Prince Estate Releases 1991 Track ‘With This Tear’ on 10th Death Anniversary
Prince’s NPG Records, in partnership with Legacy Recordings, released “With This Tear” on April 21, a previously unreleased studio recording from Prince’s legendary vault issued to coincide with the 10th anniversary…
Prince's NPG Records, in partnership with Legacy Recordings, released "With This Tear" on April 21, a previously unreleased studio recording from Prince's legendary vault issued to coincide with the 10th anniversary of his death.
Written, produced, and entirely performed by Prince at Paisley Park, the track was newly mixed and mastered by longtime collaborator and GRAMMY-nominated engineer Chris James. Sonically, it trades the sweeping adult-contemporary grandeur of Dion's take for a sparse, piano-led arrangement with soft synth textures and subtle orchestration. Prince originally intended the song for Jevetta Steele before offering it to Céline Dion, who recorded and released her own version in 1992.
The Estate says that this track "is the beginning of a number of unreleased Prince recordings scheduled for release this year, as part of a never-before-released Prince album project."
The accompanying music video features archival childhood photos and footage of Prince in his early years in the studio, playing guitar and piano, as well as footage from the 1970 Minneapolis teachers' strike.
The release accompanied A Day 2 Reflect | A Night 2 Remember at Paisley Park, which featured public tours, the NPG Listening Lounge with a curated playlist, fan gatherings at the Memorial Fence, and a candlelighting ceremony and moment of silence at 4:21 p.m., livestreamed for the global fan community.
Looking ahead, Prince Celebration's "10th Anniversary Celebration of Life" runs June 3–7 across Paisley Park and downtown Minneapolis, featuring a DJ Dance Kickoff at First Avenue and a Downtown Block Party at the Prince mural. Programming includes live performances, exclusive access to unreleased music, rare concert screenings, and tributes to Parade, Emancipation, The Rainbow Children, Chaos and Disorder, and 3121.
Special guest performers include Chaka Khan, Morris Day, Miguel, Tevin Campbell, Bilal, Kat Graham, and Sounds of Blackness, with Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Bootsy Collins and Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis also part of the programming. For the first time, members of The Revolution and the New Power Generation will perform together on stage.
