Ice Cream Castles
"Ice Cream Castles" is the opening track from The Time's third album, Ice Cream Castle. The track was one of the last songs recorded for the album, being cut in mid-January 1984, along with "My Drawers". The song was composed by Prince and Morris Day, with Prince writing the lyrics after recording the instrumental tracks. Day provided drums and lead vocals, while Jesse Johnson played electric guitars on the recording. Prince played all the other instruments.
| "Ice Cream Castles" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 7" single cover | ||||
| Single by The Time | ||||
| from the album Ice Cream Castle | ||||
| B-side |
| |||
| Released | June 8, 1984 | |||
| Recorded | Sunset Sound, January 13–14, 1984 | |||
| Genre | Pop, funk | |||
| Length | 7" edit: 3:37 Album/12": 7:33 | |||
| Label | Warner Bros. | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Prince (as Jamie Starr), Morris Day | |||
| Producer(s) | Prince (as The Starr ★ Company) | |||
| The Time singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Alternative cover | ||||
 Promo 12" single | ||||
"Ice Cream Castles" is a laid-back funk-pop offering with drums to the fore. The keyboards take an active role over a funky rhythm guitar and an understated organ solo is performed toward the end. The song is about an interracial relationship that devolves into chants and band cues in the mainly instrumental extension. The song's title is based on a lyric from Joni Mitchell, one of Prince's favorite singers.
The funky elements of the song allowed it to do well on the R&B charts, reaching number 11, but it did not break the top 100 on the pop charts.[1] Still, the song is occasionally still played in concert by The Time and a live recording from 1998 was also included on Morris Day's 2004 release, It's About Time.
The single was backed with the minimalist funk jam "Tricky", featuring Day on drums and Prince on the bass and keyboards taking humorous jabs at a washed-up singer (in reality, his idol George Clinton). The UK 12" single also included the earlier hit "Get It Up", from The Time's debut album.
Personnel
Credits sourced from Duane Tudahl and Benoît Clerc[2][3]
- Morris Day – lead and backing vocals, drums
- Jesse Johnson – electric guitars, backing vocals
- Prince – Oberheim OB-8, bass guitar, Pearl SY-1 Syncussion, percussion, music box, backing vocals
Charts
| Chart (1984) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks (Billboard)[4] | 11 |
References
- Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 581.
- Tudahl, Duane (2018). Prince and the Purple Rain Era Studio Sessions: 1983 and 1984 (Expanded Edition). Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 9781538116432.
- Clerc, Benoît (October 2022). Prince: All the Songs. Octopus. ISBN 9781784728816.
- "The Time > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums & Singles". AllMusic. Archived from the original on August 28, 2013. Retrieved September 1, 2023.