Prince: All Number 1 Songs Ranked Worst To Best
5. Cream
8th number one, 1991
Legend has it that Prince came up with the concept for this song whilst getting a confidence boost by checking himself out in the mirror. What exactly he was doing before said mirror that resulted in a song called Cream is not something we dare inquire into.
Prince was constantly pushing himself in new directions, and there was bigger pressure on him to do that after the underperformance of his previous project, Graffiti Bridge. For the Diamonds & Pearls album, he reinvented himself by adopting a new backing band (the New Power Generation) and fully embracing his sexuality, securing his place in the new sexual revolution of rock & roll history, alongside other big-name icons such as Madonna or George Michael.
The lead single from this new era, Gett Off, was considered too raunchy for radio, and it didn't help that Prince's first live performance of the song had him wearing assless chaps and mooning the audience. But follow-up Cream proved more radio-friendly and guaranteed the album its first mega-hit. A slick, groovy and sensual funk-rock number, Cream is so titillating that it is sure to make you sha-boogie-bop.
Fun Fact: As mentioned in the previous entry, Prince hired two back-up dancers for this era and named them Diamond and Pearl. Pearl was in fact actress Robia LaMorte, who would go on to play Ms. Calendar in Buffy The Vampire Slayer.