What Did Prince and Morrissey Have In Common Besides Great Taste?

A little Sunday night short essay/pontification for all.

Prince and Morrissey — what do they have in common, really? They were both making music steadily through the 1980s and 1990s. They have some pretty obsessive fans. But that describes a hundred other acts at least. I have always been far more of a Prince fan than I was ever a Morrissey fan. I missed The Smiths completely the first time around, and was curious about this Morrissey fellow when I heard some of his song titles, ahead of hearing the actual tunes. We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful and You’re The One For Me, Fatty were the ones. I took a peek. I had a listen. I neither hated nor loved his music.

Prince was my favourite as soon as I heard Little Red Corvette and 1999 and Purple Rain and Let’s Go Crazy and several others, but especially Raspberry Beret and When Doves Cry. This was cool and clever and fun and funky pop music beamed in from another planet. I was nearly a baby. Just a kid. Prince was the weird one too. Everyone else at school liked Michael Jackson. (Ha!)

With time, I found the music of The Smiths far more to my taste than anything from Morrissey’s solo career — The Smiths had Johnny Marr’s great guitar licks and song-ideas, and Marr not only kept his mouth shut most of the time, he helped out a bunch of other artists I liked with with cool cameos and great, tasteful playing.

But I never saw the connection between Prince and Moz. There doesn’t need to be one of course…

Except there does!

I have always held onto one nugget of information…

Both Stephen Patrick Morrissey and Prince Rogers Nelson have a favourite Joni Mitchell album. It’s The Hissing of Summer Lawns, and it’s absolutely one of the accepted answers to the question, What is your favourite/the best Joni Mitchell album? And, again, probably hundreds, and maybe actually thousands of people love this record, including dozens or hundreds or thousands of actual pop stars working across the 1980s and 90s, and if not, then it should be the case in a perfect world, but still…I really like thinking about the fact that this is both Prince’s and Morrissey’s favourite Joni Mitchell album.

I read two seperate entries, and I can’t remember exactly who wrote or where I found either now, though I know at least one of them is in a book of Mitchell-related essays and pieces (I just can’t remember its title), that tipped me off to this fact.

Immediately I started thinking about what they each might see in this album. How would they hear it? Prince growing up with funk and soul and embodying the spirit of Sly Stone and James Brown and playing the guitar like Jimi Hendrix and Catfish Collins. Morrissey with his New York Dolls fixation, his fascination with the likes of Diana Dors, Sparks, and Ramones…Moz in the UK, Prince in the United States.

On the surface Morrissey is a words-man, Prince was a musician, not just a lyricist and singer, and The Hissing of Summer Lawns features bizarre and brilliant and beautiful lyrics as well as subtly dazzling jazz licks from extraordinary players. It features the work of a songwriter in full bloom as both a words-person and a musician.

So of course it makes sense.

And The Hissing of Summer Lawns is one of my favourite albums, as well as being one of my favourite Joni Mitchell albums, it’s the start of the great trilogy of her records for me — this, Hejira, and then Don Juan’s Reckless Daughter. These are the albums on which she really stretches out. She paints the cover, she interpolates cover versions within her own tunes (Harry’s House/Centerpiece), she works with African percussion ensembles (The Jungle Line), she sings about priests with pornographic watches (The Boho Dance), and just generally is amazing as singer, songwriter, bandleader, producer, arranger, and player.

So if I know all that, and love it, why couldn’t both Prince and Morrissey right? Along with maybe you, or at the least one person you know, and so many others around the world, eh…

After knowing this little gem of info, for a quarter-century or so I suppose, I’ve constantly thought about it whenever I hear the album, I’ve even blurted out loud to anyone in my company while I’m playing it, “this is Prince AND Morrissey’s favourite Joni Mitchell album!” Or “You’ll never guess the two artists that both love this?” Or some variation.

A quick Google tells me that Morrissey paid tribute to Prince after he died, but maybe it was really just a chance to give the royal family a wee lash of the tongue again. He called Prince the “one royal” people could feel good about liking; shouldn’t feel embarrassed about, etc. Good gag from Moz I guess. Standard. And one of the less embarrassing items to exit his mouth across the last two decades.

A deeper dig in some chat rooms suggests that Morrissey and Prince were going to collaborate — but it’s all just guesswork of course.

It’s nice to guess, and ponder, and wonder. And great to have them in mind when I listen.

I was only ever briefly a Morrissey fan, really. I liked his material from the late 90s and early 00s more than his 80s stuff. My favourite thing he ever did was the compilation album showing off some of his influences:

And Prince? Well, I was there through thick (80s) and thin (mid/late-90s).

As for Joni Mitchell? Well, I love everything she ever released. Hissing is just one of many favourite Joni Mitchell albums for me. But it’s right near the top always. And it’s the one that comes with, and requires, a little extra thinking. I like that aspect the most.