Released June 25, 1984 Length 4:14 | Format CD Label Warner Bros. | |
 | ||
Recorded 1983Sunset Sound, Los Angeles | ||
"Darling Nikki" is a song produced, arranged, composed and performed by American musician Prince and originally released on his Grammy Award-winning 1984 album, Purple Rain. Though the song was not released as a single, it gained wide notoriety for its sexual lyrics and in particular a reference to masturbation. Partly because of the lyrical content of "Darling Nikki", Tipper Gore founded the Parents Music Resource Center, which eventually led to the use of "Parental Advisory" stickers and imprints on album covers. Compared with the slick production of the other songs on the album, "Darling Nikki" was deliberately engineered to have a raw, live feel.
Contents
The song tells the story of a "sex fiend" named Nikki who seduces the singer. In the film Purple Rain, the song is directed toward Apollonia Kotero's character when she decides to work with Prince's character's rival, played by Morris Day.
Near the end of the song, the music stops into the sound of rain and wind. There is singing, but played in reverse. The vocals, unreversed, are Prince singing,
"Hello, how are you?Fine fine 'cause I know that the Lord is coming soonComing, coming soon."During the Purple Rain Tour performances of "Darling Nikki", the recording at the end was played forward. This can be heard in the live video Prince and the Revolution: Live.
Parents Music Resource Center
Reportedly, Tipper Gore co-founded the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC) in 1985, because she witnessed her then 11-year-old daughter listening to and singing along to Prince's "Darling Nikki".