Nothing really except they influenced my mindset as a songwriter.
Prince : There are two songs When Doves Cry and The Most Beautiful Girl in The World
These two songs are groundbreaking. When Doves Cry is a very powerful song. The music is almost exclusively drums. There is a light sprinkle of Keyboards but it’s essentially a Vocal and Drum track. It made me realize that all you need to make a good song is feel. Drums and Vocals is all you need and IF you don’t have something with just that you ain’t got shit.
The Most Beautiful Girl in The World is amazing as the Hook and Verse are exactly the same melody, yet the way he orchestrates it, you would not know. He uses all the same instruments but there is a rhythmic cascading guitar line on the chorus, pretty much the only difference. It’s bold and made me realize that there are no rules, if it works leave it.
John Lennon Dig a Pony.
The phrase “Dig a Pony” is meaningless; John said he used it because is sounded good. I mean fine but most would tuck it away but its front and center. He told Paul to keep the line “The Movement You need is on your Shoulder” from Hey Jude as it was the best line. I realized that you don’t have to be clever to get the point across. Use words that make you feel the spirit of the song.
Thank You John and Prince.
Respect and Much Love to you both.
George