Did Prince Write Songs on "Sheila E?"

I was listening to Sheila's third album "Shelia E" and though Prince is not listed as a writer on any of these songs, my ears tell me that he wrote some of them. I know he used several aliases back in the day, so I was wondering if that was the case here. Does anyone know which, if any, of the songs he wrote or co-wrote?

On the ASCAP writer's site I see Prince is credited for writing "Hold Me," but I did not see anything else from the album. However, there are only 637 songs credited to him over there and I know there are some missing.

Thanks for any help on this one.

i believe all the songs credited solely to sheila are actually written by prince. same with vanity, the family, etc. don't quote me on that though .

put it where it feel good

bellanoche said:

purplepolitician said:

i believe all the songs credited solely to sheila are actually written by prince. same with vanity, the family, etc. don't quote me on that though .

Shortberry Strawcake is nothing but a Prince track thrown on her album

shakalakaboom said:

IAintTheOne said:

Shortberry Strawcake is nothing but a Prince track thrown on her album

Prince is all over Sheila's S/T record. I coulda swore that P took actual credit for one track, though. Prince took the photo for the Koo Koo sleeve too.

Am I correct that Prince directed the Koo Koo video as well?

squirrelgrease said:

squirrelgrease said:

Efan said:

Efan said:

bellanoche said:

Efan said:

I love Pride and the Passion.

According to The Vault book, Prince wrote/co-wrote:

Boy's Club
Koo Koo
Love On A Blue Train
One Day (I'm Gonna Make You Mine)
Pride & The Passion

just to confirm...
from Uptown #1, Prince wrote the following...

Boy's Club [with Sheila E.]
Koo Koo [with Sheila E.]
Love On A Blue Train [with Sheila E.]
One Day (I'm Gonna Make You Mine) [with Sheila E.]
Pride And The Passion [with Sheila E.]

Sheila E.: Sheila E.
1987 Paisley Park

funny enough, my two favorite songs on the album weren't written by him
[Edited 3/28/08 0:13am]

Snap said:

This is Sheila's best album,imo.This is the album that should have made her a superstar.This should have been her 'Control'....her '1999'...her 'Off The Wall'.It's a strong,focused album.Her two previous albums had their moments,but I don't think those albums are as "tight" as the third album.There was so much hit material here! I was pissed at the lack of promotion.It was also disappointing that,when the album was released,Sheila had already put her own career on hold to play drums for Prince.While it was cool seeing her in Prince's band,it meant that she couldn't really promote her own amazing album.In 1987,she should have been on tour,playing these songs and establishing her own identity.

These should have been the singles from this album,in this order...

"Hold Me"---smart choice for the first single,and it reached the Top 10 on the R&B charts.But why wasn't there a video?

"Faded Photographs"---a strong pop/rock track with an incredibly catchy chorus.With a powerful video,the MTV crowd would have went nuts over this.

"The Pride And The Passion"---lyrically,this song is like a sequel to "The Glamorous Life".

"Love On A Blue Train"---a funky,naughty R&B jam with playful,sexy lyrics ("let me take your ticket....I'll show you where to stick it").Would have been a huge R&B hit.

Snap said:

SquirrelMeat said:

NouveauDance said:

Faded Photograph my favorite as well

Do you think the lyrics on the songs with no Prince involvement were ABOUT Prince?
I always thought that

If I ever got the chance to "write" a song "on" Shiela E, I'm pretty sure I know what her reaction would be...
"Hey, wait a second, Celestial.....
that's not a pencil!"

SquirrelMeat said:

Virgo said:

Faded Photograph my favorite as well

Do you think the lyrics on the songs with no Prince involvement were ABOUT Prince?
I always thought that

I think so.

I have read different histories on this subject.

I thought most of the songs on Prince's early side project albums he wrote most of the music (Shiela, vanity, Appolonia, Time, Mavis Staples, etc).
Controversy, or Girl Songs, was used on publications ( i used to know this better as a teenager-yes I read ALL the liner notes, etc).

Anyway,I recall in some interview in the eighties that Prince felt it was important for an artist to create their own music and for it to say so on the record. Even if Prince wrote it, it would say Sheila E. wrote it, but it would be a Jamie Starr Production which probably meant that Prince did all the music,etc. and Sheila did her on vocal.

Who knows what really happens but Prince and the artist.

Maybe it is simple as the artist inspires the song, Prince writes it, and then that is how Prince credits the songwriting. I could imagine that, Sheila being a muse for him, she has an idea or a lyric and Prince takes that and writes a great song. Without the inspiration it would be nothing so then Sheila gets the credit for it on the record.

For all the bad stuff I have read about Prince being a control freak I also imagine Prince could be quite generous to his friends. All those songs helped so many people have a better life.

Wow, it is funny and great at the same time how different tastes run with Prince/Prince-related artist music. Some people love certain songs as much as others hate them while others are completely indifferent. That's a testament to the diversity of the music IMO.

Wednesday... and Faded Photographs were my least favorite songs on the album. I thought Faded Photographs sounded too much like a less engaging version of Pat Benatar's "Love is a Battlefield." And Wednesday did nothing for me. I really dig "Hold Me," "Pride and Passion," and "Koo Koo."

I LOVE Sheila, but I don't think any of Sheila's albums would have been huge mainstream successes. The songs lacked that mainstream pop "it factor." Glamorous Life and Love Bizarre were the best poised to crossover, which is why they remain her biggest hits. I think it was a great move for her to be Prince's drummer because it garnered more attention for her true talent and helped her further move from beneath the cloak of just being another "Prince girl." Prince spotlighted her a lot during the tours and folks got to see how badass she is on the skins. She would not have sold out arenas on her own so that tour exposed her to a much larger audience. I might be biased though because the Cat/Sheila/Prince dynamic of the SOTT/LoveSexy tours was off the chain to me. I LOVED them all together on those tours.

I remember buying this album when it came out. "Wednesday Like A River"
was one of my immediate favorite tracks on the album, and it also seemed
one of the most 'Princey' tracks on the album. So it was quite a surprise
when I found out it was one of the tracks not written by him.

Here's a rundown of who wrote what on the "Sheila E." album...
(Prince written songs highlighted in purple)

Sheila E. - Sheila E.
1. One Day (I’m Gonna Make You Mine) (Prince)
2. Wednesday Like A River (Sheila E. / Levi Seacer Jr. / Constance Guzman)
3. Hold Me (Sheila E. / Constance Guzman / Eddie M.)
4. Faded Photographs (Sheila E. / Constance Guzman / Samuel Domingo / Boni Boyer)
5. Koo Koo (Prince)
6. Pride And The Passion (Prince)
7. Boys Club (Prince)
8. Soul Salsa (Sheila E. / Levi Seacer Jr. / Norbert Stachel)
9. Hon E Man (Sheila E. / Levi Seacer Jr. / Constance Guzman)
10. Love On A Blue Train (Prince)

BorisFishpaw said: