Little Red Corvette

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"Little Red Corvette"
US 7" single (1983)
Single by Prince
from the album 1999
B-side "All the Critics Love U in New York"
"Horny Toad" (UK)
"Lady Cab Driver" (UK)
"D.M.S.R." (UK 12")
"Automatic" (UK 12")
"International Lover" (UK 12")
"1999" (U.S. picture disc)
Released February 9, 1983[1]
Format 7" single
12" single
Recorded Sunset Sound, 1982
Genre New wave, synthpop
Length 5:03
Label Warner Bros.
Writer(s) Prince
Producer(s) Prince
Prince singles chronology
"Little Red Corvette"
Prince (UK) chronology
"Little Red Corvette"
"When Doves Cry"
1999 track listing
"Little Red Corvette"

"Little Red Corvette" is a song by the American musician Prince. Released as a single from the album 1999 in 1983, the song was his biggest hit at the time, and his first to reach the top 10 in the U.S., peaking at number six on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. It was also his first single to perform better on the pop chart than the R&B chart, due to the pop/rock format of the song.

The song combines a drum machine beat and slow synth buildup for the verses and a full rock chorus. Backing vocals were done by Lisa Coleman and the guitar solo was played by Dez Dickerson. In the song, Prince narrates a one-night stand with a beautiful but promiscuous woman (the "Little Red Corvette" of the title); although he enjoys the experience, he urges her to "slow down" and "find a love that's gonna last" before she destroys herself. In addition to the title, he uses several other automobile metaphors, for example comparing their lovemaking to a ride in a limousine.

A 12" dance remix of the song was released to accompany the single, and it continues where the album version fades out. The U.S. single was originally released with the album track "All the Critics Love U in New York" as the B-side, while in the UK two separate single releases had it backed with "Lady Cab Driver" or "Horny Toad". Separate UK 12" releases had the song paired with "Automatic" and "International Lover", or "Horny Toad" and "D.M.S.R.". Later, it was released as a double A-side with "1999".

The single was released with another 1999 track, "Let's Pretend We're Married".

On Prince's 2006 compilation album, Ultimate, the dance remix of "Little Red Corvette" was a featured track.

Music video[edit]

"Little Red Corvette" (directed by Bryan Greenberg and released in February 1983) was one of the first two videos by a black artist played in heavy rotation on MTV, after Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean".[2]


Prince got the idea for the song when he dozed off in Lisa Coleman's pink Edsel after an exhausting all-night recording session. The lyrics came to him in bits and pieces [3] during this and other catnaps. Eventually, he was able to finish it without sleeping.

Awards and accolades[edit]

Cover versions[edit]


Chart (1983) Peak
New Zealand Singles Chart 12
UK Singles Chart 2
Australian Singles Chart 8
Canadian Singles Chart 5
US Billboard Hot 100 6
US Billboard Hot R&B Singles 15


Influences on other songs[edit]

  • Stevie Nicks got the idea for her 1983 song "Stand Back" from "Little Red Corvette." She heard Prince's song in her car, wrote "Stand Back" that night, and called Prince, who came into the studio and played keyboards.
  • Alter Ring's song "Infinitely Gentle Blows", which is featured at the end of the 2000 Sundance winning film, Groove, borrows liberally from "Little Red Corvette".
  • The line "little red love machine" can be heard in the title track of Saliva's Survival of the Sickest album from 2004.
  • The chorus is the basis for Chad in Portland's song "Mike in Wichitard" on The Jim Rome Show.


  1. ^ Uptown, 2004, p.41
  3. ^ Leeds, Alan (1993). CD insert booklet. Prince The Hits 2. 
  4. ^ "Acclaimed Music Top 3000 songs". 27 May 2009. 
  5. ^
  6. ^
  7. ^ "Matt Nathanson covers "Little Red Corvette" by Prince". Retrieved March 24, 2013. 

External links[edit]