Which Prince song topped the Billboard Hot 100 for five weeks in 1984?

Prince’s “When Doves Cry” topped the Billboard Hot 100 for five weeks in 1984.

Prince wrote, produced, arranged, and performed the song for the soundtrack of Purple Rain, the film and album that established him as one of the decade’s defining pop stars. Its unusual production famously omitted a conventional bass line, giving the track a stark and distinctive sound.

The single entered the Billboard Hot 100 in June 1984 and reached number one later that month. It remained there for five weeks, becoming Prince’s first American number-one single as a lead performer. The song also became one of the year’s biggest sellers.

Listeners sometimes assume that “Purple Rain” was Prince’s first chart-topping single because of the song’s enduring cultural reputation. However, “When Doves Cry” was the actual breakthrough number one. “Kiss” later gave Prince another Hot 100 leader in 1986, while “1999” became a major hit without reaching number one.