PRINCE
JANICE'S BLUES ALLEY PRESENTS
PRINCE
b. Prince Rogers Nelson, 7 June 1958, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. A prodigiously talented singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer, Prince was named after the Prince Roger Trio, of whom his father, John Nelson, was a member. After running away from his mother and stepfather he briefly joined up with John, who bought him his first guitar. He was later adopted by the Andersons, and became a close friend of Andre Anderson (later Andre Cymone). Prince was already conversant with piano and guitar and had written his own material from an early age. Together with Anderson he joined the latter's cousin, Charles Smith, in a junior high school band titled Grand Central. As Prince progressed to high school, Grand Central became Champagne, and he introduced original material into his sets for the first time. His musical development continued with the emergence of 'Uptown', a musical underground scene that included Flyte Time, as well as other important influences including Jellybean Johnson, Terry Lewis and Alexander O'Neal. Prince's first demos were recorded in 1976 with Chris Moon, who gave him guidance in the operation of a music studio, and free reign to experiment at weekends. Moon also introduced him to backer Owen Husney, after which Prince provided interested parties with a superior-quality demo. Husney and his partner Levinson set about a massive 'hyping' campaign, the results of which secured him a long-term, flexible contract with Warner Brothers Records after a great deal of scrambling amongst the majors.
Debuting with Prince For You, Prince sent shock waves through his new sponsors by spending double his entire advance on the production of a single album. It sold moderately (USA number 163), with the single 'Soft And Wet' making a big impact in the R&B charts. The album's blend of deep funk and soul was merely an appetizer in comparison to his later exploits, but enough to reassure his label that their investment had been a solid one. By 1979 Prince had put together a firm band (his debut had been recorded almost exclusively by himself). This featured Cymone (bass), Gayle Chapman and Matt Fink (both keyboards), Bobby Z (drummer) and Dez Dickerson (guitar). Despite lavishing considerably less time and money on it than its predecessor, Prince nevertheless charted (USA number 22) and boasted two successful singles, 'Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?' and 'I Wanna Be Your Lover'. A succession of live dates promoting the new album Dirty Mind saw Lisa Coleman replacing Chapman. The album was the first fully to embody Prince's sexual allure, and the phallic exhortations on his Fender Telecaster and explicit material such as 'Head' appalled and enticed in equal proportions. Artists such as Rick James, whom Prince supported in 1980, were among those who mistrusted Prince's open, androgynous sexuality. Returning to Minneapolis after an aborted UK tour, Cymone departed for a solo career while former members of Flyte Time and others released a self-titled album under the band name the Time. It transpired later that their songs had been written by Prince, who was the motivation behind the entire project. Prince was nothing if not prolific, and both Controversy and 1999 followed within 12 months. Controversy attempted to provide a rationale for the sexual machinations that dominated Dirty Mind, falling unhappily between the two stools of instinct and intellect. It was a paradox not entirely solved by 1999, a double album that had enough strong material to make up two sides of excellence but no more. The promotional tour featured a special revue troupe: Prince And The Revolution headlined above the Time and Vanity 6 (an all-girl Prince creation). The single 'Little Red Corvette' was lifted from the album and was the first to gain significant airplay on MTV. The song was almost entirely constructed for this purpose, using a strong 'white' metaphor as leverage. After internal disputes with the Time, Prince began work on the Purple Rain film, a glamorized autobiographical piece in which he would star. The potent social commentary of 'When Doves Cry' was lifted from the soundtrack and became the first Prince song to grace the top of the US charts. 'Let's Go Crazy' and 'Purple Rain' (numbers 1 and 2, respectively) further established him as a figurehead for the 80s. The latter saw him turn his hand to Jimi Hendrix pyrotechnics and textures in the song. After the end of a huge and successful tour, Prince returned to the studio for a duet with Apollonia, the latest in a seemingly endless succession of female prot�g�es. He also found time to revitalize the career of Scottish pop singer Sheena Easton by composing her US Top 10 effort 'Sugar Walls'. When Around The World In A Day emerged in 1985 it topped the US charts for a three-week run, despite a deliberate lack of promotion. Drowning in quasi-psychedelia and 60s optimism, it was a diverting but strangely uneventful, almost frivolous, jaunt. It preceded the announcement that Prince was retiring from live appearances. Instead, he had founded the studio/label/complex Paisley Park in central Minneapolis, which would become the luxurious base for his future operations. As work began on a second movie, Under The Cherry Moon, 'Kiss' was released to become his third US number 1. Held one place beneath it was the Bangles' 'Manic Monday', written by Prince under one of his numerous pseudonyms, in this case, Christopher.
He quickly overturned his decision not to perform live, and set out on the Parade tour to promote the number 1 album of the same name. Unfortunately, although 'Kiss' and 'Girls And Boys' represented classic Prince innuendo, the rest of the album lacked focus. The shows, however, were spectacular even by Prince standards, but his backing band the Revolution were nevertheless disbanded at the end of the tour.
In 1987 Prince instituted a new line-up for the latest live engagements. While retaining the backbone of the Revolution (Fink, Leeds, Brooks and Safford) he added Sheila E, Marco Weaver, and Seacer. The new album was to be a radical departure from the laconic, cosseted atmosphere that pervaded Parade. 'Sign 'O' The Times', the title track, was a hard-hitting testimony to urban dystopia, drug-related violence and human folly. The vast majority of tracks on the double album revisited the favoured territory of sex and sensuality. The follow-up album would elaborate on the darker shades of Sign 'O' The Times'apocalyptic vision. However, the Black Album was recalled by Prince before it reached the shops. Combining primal funk slices with sadistic overtones, Prince's decision to suspend it ensured that it would become the 80s' most coveted bootleg. The mythology surrounding its non-release has it that the Black Album was the work of Prince's 'dark' side - 'Spooky Electric'. This was given credence by the subsequent Lovesexy, apparently the result of the pre-eminence of 'Camille' - Prince's 'good' side. Playing both albums side by side certainly reveals a sharp dichotomy of approach. His next tour, meanwhile, saw the inclusion of a huge Pink Cadillac as a mobile part of the set. Exhausted musicians testified to the difficulty of backing their leader, rushing from orchestrated stadium performances to private club dates where entire sets would be improvised, all of which Prince, naturally, took in his stride. 1989 closed with a duet with Madonna, who, alongside Michael Jackson, was the only artist able to compete with Prince in terms of mass popularity.
The following year was dominated by the soundtrack album for the year's biggest film,Batman. If the album was not his greatest artistic success, it proved a commercial smash, topping the US charts for six weeks. He had also written and produced an album for singer Mavis Staples. At first glance it seemed an unlikely combination, but Prince's lyrics tempered the sexual with the divine in a manner that was judged acceptable by the grand lady of gospel. In February 1990 Sinead O'Connor recorded a version of Prince's composition 'Nothing Compares 2 U', which topped both the US and UK charts. In September 1990 he released Graffiti Bridge, which accompanied a film release of the same title. The album was composed entirely of Prince compositions of which he sang just over half - other guests included Tevin Campbell, Mavis Staples and the Time. Both album and film were critical and commercial failures, however. Graffiti Bridge was his first commercial let-down for some time, peaking at number 6 in the USA (although it made number 1 in the UK). Prince, as usual, was already busy putting together new projects. These included his latest backing outfit, the New Power Generation, featuring Tony M (rapper), Rosie Gaines (vocals), Michael Bland (drums), Levi Seacer (guitar), Kirk Johnson (guitar), Sonny T (bass) and Tommy Barbarella (keyboards). They were in place in time for the sessions for Diamonds And Pearls, a comparatively deliberate and studied body of work. The album was released in October 1991, and showcased the new backing band. Greeted by most critics as a return to form, the New Power Generation were considered his most able and vibrant collaborators since the mid-80s. Taken from it, 'Cream' became a US number 1. 1992's 'Money Don't Matter 2 Night' featured a video directed by film-maker Spike Lee, while 'Sexy MF' was widely banned on UK radio because of its suggestive lyrics. Both 'Sexy MF' and 'My Name Is Prince' were included on the Love Symbol Album - which introduced the cryptic 'symbol' that he would legally adopt as his name in June 1993. Much of the attention subsequently surrounding the artist concerned his protracted battle against his record company, Warner Brothers. His behaviour became increasingly erratic - speaking only through envoys, he appeared at the 1995 BRIT Awards ceremony with the word 'slave' written across his forehead as a protest. In October he abandoned the symbol moniker and from that point was known as 'The Artist Formerly Known As Prince'. Naturally, this produced enough running gags to fill a book and his credibility was in serious danger.
In 1995 he released The Gold Experience, a return to the raunchy funk of his 80s prime in tracks such as 'Pussy Control' and 'I Hate You'. It also included the smoothly accessible 'The Most Beautiful Girl In The World', his bestselling single for many years. Following the release of Chaos And Disorder in July 1996, he sacked the New Power Generation and announced that he would not be touring, preferring to spend more time with his wife and new baby (who tragically died months after birth). He celebrated his release from the Warner Brothers contract with the sprawling Emancipation.
Although 'The Artist Formerly Known As Prince' has yet to provide the definitive album of which he is so obviously capable, the continued flow of erratic, flawed gems suggests that the struggle will continue to captivate his audience through the 90s. It it universally hoped that he reverts to his real name.
Encyclopedia of Popular Music Copyright Muze UK Ltd. 1989 - 1998
Chicago Nation Warner Brothers Official Site Dawnation - Independent Guide 2 Prince The Interactive Experience Uptown Chris Halbert's 'Artist Formerly Known as Prince' The Dolphonic ExperienceA search on the web will reveal several more sites.
| LOOK | ALBUM | YEAR |
 | Newpower Soul | 1998 |
| Crystal Ball | 1998 |
| Emancipation | 1997 |
| Chaos & Disorder | 1996 |
| Gold Experience | 1995 |
| The Black Album | 1994 |
| Come | 1994 |
| Hits The B-sides | 1993 |
| Hits 2 | 1993 |
| Hits 1 | 1993 |
| [Symbol] | 1992 |
| Diamonds and Pearls | 1991 |
| Graffitti Bridge | 1990 |
| Batman-- Music from the Motion Picture | 1989 |
| Lovesexy | 1988 |
| Sign O' the Times | 1987 |
| Parade [Under the Cherry Moon] | 1986 |
| Around the World in a Day | 1985 |
| Purple Rain | 1984 |
| 1999 | 1982 |
| Controversy | 1991 |
| Dirty Mind | 1980 |
| Prince | 1979 |
| For You | 1978 |
Newpower Soul 1998
| 01. New Power Soul 02. Mad Sex 03. Until Ure In My Arms 04. When U Love Somebody 05. Shoo-bed-ooh 06. Push It Up |
07. Freaks On This Side 08. Come On 09. The One 10. Funky Music 11. Bonus Hidden Track |
Crystal Ball 1998
|
DISC 1: 01. Crystal Ball 02. Dream Factory 03. Acknowledge Me 04. Ripopgodazippa 05. Lovesign 06. Hide The Bone 07. 2morrow 08. So Dark 09. Movie Star 10. Tell Me How U Wanna Be Done
DISC 2: |
DISC 3: 01. Days Of Wild 02. Last Heart 03. PoomPoom 04. She Gave Her Angels 05. 18 & Over 06. The Ride 07. Get Loose 08. P. Control 09. Make Your Mama Happy 10. Goodbye
DISC 4: |
Emancipation 1996
| Disc 1 | |
| 01. Jam Of The Year 02. Right Back Here In My Arms 03. Somebody's Somebody 04. Get Yo Groove On 05. Courtin' Time 06. Betcha By Golly Wow |
07. We Gets Up 08. White Mansion 09. Damned If I Do 10. I Can Make You Love Me 11. Mr. Happy 12. In This Bed I Scream |
| Disc 2 | |
| 01. Sex In The Summer 02. One Kiss At A Time 03. Soul Sanctuary 04. Emale 05. Curious Child 06. Dreamin' About U |
07. Joint 2 Joint 08. The Holy River 09. Let's Have A Baby 10. Saviour 11. The Plan 12. Friend, Lover, Sister, Mother/Wife |
| Disc 3 | |
|
01. Slave 02. New World 03. The Human Body 04. Face Down 05. La, La, La Means I Love You 06. Style |
07. Sleep Around 08. Da, Da, Da 09. My Computer 10. One Of Us 11. The Love We Make 12. Emancipation |
Chaos & Disorder 1996
|
01. Chaos And Disorder 02. I Like It There 03. Dinner With Delores 04. The Same December 05. Right And Wrong 06. Zannalee |
07. I Rock Therefore I Am 08. Into The Light 09. I Will 10. Dig U Better Dead 11. Had U |
Gold Experience 1995
|
01. P Control 02. NPG Operator 03. Endorphinmachine 04. Shhh 05. We March 06. NPG Operator 07. The Most Beautiful Girl In The World 08. Dolphin 09. NPG Operator |
10. Now 11. NPG Operator 12. 319 13. NPG Operator 14. Shy 15. Billy Jack Bitch 16. Eye Hate U 17. NPG Operator 18. Gold |
The Black Album 1994
| 01. Le Grind 02. Cindy C. 03. Dead On It 04. When 2 R In Love |
05. Bob George 06. SUPERFUNKYCALIFRAGISEXY 07. 2 Nigs United 4 West Compton 08. Rockhard In A Funky Place |
Come 1994
|
01. Come 02. Space 03. Pheromone 04. Loose! 05. Papa |
06. Race 07. Dark 08. Solo 10. Letitgo 11. Orgasm |
Hits-The B-Sides 1993
| DISK 1 | |
| 01. When Doves Cry 02. Pop Life 03. Soft And Wet 04. I Feel For You 05. Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad? 06. When You Were Mine 07. Uptown 08. Let's Go Crazy 09. 1999 |
10. I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man 11. Nothing Compares 2 U 12. Adore 13. Pink Cashmere 14. Alphabet St. 15. Sign 'O' The Times 16. Thieves In The Temple 17. Diamonds And Pearls 18. 7 |
| DISK 2 | |
| 01. Controversy 02. Dirty Mind 03. I Wanna Be Your Lover 04. Head 05. Do Me, Baby 06. Delirious 07. Little Red Corvette 08. I Would Die 4 U 09. Raspberry Beret |
10. If I Was Your Girlfriend 11. Kiss 12. Peach 13. U Got The Look 14. Sexy M.F. 15. Gett Off 16. Cream 17. Pope 18. Purple Rain |
| DISK 3 | |
|
01. Hello 02. 200 Balloons 03. Escape 04. Gotta Stop (Messin' About) 05. Horny Toad 06. Feel U Up 07. Girl 08. I Love U In Me 09. Erotic City 10. Shockadelica |
11. Irrestistible Bitch 12. Scarlet Pussy 13. La, La, La, He, Hee 14. She's Always In My Hair 15. 17 Days 16. How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore 17. Another Lonely Christmas 18. God 19. 4 The Tears In Your Eyes 20. Power Fantasic |
Hits 2 1993
|
01. Controversy 02. Dirty Mind 03. I Wanna Be Your Lover 04. Head 05. Do Me, Baby 06. Delirious 07. Little Red Corvette 08. I Would Die 4 U 09. Raspberry Beret |
10. If I Was Your Girlfriend 11. Kiss 12. Peach 13. U Got The Look 14. Sexy M.F. 15. Gett Off 16. Cream 17. Pope 18. Purple Rain |
Hits 1 1993
|
01. When Doves Cry 02. Pop Life 03. Soft And Wet 04. I Feel For You 05. Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad? 06. When You Were Mine 07. Uptown 08. Let's Go Crazy 09. 1999 |
10. I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man 11. Nothing Compares 2 U 12. Adore 13. Pink Cashmere 14. Alphabet St. 15. Sign 'O' The Times 16. Thieves In The Temple 17. Diamonds And Pearls 18. 7 |
[symbol] 1992
| 01. My Name Is Prince 02. Sexy M.F. 03. Love 2 The 9's 04. The Morning Papers 05. The Max 06. Blue Light 07. I Wanna Melt With U 08. Sweet Baby |
09. The Continental 10. Damn U 11. Arrogance 12. The Flow 13. 7 14. And God Created Woman 15. 3 Chains O' Gold 16. The Sacrifice Of Victor |
Diamonds & Pearls 1991
|
01. Thunder 02. Daddy Pop 03. Diamonds and Pearls 04. Cream 05. Strollin' 06. Willing and Able 07. Gett Off |
08. Walk Don't Walk 09. Jughead 10. Money Don't Matter 2 Night 11. Push 12. Insatiable 13. Live 4 Love |
Graffiti Bridge 1990
|
01. Can't Stop This Feeling I Got 02. New Power Generation 03. Release It 04. Question Of U 05. Elephants and Flowers 06. Round and Round 07. We Can Funk 08. Joy In Repetition 09. Love Machine |
10. Tick, Tick, Bang 11. Shake! 12. Thieves In The Temple 13. Latest Fashion 14. Melody Cool 15. Still Would Stand All Time 16. Graffiti Bridge 17. New Power Generation (Pt II) |
Batman: Music From The Motion Picture 1989
| 01. Batdance 02. Lemon Crush 03. Electric Chair 04. Vicki Waiting 05. The Future |
06. Partyman 07. The Arms Of Orion 08. Scandalous 09. Trust |
Lovesexy 1988
| 01. Anna Stesia 02. Glam Slam 03. I Know 04. Dance On 05. Alphabet Street |
06. I Wish U Heaven 07. Love Sexy 08. Positively 09. When 2 R In Love |
Sign 'O' The Times 1987
|
Disc 1 01. Sign 'o' The Times 02. Play In The Sunshine 03. Housequake 04. Ballad Of Dorothy Parker 05. It 06. Starfish and Coffee 07. Slow Love 08. Hot Thing 09. Forever In My Life |
Disc 2 01. U Got The Look 02. If I Was Your Girlfriend 03. Strange Relationship 04. I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man 05. The Cross 06. It's Gonna Be A Beautiful Night 07. Adore |
Parade (Under The Cherry Moon) 1986
|
01. Christopher Tracy's Parade 02. New Position 03. I wonder U 04. Under The Cherry Moon 05. Girls & Boys 06. Life Can Be So Nice |
07. Venus De Milo 08. Mountians 09. Do U Lie? 10. Kiss 11. Anotherloverholenyohead 12. Sometimes It Snows In April |
Around The World In A Day 1985
|
01. Around The World In A Day 02. Paisley Park 03. Condition Of The Heart 04. Raspberry Beret 05. Tamborine |
06. America 07. Pop Life 08. The Ladder 09. Temptation |
Purple Rain 1984
|
01. Let's Go Crazy 02. Take Me With U 03. The Beautiful Ones 04. Computer Blue 05. Darling Nikki |
06. When Doves Cry 07. I Would Die 4 U 08. Baby I'm A Star 09. Purple Rain |
1999 1982
| 01. 1999 02. Little Red Corvette 03. Delirious 04. Let's Pretend We're Married 05. D.M.S.R. 06. Automatic |
07. Something In The Water (Does Not Compute) 08. Free 09. Lady Cab Driver 10. All The Critics Love U In New York 11. International Lover |
Controversy 1981
|
01. Controversy 02. Sexuality 03. Do Me, Baby 04. Private joy |
05. Ronnie, Talk To Russia 06. Let's Work 07. Annie Christian 08. Jack U Off |
Dirty Mind 1980
| 01. Dirty Mind 02. When You Were Mine 03. Do It All Night 04. Gotta Broken Heart Again |
05. Uptown 06. Head 07. Sister 08. Partyup |
Prince 1979
|
01. I Wanna Be Your Lover 02. Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad? 03. Sexy Dancer 04. When Were Dancing Close And Slow 05. With You |
06. Bambi 07. Still Waiting 08. I Feel For You 09. It's Gonna Be Lovely |
For You 1978
|
01. For You 02. In Love 03. Soft And Wet 04. Crazy You 05. Just As Long As We're Together |
06. Baby 07. My Love Is Forever 08. So Blue 09. I'm Yours |
