Sign o' the Times (song)
1987 single by Prince
"Sign o' the Times" (stylized as "Sign "☮︎" the Times") is a song from the American musician Prince's 1987 album of the same name, released as a single on February 18, 1987. The song was intended for two separate Prince studio albums meant to be released in 1986, both shelved: Dream Factory and Crystal Ball. Prince performed all vocals and instruments on the song.
The song proved popular upon release, topping the R&B chart, and reaching number three on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 10 on the UK Singles Chart. In 2010, Rolling Stone ranked "Sign o' the Times" at number 304 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. By July 1987, it sold 200,000 copies in the United States. In 1987, Village Voice's Pazz & Jop critics' poll named "Sign o' the Times" the best single of the year, Prince's second recognition in this category. The song is also included in The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. Cat Glover is pictured on the single hiding her face behind a black heart.
Composition and arrangement
The song was constructed by Prince almost entirely on the Fairlight CMI sampling synthesizer, which provides the primary keyboard riff and sampled electronic bass sounds heard on the track.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Sign o' the Times (song)” as 1987 single by Prince. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as 1987 single by Prince. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 18, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q3006211. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1987, 1986 and 2010.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Sign o' the Times (song)”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Sign o' the Times (song) primary sources, Sign o' the Times (song) archive and Sign research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Sign o' the Times (song)”?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Sign o' the Times (song)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.