Prince Rogers Nelson was an American singer, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, record producer, and actor. The recipient of numerous awards and nominations, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest musicians of his generation. He was known for his flamboyant, androgynous persona; his wide vocal range, which included a far-reaching falsetto and high-pitched screams; and his skill as a multi-instrumentalist, often preferring to play all or most of the instruments on his recordings. His music incorporated a wide variety of styles, including funk, R&B, rock, new wave, soul, synth-pop, pop, jazz, blues, and hip hop. Prince produced his albums himself, pioneering the Minneapolis sound.
Purple Rain is a 1984 American romantic rock musical drama film scored by and starring Prince in his acting debut. Developed to showcase his talents, it contains several concert sequences, featuring Prince and his band The Revolution. The film is directed by Albert Magnoli, who later became Prince's manager, from a screenplay by Magnoli and William Blinn. The cast also features Apollonia Kotero, Morris Day, Olga Karlatos and Clarence Williams III.
Purple Rain is the sixth studio album by the American singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Prince. It was released on June 25, 1984, by Warner Bros. Records as the soundtrack album to the 1984 film of the same name. Purple Rain was musically denser than Prince's previous albums, emphasizing full band performances, and multiple layers of guitars, keyboards, electronic synthesizer effects, drum machines, and other instruments.
Neneh Mariann Karlsson ; born 10 March 1964), better known as Neneh Cherry, is a Swedish singer, songwriter, rapper, occasional disc jockey and broadcaster. Her musical career started in London in the early 1980s, where she performed in a number of punk and post-punk bands in her youth, including the Slits and Rip Rig + Panic.
Andrew Weiss is an American musician, composer, audio engineer and record producer.
Arthur Baker is an American record producer and DJ best known for his work with hip hop artists like Afrika Bambaataa and Planet Patrol, as well as British group New Order. He is also known for remixing the Jill Jones song "Mia Bocca" on the 12" single, taken from her self-titled debut album Jill Jones (1987), released on Prince's Paisley Park Records, as well as remixing the Pet Shop Boys song, "In the Night". His remix of the song was used as the main theme for the BBC TV programme The Clothes Show between 1986 and 1994. He also remixed the "Massive Jungle Mix" for Tina Turner's UK top 40 single "Whatever You Want". Arthur Baker's songs are represented by Downtown Music Publishing.
For You is the debut studio album by the American singer-songwriter Prince. It was released by Warner Bros. Records on April 7, 1978. All tracks were produced, arranged, composed, and performed by Prince. Prince started recording in September 1977 at Sound 80 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he had previously made a demo. Friend and producer David Rivkin provided advice and engineering assistance.
The Raw & the Cooked is the second and final studio album by British rock band Fine Young Cannibals, released in 1989. The title of the album was lifted from the book of the same name by French anthropologist Claude Lévi-Strauss. Four songs from the album first appeared in film soundtracks in the mid-1980s, three of which were soul tracks from the Tin Men film. The band had already recorded over half of the album by the time David Z came to produce the remainder. His work with the band, which resulted in dance-rock material, included studio experimentation.
"Purple Rain" is a song by the American musician Prince and his backing band the Revolution. It is the title track from the 1984 album of the same name, which in turn is the soundtrack album for the 1984 film of the same name starring Prince, and was released as the third single from the album. The song is a power ballad that combines rock, R&B, gospel, and orchestral music.
The Revolution is an American band formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1979 by Prince, serving as his live band and later as his studio band. The band's sound incorporated rock, pop, R&B, funk, new wave and psychedelic elements. Along with Prince's other projects, the Revolution helped create the Minneapolis sound. By the time of their 1986 breakup, the Revolution had backed Prince on two studio albums, two soundtracks and two videos.
Matt Fink, better known as Dr. Fink, is a keyboardist, producer, and songwriter best-known for playing keyboards in Prince's band, The Revolution. At Prince concerts, he was distinguished onstage for performing dressed in a surgical mask and scrubs. He has also worked with artists, songwriters and producers, including The Time, Lipps Inc., The Jets, Vanity 6, David Z., Bobby Z., P. Diddy, The Rembrandts, Phil Solem, PC Munoz, 7 Aurelius, Steve Nathan, Shock G, Kris Vanderheyden Bray, Criss Starr, and Marc Mozart.
Robert B. Rivkin, aka Bobby Z., is an American musician and record producer, best known as being the drummer for Prince's backing band The Revolution from 1978 to 1986.
Desmond D'andrea Dickerson is an American guitarist and singer who was a member of Prince's band, the Revolution.
"I've Got You Under My Skin" is a song written by American composer Cole Porter in 1936. It was introduced that year in the Eleanor Powell musical film Born to Dance in which it was performed by Virginia Bruce. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song that year but lost out to "The Way You Look Tonight". Popular recordings in 1936 were by Ray Noble and his Orchestra and by Hal Kemp and his Orchestra.
Funk rock is a fusion genre that mixes elements of funk and rock. James Brown and others declared that Little Richard and his mid-1950s road band, the Upsetters, were the first to put the funk in the rock and roll beat, with a biographer stating that their music "spark[ed] the musical transition from fifties rock and roll to sixties funk".
Magnus Hubert Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes is an English composer, record producer and songwriter.
"She Drives Me Crazy" is a song by British group Fine Young Cannibals, released in 1988 by London Records as the first single from their second and final album, The Raw & the Cooked (1989). The song was written by the group's frontman Roland Gift with David Steele and produced by FYC with David Z. It peaked at number five on the UK Singles Chart in January 1989, becoming the band's highest charting single. "She Drives Me Crazy" proved an even bigger hit in the US, topping the Billboard Hot 100 on 15 April 1989 for one week and becoming the first of two chart-topping singles for the band on that chart. It also reached No.1 on the Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play Singles chart, as well as in countries including Australia, Austria, Canada, New Zealand and Spain. It reached the top 3 on several European charts including Belgium, West Germany, Iceland, Ireland and Switzerland. Two different music videos were produced for the song, directed by Philippe Decouflé and Pedro Romhanyi.
Mark Saunders is a British record producer and audio engineer who has worked on a number of albums since the 1980s, with artists including the Cure, David Byrne, Erasure, and Tricky.
Susan Rogers is an American professor, sound engineer, and record producer best known for being Prince's staff engineer during his commercial peak (1983-1987), including on albums like Purple Rain, Around the World in a Day, Parade, Sign o' the Times, and The Black Album. During this time, Rogers laid the foundations for Prince's now-famous vault by beginning the process of collecting and cataloguing all his studio and live recordings. She has also worked as a sound engineer and record producer for other musical artists such as Barenaked Ladies, David Byrne, Robben Ford, Jeff Black, Rusted Root, Tricky, Michael Penn, Toad the Wet Sprocket, and Tevin Campbell. Rogers is an associate professor in the Music Production and Engineering and Liberal Arts departments at Berklee College of Music.
Jill Jones is the self-titled debut solo album from the artist of the same name; Jill Jones. The album was released in 1987 on Paisley Park / Warner Bros. Records. It was produced by Jones and Prince.
