Prince ‘I Feel For You’ Demo Surfaces

The Prince Estate and Warner Records have unearthed and shared Prince’s demo of “I Feel For You.” While Prince recorded the song for his self-titled sophomore studio album, which came out 40 years ago today, Chaka Khan scored a hit with “I Feel For You” in 1984.

The “I Feel For You” demo was recently discovered among the many cassette tapes stored in Prince’s vault. After listeners hear the iconic artist hit the record button, Prince goes falsetto and accompanies himself on acoustic guitar for the “I Feel For You” demo. The track was thought to be recorded at some point in the winter of 1978 – 1979 as The Purple One was prepping for his solo debut at North Minneapolis venue the Capri Theater.

“I was blown away,” said Prince vault archivist Michael Howe of the find. “Here is 20-year-old Prince thinking aloud, feeling his way through the song. You hear his incredible talent shining through on acoustic guitar, which is not something he typically showcased, and his guide vocal is astonishingly great.”

Prince gave the song the full band treatment for the version found on 1979’s Prince. Five years later, Chaka Khan released her take as the title track of her 1984 album and the single peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Guests on Chaka’s “I Feel For You” include rapper Melle Mel and legendary musician Stevie Wonder.

“I Feel For You” (Demo) is available as a limited edition 7″ backed by the version from Prince via Prince.com. Stream the demo below: