The story behind the upcoming reissue of Prince’s landmark ‘1999’ album

Cover art for '1999' Super Deluxe Edition.
Cover art for "1999" Super Deluxe Edition.
Warner Records

This fall, Prince’s long-anticipated memoir “The Beautiful Ones” and an extended version of his landmark album, “1999,” will be released.

The Current’s Andrea Swensson wrote some of the liner notes included in the reissue of the album, which comes out in November.

It will include 35 unreleased tracks, as well as archive concert footage from Houston.

“This period speaks to a real pivotal moment in his career,” Swensson said.

Create a More Connected Minnesota

MPR News is your trusted resource for the news you need. With your support, MPR News brings accessible, courageous journalism and authentic conversation to everyone - free of paywalls and barriers. Your gift makes a difference.

The memoir, expected to be released Oct. 29, was halted after Prince died of an accidental opioid overdose in 2016. He had started working on that project just a few months before his death. It will feature rare photographs and handwritten lyrics, according to the publisher, Random House.

It is a “deeply personal account of how Prince Rogers Nelson became the Prince we know: the real-time story of a kid absorbing the world around him and creating a persona, an artistic vision, and a life, before the hits and the fame that would come to define him,” the publisher said in a statement earlier this year.

Guest:

Andrea Swensson, host and writer at Minnesota Public Radio’s The Current, where she helms The Local Show, a weekly show dedicated to exploring the Minnesota music scene.

Use the audio player above to listen to the show.

Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.