Sugar Walls

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"Sugar Walls"
Sugar Walls single cover.jpg
Single by Sheena Easton
from the album A Private Heaven
B-side "Straight Talking"
Released1984
Recorded20–21 January 1984 [1]
Genre
Length4:01
Label EMI
Songwriter Alexander Nevermind
Producers
Sheena Easton singles chronology
"Strut"
(1984)		"Sugar Walls"
(1984)		"Swear"
(1985)

"Sugar Walls" is a song by Scottish singer Sheena Easton. It was released as the fourth single overall from her fifth studio album, A Private Heaven (1984). Despite stalling at number 95 in the United Kingdom, it became another hit for Easton in the United States, peaking at number nine on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It also reached number three on the Billboard Hot Black Singles chart and number one on both the Billboard Dance/Disco Club Play and 12-inch Singles Sales charts. The music was credited to Alexander Nevermind, a pseudonym used by Prince. [4]

Contents

"Sugar Walls" was given a special release on 13 April 2019, as a 12-inch single picture disc pressing by RT Industries (Razor & Tie), for 2019 National Record Store Day.

Background

The song title is presumed to be a euphemism for the lining of a vagina, and the general content was considered suggestive enough to qualify the song for the Filthy Fifteen. [5] [6] [7] Although Easton's music video for "Sugar Walls" did not feature any controversial visual content, some broadcasters refused the video airplay because of the sexual imagery of the song's lyrics. Televangelist Jimmy Swaggart and Tipper Gore's PMRC criticised the song when it was first released. [8]

Prince came up with the track after having been introduced to Sheena Easton through their engineer, David Leonard. Easton was a fan of Prince, and asked Leonard to see if Prince would be willing to work with her after watching her performance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson . At the time, Prince was working on mixing "Ice Cream Castle" for the Time, but once Leonard told him of Easton, Prince watched her performance of "Hard to Say It's Over" on the show and liked it. [1]

Prince spent the next day recording the instrumental track and a guide vocal to send to Easton. Prince then supervised the recording of her vocals, and they both enjoyed working together. Their work on this track led to further collaborations on Prince's singles "U Got the Look" and "The Arms of Orion". [1]

Personnel

Personnel are sourced from Duane Tudahl. [1]

Charts

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Tudahl, Duane (2018). Prince and the Purple Rain Era Studio Sessions: 1983 and 1984 (Expanded ed.). Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN   9781538116432.
  2. 1 2 Breihan, Tom (4 May 2020). "The Number Ones: Sheena Easton's "Morning Train (Nine to Five)". Stereogum . Retrieved 19 July 2023. Prince, the circa-1984 king of funky dance-pop, took an interest, and he wrote Easton's remarkably horny single 'Sugar Walls'...
  3. ↑ McGarrity, Andre (1 January 1998). "Sheena Easton". In Graff, Gary; du Lac, Josh; McFarlin, Jim (eds.). MusicHound R&B: The Essential Album Guide. Detroit: Visible Ink Press. pp. 190–193.
  4. ↑ "Sheena Easton sets a Billboard chart record when "Sugar Walls" becomes a Top 10 R&B hit". History.com. Archived from the original on 8 March 2010. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
  5. ↑ "Sheena Easton: She's Got the Look - 1424 - Gay Lesbian Bi Trans News - Windy City Times". Windycitymediagroup.com. 3 May 2006. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
  6. ↑ "Philadelphia Inquirer: Search Results". archive.is. 28 July 2013. Archived from the original on 28 July 2013. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
  7. ↑ "Rock Lyrics Seem Less Objectionable During A Campaign - Chicago Tribune". Articles.chicagotribune.com. 25 November 1987. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
  8. ↑ Jennings, Thom (25 September 2014). "JENNINGS: Sheena Easton, Three Dog Night highlight weekend". Niagara Gazette .
  9. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 . St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
  10. ↑ Nanda Lwin (1999). Top 40 Hits: The Essential Chart Guide. Music Data Canada. ISBN   1-896594-13-1.
  11. ↑ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 9647." RPM . Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 27 March 2025.
  12. ↑ "Sheena Easton – Sugar Walls". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  13. ↑ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  14. ↑ "Sheena Easton Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  15. ↑ "Dance Singles Sales" . Billboard . 9 February 1985. Retrieved 27 March 2025.
  16. ↑ "Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs" . Billboard. 9 March 1985. Retrieved 27 March 2025.
  17. ↑ "Dance Club Songs" . Billboard. 23 February 1985. Retrieved 27 March 2025.
  18. ↑ "Cash Box Top 100 Singles". Cash Box . Vol. XLVIII, no. 39. 9 March 1985. p. 4.
  19. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Sheena Easton – Sugar Walls" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  20. ↑ "1985 The Year in Music & Video: Top Pop Singles". Billboard. Vol. 97, no. 52. 28 December 1985. p. T-21.
  21. 1 2 "1985 The Year in Music & Video". Billboard. Vol. 97, no. 52. 28 December 1985. p. T-21.
  22. ↑ "Year End Polls – 1985: Top 100 Singles". Cash Box. Vol. XLIX, no. 29. 28 December 1985. p. 43.
  23. ↑ "Simon Cowell Calls THIS The Worst 'X Factor' Audition". 24 April 2021. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
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