Maps of Music

3121 (2006)

Where the lyrics of 3121 take you, and where it was really made.

The title comes from a rental house: 3121 Antelo Rd in Los Angeles, a home Prince rented, and later homes he rented also came to be called "3121".

Key places

Where the album sessions began (2006)

Recording site Paisley Park Studios — Album sessions started in November 2004 with the recording of the song 3121 at Paisley Park, with Michael Bland and Sonny T. The album credits list Paisley Park Studios as one of the recording locations. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• 3121: thirty-first studio album by American musician Prince
• Title pronounced "thirty-one twenty-one"
• Released 21 March 2006 (3/21) by NPG Records
• Distributed by Universal Music under a "one-album deal"
• Debuted atop the Billboard 200; Prince's first number one album since Batman in 1989
• Eventually certified Gold by the RIAA

Background

• Followed the critical success of Musicology (2004)
• Reinforced Prince's big comeback
• The album title refers to Prince's rental home at 3121 Antelo Rd, Los Angeles
• Later homes rented by Prince were colloquially called "3121", including a home owned by basketball player Carlos Boozer
• A limited number of copies included "purple tickets" for a semi-private performance at Prince's Los Angeles home

Recording

• Sessions started in November 2004 with the recording of the song "3121" at Paisley Park
• Michael Bland and Sonny T played on that session
• Recorded at Paisley Park Studios and 3121
• Engineered by Ian Boxill and L. Stu Young, assisted by Lisa Chamblee Hampton
• Mastered at Bernie Grundman Mastering
• Clare Fischer arranged the strings; Maceo Parker and Candy Dulfer are in the horn section
• All tracks written and produced by Prince

Cover

• Photo by Afshin Shahidi
• Designer Sam Jennings

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Prince Rogers Nelson, born June 7, 1958 in Minneapolis, Minnesota; died April 21, 2016 at Paisley Park in Chanhassen, Minnesota.
• Signed with Warner Bros. Records in 1977 at age 18; first album For You released April 7, 1978.
• Career spanned funk, rock, R&B and pop, with estimated sales over 100 million records.

Career

• Breakthrough with Dirty Mind (1980), Controversy (1981) and 1999 (1982).
• Purple Rain (1984) made him the first singer to hold the number-one film, album and single in the US at the same time.
• Sign o' the Times (1987) is widely considered his greatest work.
• Changed his name to an unpronounceable symbol in 1993, becoming known as the Artist Formerly Known as Prince; reverted to Prince in 2000.
• Won seven Grammy Awards and an Academy Award for Best Original Song Score.
• Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Followed Musicology (2004), which the source describes as a critical success
• Described as reinforcing Prince's big comeback
• Prince's thirty-first studio album, released on NPG Records
• Distributed by Universal Music under a one-album deal

Records

• Debuted atop the Billboard 200, the only Prince album to do so during his lifetime
• Over 180,000 copies sold in its first week
• Knocked the High School Musical soundtrack off the top spot
• Prince's first number one album since Batman in 1989
• Eventually certified Gold by the RIAA
• Lead single "Te Amo Corazón" released in the United States on 13 December 2005
• Second single "Black Sweat" released on 2 February 2006

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The title is pronounced "thirty-one twenty-one"; the album was released on 3/21
• A limited number of albums included "purple tickets", and the finders were flown in from Europe, Asia, Mexico and the US
• Tickets for The Earth Tour in 2007 at London's O2 Arena were priced at £31.21, echoing the title
• The title also applied to a home later rented by Prince that was owned by basketball player Carlos Boozer
• Album sessions began in November 2004 with the song "3121" recorded at Paisley Park

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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