Prince guitarist talks '1999' re-release, favorite memories of late icon: 'He was a joker'

Prince fans have a lot to be thankful for this holiday season.

On Black Friday, the Prince estate is releasing a remastered version of the late singer's 1982 album "1999," which spawned hits including "Little Red Corvette," "Delirious" and the title track.

The reissue will be available in various formats, including a five CD and DVD "super deluxe edition," which features 23 previously unheard studio tracks recorded between 1981 and 1983, as well as an unreleased concert film shot during his "1999" tour in 1982.

"We approach these things with the completeness and respect and integrity that Prince would demand and the body of work deserves," says Prince archivist Michael Howe, spotlighting unreleased songs such as "Teacher, Teacher," "Don't Let Him Fool Ya" and "Purple Music," some of which had never been performed live before his death in 2016.

USA TODAY talked to Dez Dickerson, guitarist and singer in Prince's backing band The Revolution, about making "1999."

Question: How would you describe Prince's approach to this album?

Answer: Everything would start with a very specific (idea). He heard the music in his head before he started tracking it. By the time he brought me in, it was literally like, "Let me play it (for you) and then let's try a couple things." On "1999," for example, he had me go in and sing the whole song. I don't know at that point if he had zeroed in on what exactly he wanted to do with the final version, with respect to the alternating three-lead vocal thing. (Revolution members Dickerson, Lisa Coleman and Jill Jones share lead vocals with Prince on the song.) He tended to get the clay on the wheel and then massage it into what he wanted to be.

Q: Your guitar solo on "Little Red Corvette" is often called one of the best of all time by music fans. What was it like recording that?

A: In that case, he just played the track forming and said, "I just want you to solo in the break." We knew one another so well by that time and his whole thing was just, "Go ahead and play. Something cool's gonna come out of it." So after I laid down four or five passes, we listened to the takes and then started comping together a final version with pieces from separate takes. By the time we had the finished the solo, it wasn't one that I had played that way from beginning to end. In fact, there were certain sections of it where there's no way I would have played it the way it came out on the record, because I wouldn't have thought to put certain phrases together back to back. Once we arrived at something that we both felt good about, he had me go in and do the vocal stuff.

Q: What stands out about "1999" as an album, in the greater context of Prince's catalog?

A: That album was his pivot point. By the time he did that record, he was still a very young guy – he had been recording extensively from his late teens forward. He really hit his stride in terms of his approach, knowing who he was and what he represented, both musically and visually. So when "1999" came around, it was really a coming together of all those years. Some of it was trial and error, some of it was experimentation, and some of it was seeing what worked consistently live. It all came together in one record where it was like, is it pop? Is it funk? The answer is, it's Prince.

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Q: Has revisiting Prince's music through these various reissues brought back any fond memories of working with him?

A: Absolutely. The thing about recording for us is that it was a way of life – it wasn't just a contractual obligation. Prince was continuously making music, and there are some real personal moments tied to working in various studios in LA and his home (in Paisley Park, Minnesota), or just hanging out and listening to things. So this particular release, with all of these things that haven't been heard before by other people, just brings to mind what a magical period of time that was, because we had this sort of human relationship with the music. Hearing these songs is like hopping in the DeLorean with Doc and going back to the future. It brings back specific memories.

Q: Any favorites?

A: There's so many of them. Pretty much all of them revolve around his sense of humor. One of the little known things about him is that he was an incredible practical joker – we laughed in that band more than anything. One time early on, we were in an airport and these girls walked up and were like, "Wow, you're Prince!" And Prince was like, "No, I'm not Prince." And he pointed to our road manager – a bald-headed white guy in his 30s – and convinced them this guy was Prince. So he took what he did seriously, but especially in the early years, there was that sort of self-deprecating side that he wasn't beyond just having fun.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Prince: 23 previously unreleased songs are coming on '1999' reissue