Soft and Wet: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A reel-to-reel master demo tape of "Soft and Wet" with original Sound 80 box recorded in the summer of 1977 at the Minneapolis studio Sound 80. The tape (a) is on a plastic reel (c) and contained in a black Sound 80 box (b). The tape is black and holds the recording of the song. The black Scotch reel (b) is taped in several places. Text on a piece of masking tape near one edge of the reel has [1/2 Trk / Soft & Wet] handwritten on it in blue ink. The front cover of the Sound 80 box is black and has [SOUND80] repeated on it in pink and blue letters. The back cover is white and has [1/2 Trk / Soft & Wet] handwritten on it. At the beginning of the recording, someone can be heard saying, "One, two, three" before the beat begins. Prince then begins to sing the opening lyrics of the song, which is different from the opening lyrics of the 1978 single released. Much of the remainder of the master demo is similar to the 1978 single.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1977
• Recorded by: Prince, American, 1958 - 2016
• Written by: Prince, American, 1958 - 2016
• Written by: Chris Moon, British-American, born 1953
• Produced by: Sound 80, founded 1969
• Produced by: David Z, American, born 1953
• Type: audiotapes
• Medium: magnetic tapes, plastic and cardboard
• Dimensions: H x W x D (a): 1/2 × 7 × 7 in. (1.3 × 17.8 × 17.8 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W x D (b): 3/4 × 7 1/4 × 7 1/4 in. (1.9 × 18.4 × 18.4 cm)
• Dimensions: Duration: 3 min., 11 sec.
• Place made: Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Composers (Musicians)
• Topic: Instrumentalists (Musicians)
• Topic: Popular music
• Topic: Rhythm and blues (Music)
• Topic: Singers (Musicians)
• Object number: 2019.5.1.1abc
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Alden W. Hall
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: © Warner Records Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.