Reading The Vault this morning I noticed that the track "A 1,000 Hugs And Kisses" was originally sung by Rosie Gaines, and was considered for the MPLS project.

The only other tracks I know of that were considered for the project were "MPLS" itself, and "The Ryde Divine", which was itself previously considered for the aborted The Crayons project (that's the only thing I know about The Crayons).

I'm hoping Boris, or someone else, can shed some light on this project. Boris, over to you...

One of the very first releases on Prince's own independent NPG label, this rare limited edition CD single pressed in Canada is much sort after by Prince enthusiasts.

The group Minneapolis were an offshoot of various members of the NPG and one of many abandoned Prince experiments. Sonny T was the featured lead vocalist. The single's 3 tracks are:

1)MPLS
2)MPLS 12"
3)The Ryde Dyvine



(taken from http://www.thedawnexperience.co.uk )


That's about all I've ever heard from this.

I presume the Crayons developed into MPLS, which developed into, well I don't know - but I guess the culmination was 1-800 New Funk. (Considering The Crayons were part of The Ryde Dyvyne TV Special, which showcased a lot of related artists like 1800 did).
[This message was edited Tue Aug 3 11:38:28 2004 by NouveauDance]

The MPLS project was yet another abandoned idea. It was supposed to be a kind of showcase
band for several local Minneapolis musicians. The idea being that it would feature various lead
singers and musicians contributing to the songs on the album.

It evolved into the 1-800-NEW-FUNK album, with only the old title track retaining the MPLS name.
'Colors' was originally intended for MPLS, as was 'A 1,000 Hugs And Kisses' which featured Nona
Gaye singing lead vocals (it had originally been recorded with Rosie Gaines singing for her album)
The album was also going to feature Margie Cox too, but it's unknown which of the many tracks
she'd recorded was going to be used (probably 'Standing At The Altar' which surfaced on
1-800-NEW-FUNK). It's unknown what the intended tracklist for 'MPLS' was going to be (other
than MPLS, Colors, The Ryde Dyvine and 1,000 Hugs And Kisses) or how far Prince got with the
project before it was shelved.
[This message was edited Tue Aug 3 11:54:07 2004 by BorisFishpaw]

Thanks Boris.

Man, Standing At The Altar is a classic pop tune, that could have done so well given the right backing/ right artist.