-1, and Pearl SY-1 Syncussion. La Toya Jackson's version was released in Japan as a 7" single with "Heart Don't Lie" (7") – 3:29 on the B-side. Cheyne's version was released on a U.S. 12" vinyl (#MCA-23583) with tracks: "Private Joy" (extended version) – 5:30, "Private Joy" (instrumental) – 5:44, and "Private Joy" (bonus beats plus bass) – 4:28.

Reader's Guide

The songwriting structure of "Private Joy" is a bouncy disco-pop number. Prince uses the Linn LM-1 drum machine for the first time here, a machine he would use throughout his career. The song ends with guitar riffs and feedback from Prince, and segues into "Ronnie, Talk to Russia," the next track on *Controversy*. These guitar sounds were later sampled and used in "Orgasm," a song on Prince's 1994 album *Come*. Culturally, the song was covered by La Toya Jackson for her 1984 album *Heart Don't Lie*; her version was released as a single only in Japan. The *Los Angeles Times* praised her cover, saying she "matches Prince's intensity with her own hard-edged snap, crackle and pop." Another cover was recorded by Cheyne for the soundtrack of the 1985 film *Weird Science*. The original track runs 4:25, while Jackson's version is 4:51 and Cheyne's extended version is 5:30.

Did You Know?

• "Private Joy" is the first time Prince used the LM-1 machine, which he would use throughout his career.
• The guitar riffs and feedback at the end of "Private Joy" were sampled and used in "Orgasm," a song on Prince's 1994 album *Come*.
• La Toya Jackson covered "Private Joy" for her 1984 album *Heart Don't Lie*; it was her favorite song from the album but was never released as a single outside Japan.
• Artist Cheyne recorded a version of "Private Joy" for the soundtrack of the 1985 film *Weird Science*.
• The song segues into "Ronnie, Talk to Russia," the next track on Prince's 1981 album *Controversy*.