DavidEye said:

Okay, at the risk of sounding harsh. When she says "Didn't" does that mean that she turned Prince down? She isn't the type he normally goes after.

Never thought much of Rosie Gaines. Her voice, her stage presence, doesn't do much for me. I much prefered Bonnie Boyer. She was warmer and more genuine.

ThePunisher said:

I think she was just making a point. Meaning if you are a young, attractive somewhat talented female Prince would probably push you while pursuing you. Since she didn't fall into is usual "type" she had the odds stacked against her and therfore felt like she didn't have the same effort from him as say someone like Carmen Electra.

NouveauDance said:

rosie's the greatest
[Edited 7/30/06 22:11pm]

mozfonky said:

What did that have to do with an infantile fetish?

Are you trying to tell us you're an Adult Baby?

Krystal666 said:

Yeah you're right. It's too bad that in the past Prince didn't chase after women with Carmen Electra's looks and Mariah Carey's voice huh?

Krystal666 said:

I don't blame her for feeling abandoned. With Carmen,you get a youthful, pliable, no talent, regarding music. Who Prince Prince alledgedly slept with and helped put out an albume. I love Rosie's singing in P's music. He gave her hope that an albume would happen. Needless to say, P's got some explaining to do here. If he had a legit reason for not following through, he needed to be honest with her. I think CONTRACTS are good. Get it in writing. Maybe it had to do with his falling out with his record co.? There's two sides to every story.

NouveauDance said:

NouveauDance said:

no dingbats, I accidentally quoted someone. forgive me please.

mozfonky said:

dingbats?

The Closer Than Close album is fire, straight through. My Tender Heart is a classic. That album is a sleeper fo sheezy.

Here's an article from 1997 or so. For the record WB shut donw Paisley Park Records and P basicially had no say in the matter.



By Franklin Paul


NEW YORK (Reuter) - Vocalist Rosie Gaines has performed at venues across
the globe, apprenticed with one of the world's most popular performers and
is a darling of music critics.


But last year, she was ready to quit the business, once and for all. Too
many disappointments had finally soured her, she says. Too many false
promises had broken her spirit.


Gaines has been prepared for success since the age of 6, when she played
keyboards in Unity, a funk soul band consisting of herself, her brother,
sister and a cousin.


She thought her time had come early in the 1990s when Prince helped her
record an album on his Paisley Park label. Just as it was ready to roll,
Warner Brothers -- with whom Prince had been feuding -- shut down Paisley
Park. The album was never released.


That incident was not much unlike the circumstances surrounding the
release of her debut album, ``Caring,'' back in 1985. Gaines' manager, Don
Cornelious -- host of TV's Soul Train - took her from the clubs of the San
Francisco Bay Area to Epic Records to sign a deal.


``(Epic executive) Larkin Arnold was there then,'' she said recently from
her Northern California home. ``As soon as it was time for my record to
come out, Arnold left the label and some new guy came in who didn't know
me from whomever. So that album also got lost.''


After spending decades working hard to perfect her voice and musicianship,
she continually found herself in situations that some would call
unfortunate, and others would perceive as downright conspiratorial.


That cycle would end in 1996. At the urging of Francis Jules, her husband
and collaborator, she took matters into her own hands. She set up shop on
the World Wide Web at www.rosiegaines.com -- the only place where her
newest album, ''Arrival,'' can be purchased.


``My husband said, 'just make your own label. Do the music the way you
want. Just do who you think Rosie Gaines is,''' she recalled.


Her primary impetus for seeking her independence was her last major-label
experience, with Motown Records.


Riding a wave of popularity after a five-year run with Prince and his band
the New Power Generation, she presented Motown with a selection of some
150 original songs for her 1995 album, ``Closer Than Close.'' She hoped to
finally unleash her full range of talent, which mixes the daring genre
bending of Tina Turner with the hearty vocal chops of Patti LaBelle.


The record company, possibly reflecting on her work with Prince on the
ballads ``Diamonds and Pearls'' and ``Nothing Compares to You,'' instead
selected safe, mid-tempo and slow cuts for the album.


Then the other shoe dropped. Motown's corporate parent, Polygram, shook up
the company.


The executive who signed her ``got fired right at the time my stuff was
about to come out,'' she explained. ``The whole marketing department was
fired the day of my release, and (Motown President) Jheryl Busby got
fired. So all the people who knew me were gone.''


With no one to champion it, the recording became a low priority and failed
to spark popular interest, despite critical acclaim.


Gaines said that while the Motown experience hurt her, it also reminded
her that obstacles exist to be overcome. She learned that lesson first at
the age of 15 when she gave birth to her daughter -- and her mother
promptly threw her out of their home.


``At the end of it all, my mom came through for me,'' she said, ``but I
did go through what it is like to be homeless and what it's like to have
nobody to care about you and help you.''


This time, however, she did have family nearby to provide support. Along
with her husband and daughter, Gaines' good friend and collaborator Dana
Bailey urged her to keep going. She set up Dredlix records, and
``Arrival,'' recorded completely by Gaines in her home studio, was the
result.


The album itself captures soul music in its full splendor. Gaines goes for
the funk on cuts like ``Yeah,'' and mellows out into a spiritual Chaka
Khan groove on such tunes as ``Sun Moon'' and ``Want an Angel.'' Other
songs tackle social issues in the soul tradition of Curtis Mayfield.


And what's even better than the musical risks she could now take was the
lyrical freedom that allowed her to express her feelings, she said.


``What I really wanted is for people to feel the emotion,'' she said.
``Like with ``Want an Angel,'' that's one of the songs that I probably was
in tears when we were writing it.


``I was feeling 'where do I go from here?' because I invested everything
in this, and this is the only thing that I know. So all I can do is
express from the inside of my heart and hope that somebody picks it up.''


Things are looking up, said Gaines, who, when asked, chose not to reveal
her age.


While she continues to push the current album on her Web site, a dance
remix of the song ``Closer than Close,'' from the previous album, has
emerged from the British underground and is now climbing the charts.


She's going there this month to promote it.


(Franklin Paul can reached at franklin.paul(at)reuters.com)


Reuters/Variety


20:43 05-30-97