Stream Prince’s Stripped-Down Original Version Of ‘I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man’

The Prince Estate shared a previously unheard, stripped-down version of “I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man” from 1979. The track will appear on the upcoming deluxe reissue of Prince’s 1987 double album, Sign O’ The Times, set for release September 25 via Warner Records.

While “I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man” appeared on the 1987 double LP, the origin of the song goes back to the late ‘70s when Prince was recording his self-titled debut. The legendary artist cut the track at Hollywood Sound Recorders, Studio A on May 23, 1979 with engineer Bob Mockler. It is the oldest recording on the forthcoming deluxe edition of Sign O’ The Times. The wildly prolific Prince later retrieved the recording, added more instrumentation and toyed with putting it on the unreleased album Dream Factory before it finally landed on Sign O’ The Times.

Stream “I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man (1979 Version)” below: