Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?

Not to be confused with the Club Nouveau song "Why You Treat Me So Bad".

"Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?" is the US follow-up single to Prince's first big hit, "I Wanna Be Your Lover". It is also Prince's first rock and roll-inspired single release. It did not make the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 charts, although it did reach #13 on the R&B Singles charts. The lyrics explore a relationship with a cruel lover. The song prominently features guitar and bass, with the keyboard featured in a less prominent role. A highlight of the song is a soaring guitar solo at the end, played by Prince himself.

"Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?"
Single by Prince
from the album Prince
B-side	"Baby" (US) "Bambi" (NZ)
Released	January 23, 1980
Recorded	April–May 1979[1]
Studio	Alpha Studios, Burbank, California
Genre	Funk rock R&B[2]
Length	3:49
Label	Warner Bros.
Songwriter(s)	Prince
Producer(s)	Prince
Prince singles chronology
"I Wanna Be Your Lover" (1979) "Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?" (1980) "Still Waiting" (1980)

The song was played live on Prince's first three tours, always being the second number. The extended lyrics on the live version continue the main theme, although, later on the Dirty Mind tour, these were replaced by screaming "bitch!" and following this with a blazing guitar solo. The B-side of the song was "Baby" (from For You) in the US and "Bambi" in New Zealand.

In 1987, the song was covered by American actress turned singer Tuesday Knight's self-titled debut album.

In September 2009, Prince released a recording of a live performance of the song at Paisley Park Studios on the Internet.^[3]

Personnel

Information taken from Benoît Clerc and Guitarcloud.^[4][5]

• Prince – lead and backing vocals, electric guitars, clavinet, Yamaha CP-70 electric grand piano, Oberheim 4-Voice, ARP String Ensemble, bass guitar, drums
• André Cymone – backing vocals

Charts

Chart performance for "Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?"

Chart (1980)	Peak position
US Billboard Hot R&B Singles[6]	13

References

1. "Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?". Prince Vault.
2. Ro, Ronin (2011). Prince: Inside the Music and the Masks. St. Martin's Press. p. 45. ISBN 978-0-312-38300-8.
3. "Exclusive: Prince Rehearsal Track! Listen Now!". Drfunkenberry.com. 2009-09-22. Retrieved 2012-01-12.
4. Clerc, Benoît (October 2022). Prince: All the Songs. Octopus. ISBN 9781784728816.
5. "Prince". guitarcloud.org. Retrieved 2023-04-30.
6. "Prince Chart History: Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs". Billboard. Retrieved August 4, 2023.