9 crazy good songs that, naturally, are actually Prince songs

Prince was, yes, one hell of a performer, sauntering across the stage in a way that was simultaneously effortless and fierce, gyrating his body in ways that seemed impossible and occasionally showing off that split. 

But before his death on Thursday at age 57, he was an equally talented songwriter, producer, instrumentalist and the man behind a number of songs that, chances are, you didn't know were Prince songs at all. 

The Bangles, "Manic Monday" 

As the Purple One was wont to do, he purposefully kept a low profile on the impossibly sticky "Manic Monday" by writing it under the pseudonym Christopher. 

The Time, "The Bird"

Prince wrote and performed most of the instruments on The Time's self-titled debut album under another pseudonym, Jamie Starr. "The Bird," off their third album, has become a classic for The Time. 

Sinead O'Connor, "Nothing Compares 2 U"

Prince originally wrote the song for his funk-jazz side project The Family in 1985, but O'Connor's 1990 version is the one that became a chart-topping hit. 

Shelia E, "The Glamorous Life" 

Prince wrote what would become a major hit for protege Shelia E, appearing on her debut solo album. 

Stevie Nicks, "Stand Back"

The Fleetwood Mac frontwoman told MTV in 2009 that she wrote the The Wild Heart hit based on the 1999 track "Little Red Corvette." After she called him up and told him, he came into the studio and contributed instrumentals to the track.

Celine Dion, "With This Tear"

Prince wrote "With This Tear" as a "gift" for Dion for her self-titled 1992 album. 

Cyndi Lauper, "When You Were Mine"

Cyndi Lauper's 1983 single is actually a cover of a song from Prince's Dirty Mind.  

Alicia Keys, "How Come You Don’t Call Me Anymore"

Keys' Songs in A Minor hit was actually a cover of Prince's 1999 ballad "How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore?"

Sheena Easton, "Sugar Walls" 

The very sexual, very Prince "Sugar Walls," off Easton's 1984 album A Private Heaven, was written by Alexander Nevermind, a.k.a. -- you guessed it -- Prince. 

Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.