Darling Nikki (4:14)

“Darling Nikki” is a song produced, arranged, composed and performed by Prince and originally released on his Grammy Award-winning album Purple Rain (1984). Though the song was not originally released as a single, it gained wide notoriety for its sexual lyrics. Partly because of the lyrical content of “Darling Nikki”, Tipper Gore founded the Parents Music Resource Center, which eventually led to the use of “Parental Advisory” stickers and imprints on album covers. Trinity Broadcasting Network and Jimmy Swaggart both attacked the song as being ‘pornographic’ and ‘satanic’.

The song is a guitar-driven rocker, telling the story of a “sex-fiend” named Nikki who seduces Prince. The song was directed toward Apollonia Kotero in the Purple Rain film when she decided to work with Prince’s rival, Morris Day. The song has the appearance of being recorded live in a single take, because of the gritty nature of the guitar and the live drum kit, though Purple Rain’s liner notes state the entire song was performed by Prince.

The ending of the song contains a short segment recorded backwards over a rain sound effect, to contain a hidden message. The segment, when played in reverse, is a sharp contrast to the profane song, with a chorus singing, “Hello, how are you? I’m fine, ‘cause I know that the Lord is coming soon. Coming, coming soon.” During the Purple Rain tour performances of “Darling Nikki”, the recording at the end was played, but not in reverse.