“People think of Prince and they think ‘vocalist, songwriter, guitarist'. But his bass playing: bar none”: Questlove on the Prince production with the ‘David Garibaldi LM-1 drum beat’ that he calls “one of the most daring funk songs of all time"

Prince playing bass.

It might not be one of his most famous songs - in fact, he’s not even credited as the performer - but Prince’s 777-9311, the 1982 lead single from The Time’s second album, What Time Is It?, holds a special place in the hearts of funk aficionados.

Take Questlove, for example. The Roots man is steeped in funk history, but has a particular fondness for 777-931 which, aside from Morris Day’s lead vocal, was all Prince. And, in a recently unearthed outtake from Nelson George’s 2012 documentary, Finding the Funk, Questlove says that the song shines a light on Prince’s underrated skills as a bassist.