pinkcashmere23 said:

violetcrush said:

The AOL live chat text did not originate here on the Org. The text is from a published interview that was done by the AOL Live Chat site on July 22, 1997 directly with Prince/The Artist. The interview was published with his involvement and permission. It was never deleted. I have no doubt that he chose the questions though. Here is the link to the entire interview, which is also found on princevault.com:

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https://sites.google.com/site/prninterviews/home/aol-live-22-july-1997

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I read your text about Adore, and I followed that with the date and information for the show where Prince was asked about the song by an NPGMC member.

Thanks for sharing the link to the chat! I've been wanting to read it again.

You're welcome!! I love all of the Q & A on this one

violetcrush said:

luvgirl said:

violetcrush said: Here's the link and some parts you left out https://www.theguardian.c...c-released One day, he went into a room with a notebook and, within an hour, emerged with the lyrics to Nothing Compares 2 U. Rogers, who witnessed many such bursts of creativity, remembers, “The song came out like a sneeze.” As usual, she rolled the tapes as Prince laid down instrument after instrument, mixing and overdubbing in the same session (Eric Leeds overdubbed the sax part three days later). Rogers felt the finished song was “exceptional, in his Top 10”, but has a compelling theory about why Prince didn’t release the song under his own name (a live duet with Rosie Gaines appeared years later, on the 1993 compilation, The Hits/The B-Sides). “He wasn’t living with anyone, but he was a young man writing about domesticity. The line ‘all the flowers that you planted in my back yard went out and died’… it would have been Sandy who planted those flowers. ‘And I know that living with me baby is sometimes hard, but I’m willing to give it another try…’ There was no romantic relationship with Sandy. It’s not a pained ‘Help me, baby’ track. It’s: ‘You’re gone and I miss you,’ which is probably why he felt comfortable giving the song away to the Family. He released his material based on what he wanted us to know about him and, wonderful as it is, he didn’t want it to represent him.”

Again, while I really respect Susan Rogers, and think she is a very reliable resource for information about recording with Prince during that time, I don't agree with her perception of this song being just a platonic expression toward his housekeeper. Also, he gave away Come Home to Mavis Staples and 101 to Sheena Easton - both very intense songs about wanting his lover back. He also gave 5 Women - another intense song about missing a lover - to Joe Cocker. Her idea that it was not a love song, so he felt comfortable giving it away does not mesh with other songs that he gave away. And in this case, the song was still staying close to him by giving it to The Family - and if it is in fact inspired by Susannah - she was co-lead for the song, which also makes sense.

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The fact that Susan spent much time with Prince does not mean she couldn't get a song meaning or inspiration misconstrued.

I think it's possible that the song was inspired by both Sandy and Susannah. Meaning her absence may have initially inspired some of the lyrics but he may have been thinking of Susannah as well when writing the more romantic ones. It does make sense if that was the case that he would give it to The Family for her to sing on.She seems very sure that the song is about her and I recall it being said in a FB Live with she and Paul. It seems like it was Paul that said it iirc.

violetcrush said:

pinkcashmere23 said:

Thanks for sharing the link to the chat! I've been wanting to read it again.

You're welcome!! I love all of the Q & A on this one

I do too. I loved his respose to the question if he was still hungry!

pinkcashmere23 said:

violetcrush said:

Again, while I really respect Susan Rogers, and think she is a very reliable resource for information about recording with Prince during that time, I don't agree with her perception of this song being just a platonic expression toward his housekeeper. Also, he gave away Come Home to Mavis Staples and 101 to Sheena Easton - both very intense songs about wanting his lover back. He also gave 5 Women - another intense song about missing a lover - to Joe Cocker. Her idea that it was not a love song, so he felt comfortable giving it away does not mesh with other songs that he gave away. And in this case, the song was still staying close to him by giving it to The Family - and if it is in fact inspired by Susannah - she was co-lead for the song, which also makes sense.

*

The fact that Susan spent much time with Prince does not mean she couldn't get a song meaning or inspiration misconstrued.

I think it's possible that the song was inspired by both Sandy and Susannah. Meaning her absence may have initially inspired some of the lyrics but he may have been thinking of Susannah as well when writing the more romantic ones. It does make sense if that was the case that he would give it to The Family for her to sing on.She seems very sure that the song is about her and I recall it being said in a FB Live with she and Paul. It seems like it was Paul that said it iirc.

Yes, that is very possible. Susan seems to imply in her comments that Prince may have been inspired by both. I also wonder if the lyric "all the flowers that you planted in the backyard all died when you went away" could also be figurative rather than literal, or have a double meaning. In his song Condition Of The Heart he has the lyric, "I'm blinded by the Daisies in your yard", which is clearly a figurative way to express how strongly he feels for the woman.

pinkcashmere23 said:

luvgirl said:

pinkcashmere23 said:

I think it's possible that the song was inspired by both Sandy and Susannah. Meaning her absence may have initially inspired some of the lyrics but he may have been thinking of Susannah as well when writing the more romantic ones. It does make sense if that was the case that he would give it to The Family for her to sing on.She seems very sure that the song is about her and I recall it being said in a FB Live with she and Paul. It seems like it was Paul that said it iirc.

No, if it's the same live Facebook that I'm thinking about, Paul was actually shocked that she was saying that NC2U was about her, and kept saying something along the lines like, 'Its about you??? I didn't not know that..' It was actually kind of awkward. Susannah gave him a look like, what's the problem? [Edited 1/6/19 15:09pm]

Oh ok. I'll have to watch it again if it's still up. I couldn't remember if it was him or her who said it. I thought I remembered Jerome or Jelly Bean saying something about it as well.

violetcrush said:

pinkcashmere23 said:

I think it's possible that the song was inspired by both Sandy and Susannah. Meaning her absence may have initially inspired some of the lyrics but he may have been thinking of Susannah as well when writing the more romantic ones. It does make sense if that was the case that he would give it to The Family for her to sing on.She seems very sure that the song is about her and I recall it being said in a FB Live with she and Paul. It seems like it was Paul that said it iirc.

Yes, that is very possible. Susan seems to imply in her comments that Prince may have been inspired by both. I also wonder if the lyric "all the flowers that you planted in the backyard all died when you went away" could also be figurative rather than literal, or have a double meaning. In his song Condition Of The Heart he has the lyric, "I'm blinded by the Daisies in your yard", which is clearly a figurative way to express how strongly he feels for the woman.

Yes the lyrics about the flowers brought to mind the ones in "Condition of The Heart" for me too.

luvgirl said:

pinkcashmere23 said:

I think it's possible that the song was inspired by both Sandy and Susannah. Meaning her absence may have initially inspired some of the lyrics but he may have been thinking of Susannah as well when writing the more romantic ones. It does make sense if that was the case that he would give it to The Family for her to sing on.She seems very sure that the song is about her and I recall it being said in a FB Live with she and Paul. It seems like it was Paul that said it iirc.

No, if it's the same live Facebook that I'm thinking about, Paul was actually shocked that she was saying that NC2U was about her, and kept saying something along the lines like, 'Its about you??? I didn't not know that..' It was actually kind of awkward. Susannah gave him a look like, what's the problem? [Edited 1/6/19 15:09pm]

Paul was being sarcastic during that discussion. Just like when he said that NC2U was his favorite song, Susannah said something similar. That whole session was them joking around and being sarcastic. Even if Paul was being completely serious, which I doubt, it's not like he would have had a conversation with Prince about it. And he left shortly after they made the record.

violetcrush said:

luvgirl said:

pinkcashmere23 said: No, if it's the same live Facebook that I'm thinking about, Paul was actually shocked that she was saying that NC2U was about her, and kept saying something along the lines like, 'Its about you??? I didn't not know that..' It was actually kind of awkward. Susannah gave him a look like, what's the problem? [Edited 1/6/19 15:09pm]

Paul was being sarcastic during that discussion. Just like when he said that NC2U was his favorite song, Susannah said something similar. That whole session was them joking around and being sarcastic. Even if Paul was being completely serious, which I doubt, it's not like he would have had a conversation with Prince about it. And he left shortly after they made the record.

I'm listening to it now. It was Susannah who said it was about her and Paul said he didn't know. She said she didn't want to assume that Adore was for her but that Prince came and got her in their bed room and took her down to the studio and played it for her. They were all cutting up a lot throughout the chat and Jerome said Prince wrote 17 Days for him.

violetcrush said:

luvgirl said:

violetcrush said: Here's the link and some parts you left out https://www.theguardian.c...c-released One day, he went into a room with a notebook and, within an hour, emerged with the lyrics to Nothing Compares 2 U. Rogers, who witnessed many such bursts of creativity, remembers, “The song came out like a sneeze.” As usual, she rolled the tapes as Prince laid down instrument after instrument, mixing and overdubbing in the same session (Eric Leeds overdubbed the sax part three days later). Rogers felt the finished song was “exceptional, in his Top 10”, but has a compelling theory about why Prince didn’t release the song under his own name (a live duet with Rosie Gaines appeared years later, on the 1993 compilation, The Hits/The B-Sides). “He wasn’t living with anyone, but he was a young man writing about domesticity. The line ‘all the flowers that you planted in my back yard went out and died’… it would have been Sandy who planted those flowers. ‘And I know that living with me baby is sometimes hard, but I’m willing to give it another try…’ There was no romantic relationship with Sandy. It’s not a pained ‘Help me, baby’ track. It’s: ‘You’re gone and I miss you,’ which is probably why he felt comfortable giving the song away to the Family. He released his material based on what he wanted us to know about him and, wonderful as it is, he didn’t want it to represent him.”

Again, while I really respect Susan Rogers, and think she is a very reliable resource for information about recording with Prince during that time, I don't agree with her perception of this song being just a platonic expression toward his housekeeper. Also, he gave away Come Home to Mavis Staples and 101 to Sheena Easton - both very intense songs about wanting his lover back. He also gave 5 Women - another intense song about missing a lover - to Joe Cocker. Her idea that it was not a love song, so he felt comfortable giving it away does not mesh with other songs that he gave away. And in this case, the song was still staying close to him by giving it to The Family - and if it is in fact inspired by Susannah - she was co-lead for the song, which also makes sense.

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The fact that Susan spent much time with Prince does not mean she couldn't get a song meaning or inspiration misconstrued.

Susan Rogers was THERE. You were NOT. You won't even believe Susan Rogers?

pinkcashmere23 said:

violetcrush said:

Paul was being sarcastic during that discussion. Just like when he said that NC2U was his favorite song, Susannah said something similar. That whole session was them joking around and being sarcastic. Even if Paul was being completely serious, which I doubt, it's not like he would have had a conversation with Prince about it. And he left shortly after they made the record.

I'm listening to it now. It was Susannah who said it was about her and Paul said he didn't know. She said she didn't want to assume that Adore was for her but that Prince came and got her in their bed room and took her down to the studio and played it for her. They were all cutting up a lot throughout the chat and Jerome said Prince wrote 17 Days for him.

Jerome was funny during that session. Hilarious when they got Eric and Jellybean on their phones too. I loved Jerome's comment after Susannah told the story of Adore - he said, "okay, now let's see what the internet trolls have to say about it"

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One thing is certain, you could tell the history and fondness they all have for each other. Susannah calling Jellybean "Bean", and his nickname for her is "baby girl". Very sweet.

PennyPurple said:

violetcrush said:

Again, while I really respect Susan Rogers, and think she is a very reliable resource for information about recording with Prince during that time, I don't agree with her perception of this song being just a platonic expression toward his housekeeper. Also, he gave away Come Home to Mavis Staples and 101 to Sheena Easton - both very intense songs about wanting his lover back. He also gave 5 Women - another intense song about missing a lover - to Joe Cocker. Her idea that it was not a love song, so he felt comfortable giving it away does not mesh with other songs that he gave away. And in this case, the song was still staying close to him by giving it to The Family - and if it is in fact inspired by Susannah - she was co-lead for the song, which also makes sense.

*

The fact that Susan spent much time with Prince does not mean she couldn't get a song meaning or inspiration misconstrued.

Susan Rogers was THERE. You were NOT. You won't even believe Susan Rogers?

Yes, I know Susan Rogers was in the recording studio with Prince. However, Prince did not say to her, "okay Susan, now I'm going to record this song about my housekeeper being gone. It's a platonic expression, even though I'm writing it as a love song. I'm going to call it Nothing Compares 2 U". They did not have that conversation. Again, it's her perception of the song, and I doubt at that time she would have known the intimate details about Prince and Susannah's relationship. She did, however, become very close friends with Wendy, Lisa and Susannah as time went on, and she worked on W & L first album.

It's like deja vu all over again, and what we went thru with Fly and Andy Allo.

PennyPurple said:

It's like deja vu all over again, and what we went thru with Fly and Andy Allo.

Oh, okay sure PennyP....spin it however you'd like, because you usually do

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And in that same vein, it's deja vu with you pissing on just about every thread related to any woman who had a relationship with Prince.

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Here's a thought for you to chew on a bit. Prince specifically stated - 11 years after he recorded the song - that FIML was inspired by Susannah - I think we're all clear on that. So, why then, is it so hard to accept that NC2U would also have been, at least, partly inspired by her relationship with Prince? FIML is just as intense, if not more so, then NC2U.

violetcrush said:

pinkcashmere23 said:

I'm listening to it now. It was Susannah who said it was about her and Paul said he didn't know. She said she didn't want to assume that Adore was for her but that Prince came and got her in their bed room and took her down to the studio and played it for her. They were all cutting up a lot throughout the chat and Jerome said Prince wrote 17 Days for him.

Jerome was funny during that session. Hilarious when they got Eric and Jellybean on their phones too. I loved Jerome's comment after Susannah told the story of Adore - he said, "okay, now let's see what the internet trolls have to say about it"

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One thing is certain, you could tell the history and fondness they all have for each other. Susannah calling Jellybean "Bean", and his nickname for her is "baby girl". Very sweet.

Yeah it was a fun chat and you can tell they have a lot of love for each other. Jerome was very funny and cute and I thought Eric was funny too with his dry wit.

violetcrush said:

PennyPurple said:

It's like deja vu all over again, and what we went thru with Fly and Andy Allo.

Oh, okay sure PennyP....spin it however you'd like, because you usually do

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And in that same vein, it's deja vu with you pissing on just about every thread related to any woman who had a relationship with Prince.

*

Here's a thought for you to chew on a bit. Prince specifically stated - 11 years after he recorded the song - that FIML was inspired by Susannah - I think we're all clear on that. So, why then, is it so hard to accept that NC2U would also have been, at least, partly inspired by her relationship with Prince? FIML is just as intense, if not more so, then NC2U.

I believe that she was the inspiration behind several songs from that period,at least that's what the insiders have shared with the writers of the biographies I have read. He wrote at least two songs with her first name in the title as well.

pinkcashmere23 said:

violetcrush said:

PennyPurple said:

It's like deja vu all over again, and what we went thru with Fly and Andy Allo.

Oh, okay sure PennyP....spin it however you'd like, because you usually do

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And in that same vein, it's deja vu with you pissing on just about every thread related to any woman who had a relationship with Prince.

*

Here's a thought for you to chew on a bit. Prince specifically stated - 11 years after he recorded the song - that FIML was inspired by Susannah - I think we're all clear on that. So, why then, is it so hard to accept that NC2U would also have been, at least, partly inspired by her relationship with Prince? FIML is just as intense, if not more so, then NC2U.

Actually if you'd do some research, I really don't comment on the ASSociates threads anymore. I read them, but this one you were sooo off base and were leaving things out, and changing the narrative from what REALLY happened and it's getting to the point that YOU are doing this with each associate. You change things to what you want them to be, and not what really happened. No matter how many people try to tell you differently, you won't listen and you won't believe anything that anybody else says, even though they were THERE with Prince.

So heck we might as well put down the history books, because you are re-writing them.

violetcrush said:

muchtoofast said:

violetcrush said: Talk about pissing all over people, just what is your problem? You haven’t even read the damn book but you act like you know everything about it? Thats foolish. I don’t care who his greatest love was and I’m not trying to pit one against the other because we will never know. I’m just not believing great love is cheating every chance you get, or caring zero for your beloved’s feelings.

I'm in no way trying to piss on Devin D. This thread is NOT about her, but you clearly seem to want it to be. If you are so impressed with her, and think she was so important to Prince, then by all means start a new thread about her.

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I never claimed to know everything about her or her time with Prince. However, I am entitled to an opinion based on what I actually have seen and read, as well as, looking at the big picture in terms of the amount of actual time spent with him.

Not trying to throw shade, but really curious violetcrush; you seem to be really adament in your opinion about Prince and susannah's relationship. Is there any particular reason? You seem to dismiss any... any, piece of information that doesn't fit with your opinion that she was the great love of Prince's life, the one he regrets "losing" that other relationships were meaningless, etc. And it does seem like you are pissing on his relationship with Devin and are dismissive of her as a person. Why the investment?

violetcrush said:

pinkcashmere23 said:

I believe that she was the inspiration behind several songs from that period,at least that's what the insiders have shared with the writers of the biographies I have read. He wrote at least two songs with her first name in the title as well.

Yes, I agree Pink. In Matt Thorne's Biography there is a chapter titled "Roadhouse Garden and Songs For Susannah". So, I think it's a sure bet that there are many during that time period

I thought that Roadhouse Garden was likely inspired by her. I really should get his book. I've heard it's great. I saw another article I had not read before about Prince's engagement to Susannah posted on her IG. www.instagram.com/p/Bok_IWoj39Z/

violetcrush said:

I think this is a good article - written March 3rd, 1987. This supports Susannah's discussion about Prince chasing her out to LA, and trying to get her to move back to MN. Some of the writing is for dramatic affect, but the jist of it is there....

This is a nice picture of Prince and Susannah. I was one of those naive people who thought the cane use in later years was a fashion statement/appearance move; now I'm wondering about this cane. Were there rumors of pain as early as 87? Cause this can doesn't scream "stylish".

Asenath said:

Asenath said:

violetcrush said:

Asenath said:

Not trying to throw shade, but really curious violetcrush; you seem to be really adament in your opinion about Prince and susannah's relationship. Is there any particular reason? You seem to dismiss any... any, piece of information that doesn't fit with your opinion that she was the great love of Prince's life, the one he regrets "losing" that other relationships were meaningless, etc. And it does seem like you are pissing on his relationship with Devin and are dismissive of her as a person. Why the investment?

Again, not at all "pissing" on Devin D, but I don't think I would classify it as a relationship in the traditional sense. From what I understand he would meet up with her, they would have sex, and he would be on his way. From what I have read he did this with many women he found attractive. * I think he had a deeper connection with Susannah in that it went beyond just physical attraction. I think he respected her intellect and musical backgrounf, and as she said, there was a close bond formed between her, Prince, Wendy and Lisa. She made him laugh and he loved her stories - so much so that he turned one into a grest song. He also became close to their Brothers. He remained in contact with her throughout his life. At the 1995 AMAs the first people Prince thanked for contributing to his success were Wendy, Lisa and Susannah. He wrote In This Bed I Scream for them. I think the songs tell the story though. [Edited 1/6/19 17:43pm] [Edited 1/6/19 17:44pm]

There's a recent post on Susannah's IG where she shared a pic of a page of the liner notes for the Crystal Ball set and what Prince wrote about Make Your Mama Happy. www.instagram.com/p/BrVaY7sBW9y/ He seemed to be thinking of her a good bit in the 90's with the letter that he wrote her,revealing that FIML was written for her in the AOL chat,mentioning her in the liner notes of CB and In This Bed for Wendy,Lisa and Susannah.

violetcrush said:

Asenath said:

This is a nice picture of Prince and Susannah. I was one of those naive people who thought the cane use in later years was a fashion statement/appearance move; now I'm wondering about this cane. Were there rumors of pain as early as 87? Cause this can doesn't scream "stylish".

No, the cane in the picture was the "glitter cane" Susannah talked about during her interview with RR Auction. She and Prince, while shopping in Paris, had found a clear wand filled with that "snow globe" type of glitter and they loved it. Prince liked it so much that he had glitter canes designed by the same company. I think the canes were always just his fashion statement - that whole "pimp" thing. If he had that much trouble with walking then he wouldn't have been able to perform the way he did on stage.

Did she auction off a glitter cane too? LMAO

pinkcashmere23 said:

muchtoofast said:

With Devin Prince showed respect, thoughtfulness, self-restraint, humor, affection, gentle sexuality, etc etc. According to Susannah he didn’t care a fig about her own feelings. And this is why I bring up Devin, because according to her Prince was fully capable of showing a woman he cared about her and was able to stop the music making to spend time with her. So why didn’t Susannah get the same charming and gentlemenly attention? No one knows! He did state in an Ebony interview that any ballad he writes is not based on anything carnal or flesh based, his writing is spiritual.

Some of the ballads were very spiritual in nature such as "And God Created Woman" and "Muse 2 The Pharoah" but others are purely carnal like 'Shhh","Insatiable" and "Scandalous". I think he may have meant that ballads such as "The Beautiful Ones" were written in that vein but I can't believe that he considered all of his ballads to be spiritually based.

violetcrush said:

pinkcashmere23 said:

There's a recent post on Susannah's IG where she shared a pic of a page of the liner notes for the Crystal Ball set and what Prince wrote about Make Your Mama Happy. www.instagram.com/p/BrVaY7sBW9y/ He seemed to be thinking of her a good bit in the 90's with the letter that he wrote her,revealing that FIML was written for her in the AOL chat,mentioning her in the liner notes of CB and In This Bed for Wendy,Lisa and Susannah.

Yes, she also sang with him on the song Crystal Ball. I agree with you about the 90's. The song configuration for the Emancipation album was entirely different in 1995 too. She got married August 1997, so not sure how that may have affected him.

I agree. He seemed to be in a weird place emotionally at the time. Yes,and several songs on the set were likely written about her and inspired by their relationship.

muchtoofast said: