I think a lot of things play into it. Sheila and Wendy & Lisa have continued to have impressive careers after leaving Prince's camp, and comparing their level of success to Prince's is somewhat unfair. Maybe they didn't want that level in the first place. In the case of Sheila, I could watch her play solo for hours, but I think her strong suit is the magic she adds to a show--particularly the magic she adds to Prince's show. The chemistry between them on stage is wonderful to watch. I don't blame her for knowing her strength lies in bringing something to the table, not necessarily in being the star of the show.

Carmen worked her ass off to get in the spotlight. Fame was everything to her and still is. There is not a thing she will turn down. She will come to the opening of an envelope. That's not exactly success. She just is hungry for fame and attention and will do anything to get it.

One other thing that I think has to be considered: The associated artists got a lot of attention in the '80s because of what Prince did for them, but they also had to take some of the backlash when the masses moved away from his music. By '87 or so, Prince was not selling as well, and that affected airplay and media coverage for Morris, Sheila, W&L, and the rest, imo.
[Edited 3/13/08 15:46pm]

good thread. What makes me laugh is that from time to time fans, including myself and above all those who have worked with P insist that he's a swine to work with, steals ideas, doesn't give proper writing credits [i.e. the Time, W&L, Andre' etc] which is something that we all accept to be true. However the one thing that stands out is that several associated artists just couldn't make the grade on their own. Lets take Andre as a prime example, P took Do me baby [?] off him and did various other shitty things yet I thnk many will agreee that the Dance electric is possibly the greatest thing AC ever did. If AC was such a bad ass song writer, producer, multi-instrumentalist etc then where was his SOTT?, his P.Rain, his Grammies, etc. Now apply the same theory to the many other accusing artists he has worked with.
Many were able to chip in with great ideas , especially W&L, but most have done very , very little of note on a National scale let alone a global scale. Funny how many started to come out of the woodwork when the 04' come back started and rode his coat tails!.
[Edited 3/13/08 10:24am]

Some folks on here might find this as a surprise, given that I know Andre personally and have worked with him..but I definately agree with this post. I have often said that, although P had a gift surrounding himself with talented people and a knack in finding talented people with a great look, none of them "had it". Jesse I think, had the most potential in giving P a run for his money, but Jesse or no one else in P's camp, are the songwriters P is. Nor the performer P is. And that's what kills them off. Sure, Dez, Andre, Lisa &Wendy, even Fink, all brought great ideas to P when they were there. And P definately used those ideas. Credited or not. But none of them could out do Prince.

here's another talented duo that became just as equally famous as prince....


jimmy jam ..and terry lewis

The music industry has changed so much. True enough, a lot of the artists he worked with didn't become as successful as he did, but look at the ones he promoted in the late 90's until now. They get absolutely no love. Why? They are not talented enough? Of course not. Today, music is about who can sell. Look at Rosie Gaines. She can sing her ass off, but she didn't get the respect she deserves. Even when he tried to help out Chaka, that didn't seem to help either. Chaka is the bomb. All the old schools artists that have influenced others can't seem to make a comeback. It's just sad.

good thread. What makes me laugh is that from time to time fans, including myself and above all those who have worked with P insist that he's a swine to work with, steals ideas, doesn't give proper writing credits [i.e. the Time, W&L, Andre' etc] which is something that we all accept to be true. However the one thing that stands out is that several associated artists just couldn't make the grade on their own. Lets take Andre as a prime example, P took Do me baby [?] off him and did various other shitty things yet I thnk many will agreee that the Dance electric is possibly the greatest thing AC ever did. If AC was such a bad ass song writer, producer, multi-instrumentalist etc then where was his SOTT?, his P.Rain, his Grammies, etc. Now apply the same theory to the many other accusing artists he has worked with.
Many were able to chip in with great ideas , especially W&L, but most have done very , very little of note on a National scale let alone a global scale. Funny how many started to come out of the woodwork when the 04' come back started and rode his coat tails!.
[Edited 3/13/08 10:24am]

Some folks on here might find this as a surprise, given that I know Andre personally and have worked with him..but I definately agree with this post. I have often said that, although P had a gift surrounding himself with talented people and a knack in finding talented people with a great look, none of them "had it". Jesse I think, had the most potential in giving P a run for his money, but Jesse or no one else in P's camp, are the songwriters P is. Nor the performer P is. And that's what kills them off. Sure, Dez, Andre, Lisa &Wendy, even Fink, all brought great ideas to P when they were there. And P definately used those ideas. Credited or not. But none of them could out do Prince.