<I>Soft and Wet</I>
date: label: Date
content: 1977
name: label: Recorded by
content: Prince, American, 1958 - 2016
label: Written by
content: Prince, American, 1958 - 2016
label: Written by
content: Chris Moon, British-American, born 1953
label: Produced by
content: Sound 80, founded 1969
label: Produced by
content: David Z, American, born 1953
notes: label: Caption
content: Engineered by engineer David Rivkin, this reel-to-reel master tape was recorded by Prince to demo his first solo single, “Soft and Wet.” The single was released June 7, 1978 on Prince’s debut album, For You. This master tape, recorded in the summer of 1977 at Minneapolis studio Sound 80, was used to strike all the demos sent to publicize the new, unknown Prince to record labels. The alternate version of “Soft and Wet” differs from the re-recorded version that appears on For You.
label: Description
content: A reel-to-reel master demo tape of "Soft and Wet" with original Sound 80 box recorded in the summer of 1977 at the Minneapolis studio Sound 80. The tape (a) is on a plastic reel (c) and contained in a black Sound 80 box (b). The tape is black and holds the recording of the song. The black Scotch reel (b) is taped in several places. Text on a piece of masking tape near one edge of the reel has [1/2 Trk / Soft & Wet] handwritten on it in blue ink. The front cover of the Sound 80 box is black and has [SOUND80] repeated on it in pink and blue letters. The back cover is white and has [1/2 Trk / Soft & Wet] handwritten on it. At the beginning of the recording, someone can be heard saying, "One, two, three" before the beat begins. Prince then begins to sing the opening lyrics of the song, which is different from the opening lyrics of the 1978 single released. Much of the remainder of the master demo is similar to the 1978 single.
place: label: Place made
content: Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, North and Central America
title: label: Title
content: Master demo tape for "Soft and Wet" recorded by Prince
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: Composers (Musicians)
label: Topic
content: Instrumentalists (Musicians)
label: Topic
content: Popular music
label: Topic
content: Rhythm and blues (Music)
label: Topic
content: Singers (Musicians)
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Classification
content: Time-based Media - Audio
label: Exhibition
content: Musical Crossroads
label: On View
content: NMAAHC (1400 Constitution Ave NW), National Mall Location, Culture/Fourth Floor, 4 053
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Alden W. Hall
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2019.5.1.1abc
objectType: label: Type
content: audiotapes
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: © Warner Records
label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: magnetic tapes, plastic and cardboard
label: Dimensions
content: H x W x D (a): 1/2 × 7 × 7 in. (1.3 × 17.8 × 17.8 cm)
label: Dimensions
content: H x W x D (b): 3/4 × 7 1/4 × 7 1/4 in. (1.9 × 18.4 × 18.4 cm)
label: Dimensions
content: Duration: 3 min., 11 sec.