She could have had a hit if Prince had given her an album a few years ealier before Prince changed his style. A Vanity/Apollonia 6 or The Time type album would have given her an instant hit. Instead, Prince didn't do anything for her until after he changed his style. She got his weird artsy/fartsy style on her album. People were sick of what Prince himself was doing back in the late 80s so they sure weren't interested in hearing protegees that made the same artsy/fartsy style music.

The most well loved protegees of the late 80s were the ones that had left the Prince camp such as Andre Cymone, Jesse Johnson, Morris Day, and the Jam and Lewis productions. They were still jamming that cold Minneapolis Sound that people wished Prince himself was still doing. People were laughing at groups like The Family and Jill Jones because their music was in the same "far out" mode as Prince's.

I'm just testing to see if this shows up because my other post isn't showing up. When I go into the forum list, it shows my name listed as the last one that posted but the post itself doesn't show up. The thread is even listed in the "My Org" section but no post is showing. Is Prince reviewing these posts before they go through?

Well damn, after I made this post, now my previous post is showing above it. The org is messing up tonight.
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[Edited 11/15/07 23:01pm]

jazzcherrymoon said:

I totally agree!! Many folks on this site love Jill Jones' album but to me,the vocals are out of control.Jill spends much of the album screaming,yelling and sounding like she is losing her mind on a few tracks We know she is a capable singer but Prince didn't know what to do with her voice.

vainandy said:

Exactly.If her album had been released a few years earlier (1985 or sooner),it would have gotten much more attention and airplay in the wake of 'Purple Rain'.Plus,several of the songs on her album ("G-Spot","All Day/All Night","Mia Bocca") all seem to be from that era anyway.By 1987,those songs didn't sound fresh or new anymore."Mia Bocca" didn't stand a chance on pop radio in 1987.

SoulAlive said:

Exactly, The album really is all over the place. Prince has her yelling these ridiculous psuedo poetry before songs, has her screaming like a psycho on "All Day, All Night". Even the hit Mia Bocca is so weird and out there. The Orger's called it. This artsy/fartsy art funk crap Prince was doing was annoying to listen to with just Priince doing it, then he forced it upon his protegees.

Like you guys said, Jesse, Dre, Jimmy&Terry, Alexander O'neal. These people kept Minni-Apple funk &R&B alive while Prince was on his acid trip. Unfortunatley Jill got caught up in this.

I always wanted Jill to get back with Teena. She would have kicked ass on the Emerald City album. That kind of sound fits Jill's voice.

Or back in 87 when Teena released "Naked to the World" Jill should have been on that. I think Teena could have mentored her, they seem to have a good sister relationship that would have set her career on the right path.

Prince is a genius and he has my undying loyalty but this man really doesn't know what to do with women who are talented. He either fleshes it out or he stifles them and that's kind of disturbing

vainandy said:

YOu took the words out of my mouth. I totally agree. P's most successful protogees were with him during his funk years of the 80's. Nobody except a hard core fan even heard of Chavez or for that matter Jill Jones because by the time they put out albums... Prince no longer had the commmand of the mainstream radio and so therefore his protogees really didn't have a chance.

Yeah, I said it.

jazzcherrymoon said:

Besides the Time... which was really a band performing for Prince, what other protogee did Prince truly do a good job producing?
Shelia E... she had a great first CD, but then again... she was like the prototype Camille.
All the other groups had one hit (due to flash excite that Prince was on the project) or no hit at all.
Now Jam and Lewis.... they know how to produce.

I wish they would have taken Jill on. This girl really deserved a better chance than she got. I would really have a grudge against Prince if I was Jill.
Has Jill pratically ghost singing on the V-6 album so that Vanity, (who is pretty and all but truly can't sing) or god forbid Apples who couldn't sing a lick, to stand at the center mic and lip sync Jill's singing. what did Prince think Jill wasn't good enough? Pretty enough?

sorry for the double post.

server screwing up.
[Edited 11/16/07 21:21pm]

How could Jill let prince get away treating her like the way he did? I heard some horrible stuff. If it is even true.

SoulAlive said:

Gee, that sounds like Tamar. Gril had her album finished and it was canned. I think his little narrow ass got pissed because she wouldn't give in to his "charm".

vainandy said:

exactly.

vainandy said:

I've said this before on here; I think P should have let Jill do some of Brown Mark's material. Actually let Mark produce her. Like he did Mazarati. P could have written a few songs, played some guitar solos and shit. Over saw the project but stayed out of the way. Like he did on Mazarati's album. That's basically Mark's album with P writing 100 MPH and Strawberry Lover. Yes, he wrote that. Jill is actually singing backup on that. And she's singing on "I Guess It's All Over" THAT'S the kind of shit J.J. should have been doing. Some Strawberry Lover, Player's Ball type shit. Her album should have been released in late 84. while P was just starting his PR tour. The Time, his album, Apples6, Sheila, all of their albums all hit during the summer. Jill's should have hit in late Oct, mid November. It would have sold through the roof. Everybody knew who she was from the 1999 video. And the Automatic video. And her dodo role in PR. P even dogged her out in that film. her role was so much bigger. The director said Jill had the best acting skills out of everyone so she had a much bigger part. Yeah, P fucked over Jill in a big way. I think P treated Jill so bad cuz he knew that she KNEW he wasn't no good. But she stayed cuz she was sprung. And probably scared of P. I think P had this spooky hold over women. Like Dracula. I think P showed women shit that scared the hell out of them. I'm serious. I've seen P more than a few times in concert BEFORE Purple Rain. I've seen P close up during this time as well. Trust me, P is an odd looking brutha. He has weird features. And strange looking eyes. P would make these facial expressions while he was performing that was like.....odd. he wouldn't look human at times. Like something would come over him. It was gone during the PR tour. But during Controversy and the 1999 tours? Yeah. And he's hella short. Even in his heels. If u saw P without his shoes on...damn. The motherfucker would look super scary. Like a pimped out hobbit dwarf. P would probably do all kinds of weird shit with his women. Play them crazy sounding music with backwards shit on it. Tell them shit like he can see things that other people can't. Just mind control shit. And it probably worked.

Like a pimped out hobbit dwarf

funkpill said:

blackguitaristz said:

I know what you mean about having some scary looks. Hey I remember when the rumor was that Prince sold his soul to the Devil so that he could become super talented and famous. I remember the whole subliminal message craze and songs that had backward messages within recordings. I was in 8th grade in a catholic school and we had a religious class with some musical guy lecturing about satanism in rock music. He talked about Stairway to heaven, the beatles "number 9" song (turn me up dead man) and Prince with a backward message in his song as well.
Then Prince comes out with Controversy saying the Lord's prayer within a song about Controversies.... just seemed a little irreverent to include the Lord's prayer.

Around this time, Prince wore eye makeup and made facial and eye expressions that seemed to support the rumor that he was possessed or satanic.
But all of rock and roll did that at that time. Ozzy was big then, Kiss, it was the late 70's and very early 80's.
[Edited 11/24/07 3:19am]

Ok, don't know what to say but just that this thread is an interesting read. Kinda like urban legends and stuff....but I'm learning lots from all your posts.

Just listened to J.J.'s music on her myspace page and I agree, she can sing, she has a good voice quality.

wildgoldenhoney said:

Some of it is Urban Legend. It was rumours about P and the occult. It definately were rumours in the early 80's. I'm not going to get into that like I've done in the past on here cuz u have folks flipping out when they hear anything like that. Thet weren't even around when this shit was going down so....I'll side step that.

blackguitaristz said:

good

blackguitaristz said:

Really. What are they flippin out about? I know it's scary but I'm curious to know (not really detail) why those rumors started and what, when, why, where, and how.

blackguitaristz said:

come on spill the beans. would love to hear what you heard or know.

org note me if you like.

Ya I would like to know too

funkpill said:

I swear Prince & Katt Williams were seperated at birth. If they ever do Prince's life story on film, Katt's the man.

blackguitaristz said:

I agree!! Jill's album definitely should have come out sooner.Late '84 or early '85.She should have been allowed to ride the 'Purple Rain' wave along with Sheila E,The Time and the others.Her album would have been HUGE if it had come out around that time.Radio would not have ignored it.I agree with you about BrownMark producing.One reason why the Mazarati album is so good is because Prince didn't take over the production.He allowed BrownMark to handle the production and to keep it funky,sounding like the "Minneapolis Sound".If Prince had been totally in charge,he probably would have brought in violins and an orchestra,making it sound like the Family Prince should have contributed one or two songs to Jill's album....something really catchy and commercial,like "Sugar Walls",to be a single.I always wondered why he gave that song away when his own female proteges at the time (Apollonia 6,Jill Jones) could have used a hot groove like that.


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[Edited 11/26/07 2:02am]

SoulAlive said:

Agreed.

blackguitaristz said:

PeaceandLoveCowgirl said:

yup, I heard that one too... that he had hoofs for feet. that was a dumb one.

what about the removal of a rib. that was mean too.

its ironic how everybody complain about how prince was and how he treated people when if prince was 2 come 2 any of u and say move in 2 paisley park and let me produce u u would leave like no 2morrow princ is nod ifferent than any other artist they make mistake and cant satisfy everybody some leave and some stay beyond it u gotta understand every tv recording and concert deal get its off of prince name not b/c of jill jones,wendy and lisa,rosie gaines, john blackwell, nobody these people pay 4 prince name only

kaptainkrunk said:

Thank you KK. These threads are seriously depressing. These people talk as if they know Prince intimately. Unless you were there or in his head, how do you know? How do you separate fact from fiction? It's all speculation and conjecture. People just roll with whatever they want to roll, typically without verification because some of these myths and legends are unverifiable. He's a man plain and simple - no one is infallible.

What's funny is that I have met some of the people mentioned on this board and they had nothing but positive things to say about Prince. So who knows what the truth is. People are rehashing alleged incidents from two decades ago. People mature, they move on. At least people outside of the Org seem to.

Again, I wasn't speculating about this relationship, just posting from Jill's blog... I find it interesting when a member of the camp, such as Jill or Alan Leeds, opens up on such a personal level... As a fan since the early 80s, I can recall when associates wouldn't dare say squat about the Minneapolis scene.

again i dont know what yall reading cuz this stuff yall claim yall reading i dont c any of this prince bashing in it.prince is prince either u love him or u dont jill jones and everybody else was there cuz they wanted 2 b she could of stayed wit tina marie or went back 2 tina prince didnt hold a gun 2 her head all these people u talkin bout arent really known outside of the prince circle cuz i never would of known of any of em or cared 4 em if i didnt love prince music first and foremost so haters hushhhhh