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Thread started 07/12/11 8:47am

OldFriends4Sal
e

Prince the beginning of greatness: 4U- Prince 1976-1980

With so much happening / or not happening with Prince, and him being in a very 'different' place now, I want to look at his beginning, the few years that lead up to the release of For U & Prince. Talk about the foundation of the person doing the W2A shows.

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Reply #1 posted 07/12/11 8:50am

OldFriends4Sal
e

Uptown 1974-1980 the Early Years




Minneapolis Genius ALPHA Studio 4.1979 LA
I Wanna Be Your Lover rel 8.1979
PRINCE 10.1979
When We're Dancing Close & Slow (Joni Mitchell Coyotte Hejiia1976)
the Capri Theatre Minneapolis
Jellybean Johnson Lincoln Junior High classmate
Andre Anderson, Morris Day
Wouldn't U Love 2 Love Me
$150.00
SOUND 80
Grand Central, Flyte Time,
5215 France Ave. 1978
Jamie Shoop Sue Ann Carwell David Rivkin
Gayle Chapman Tommy Vicari Kim Upsher Bobby Z
Matt Fink Dez Dickerson Lisa Coleman
Warner Brothers We Can Work It Out
Leaving 4 NY
4 U overdubbed 46 times
"I was a physical wreck when I finished that record" -Prince Musician Mag
Oberheim synthesizer
Make It Thru the Storm -Susie Stone

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Reply #2 posted 07/12/11 8:52am

OldFriends4Sal
e



94 East -- Minneapolis Genius - The Historic 1977 Recordings (1987)

Incredible piece of Jazz/Funk/Disco from Prince and his bestest childhood buddy André Cymone. Recorded one year before Prince's solo debut, For You, at the tender age of just nineteen this record has that definite Minneapolis sound.


Track Listings
1. If You Feel Like Dancin'
2. Lovin' Cup
3. Games
4. Just Another Sucker

5. Dance to the Music of the World

6. One Man Jam

Track Listing side 2
1. If You See Me
2. Games
3. I'll Always Love You
4. Better Than You Think
5. If We Don't
6. You Can Be My Teacher
7. Love Love Love
8. Dance to the Music of the World

9. If You See Me First
10. Better Than You Think




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Reply #3 posted 07/13/11 6:49am

smoothcriminal
12

I love your threads! Keep em coming!

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Reply #4 posted 07/13/11 11:45am

Timmy84

OldFriends4Sale said:

CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL (1976)
What follows is a transcript of Prince's very first interview. It appeared in his high school newspaper on February 16, 1976. It is accompanied by a picture of a young afro-clad Prince sitting at a piano



Nelson Finds It "Hard To Become Known"

"I play with Grand Central Corporation. I've been playing with them for two years," Prince Nelson, senior at Central, said. Prince started playing piano at age seven and guitar when he got out of eighth grade.


Prince was born in Minneapolis. When asked, he said, "I was born here, unfortunately." Why? "I think it is very hard for a band to make it in this state, even if they're good. Mainly because there aren't any big record companies or studios in this state. I really feel that if we would have lived in Los Angeles or New York or some other big city, we would have gotten over by now."


He likes Central a great deal, because his music teachers let him work on his own. He now is working with Mr. Bickham, a music teacher at Central, but has been working with Mrs. Doepkes.


He plays several instruments, such as guitar, bass, all keyboards, and drums. He also sings sometimes, which he picked up recently. He played saxophone in seventh grade but gave it up. He regrets he did. He quit playing sax when school ended one summer. He never had time to practice sax anymore when he went back to school. He does not play in the school band. Why? "I really don't have time to make the concerts."


Prince has a brother that goes to Central whose name is Duane Nelson, who is more athletically enthusiastic. He plays on the basketball team and played on the football team. Duane is also a senior.


Prince plays by ear. "I've had about two lessons, but they didn't help much. I think you'll always be able to do what your ear tells you, so just think how great you'd be with lessons also," he said.


"I advise anyone who wants to learn guitar to get a teacher unless they are very musically inclined. One should learn all their scales too. That is very important," he continued.

Prince would also like to say that his band is in the process of recording an album containing songs they have composed. It should be released during the early part of the summer.

"Eventually I would like to go to college and start lessons again when I'm much older."

And that particular album they were working on was For You. I love this vintage pic of teenage Andre and teenage Prince.

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Reply #5 posted 07/14/11 7:51am

OldFriends4Sal
e

http://pepemusic.com/web2...cbeg02.htm

The following is the story of how the recordings on the 2-CD set, 94 East featuring Prince; Symbolic Beginning came into existence. It also reflects the intimate involvement that Pepé Willie had in the early development of the Minneapolis Music Scene. It's fairly lengthy to read, but worth it!

When you play these recordings listen very carefully. You don't know what we went through to get these tapes and we don't want you to miss a thing. What you have in your possession is a collector's dream. These songs are very special because they feature the performances of Prince when he was just 16 years old. The songs which are referred to as the Cookhouse Five are Better Than you Think, I'll Always Love You, If We Don't, If You See Me, and Games. The name "Cookhouse" refers to Cookhouse Recording Studios where these recordings took place. The performances in these songs mark the very first time Prince was ever in a recording studio and the beginning of Prince's illustrious recording career. These recordings are a must for all Prince fans.

This rare opportunity has been brought to you courtesy of Pepé Willie and 94 East. As the leader and founder of 94 East, a group based out of Minneapolis, Minnesota, Pepé began and developed a close relationship with Prince in the 1970s. Prince played with 94 East on their demo recording sessions during this time and on several other recordings with Pepé. From this relationship came these historic recordings.


Six of the songs on this album were first released in 1986 on the Minneapolis Genius/94 East: The Historic Recordings album featuring Prince, Pepé Willie, and André Cymone. The album was produced by Pepé Willie and Tony Sylvestre (a popular producer in the music industry and member of the group, Main Ingredient). The album included four songs written by Pepé (Games, Dance to the Music of the World, Lovin' Cup, If You Feel Like Dancin'), one song written by Tony Sylvestre(One Man Jam) and one a collaboration between Pepé and Prince (Just Another Sucker). These six songs were taken from the original recordings, updated with additional instrumental parts and remixed. We refer to this collection as Minneapolis Genius I: The Historic Recordings. They were actually recorded after the Cookhouse Five songs.


A few years ago, while searching through some old boxes of tapes, we found recordings of the Cookhouse Five songs. Songs we had forgotten. These are the one and only, first professional recordings of Prince. After listening to these tapes, we couldn't rest until we found the masters. We literally tore the house apart; we searched high and we searched low and then we searched some more. We still couldn't find those masters! Where could they be? The last place, the last hope, was Cookhouse Recording Studios. We called Cookhouse and asked if they had any master tapes from the 1970s under the name of Pepé Willie. Cookhouse referred us to another location in the Twin Cities where they archived all their old tapes, and also told us that after a certain number of years they destroy them. That's when we started to panic. In the meantime, an engineer friend from Cookhouse (who did not know we were looking for the masters) happened to find a master tape labeled

"Pepé Willie, DO NOT USE - 1975". He found it in a storage closet at Cookhouse. Imagine that! He called us and asked if we wanted the tapes or did we want to get rid of them. Get rid of them? You can imagine what was going on in our minds at that moment, but we didn't let on. We nonchalantly told him it was OK, we'd just come down and pick the master up. If he only knew what he was leaving at the front desk for us.

The eight additional songs on this album are the Cookhouse Five PLUS three additional recordings: You Can Be My Teacher and Love, Love, Love, which were recorded on four track recorders and Dance To the Music of the World which is a practice session recording. (Done the night before we went into Sound 80 Recording Studios with Prince). They are presented on this album in their original form. We refer to this collection as Minneapolis Genius II: The Historic Recordings (a.k.a., Symbolic Beginings).

"I remember it like it was yesterday", recalls Pepé, "everybody working together for a common cause."
You can imagine what a thrill it was to find those tapes! These tapes weren't exactly stored under high tech conditions (ha, ha), but they were in good enough condition to be transferred to DAT (digital audio tape). We are surely blessed that all the tapes were in good enough condition to make a few go rounds on the 2" studio reel-to-reel when we transferred to DAT. We were extremely nervous watching the tape as it turned around and around on the tape machine, dreading the thought that at any moment it might fall apart. As it was, our expert engineer, Tommy Tucker Jr. (thank you Tommy), handled it with extreme care, cleaning the tape heads repeatedly as the tape was shedding. After all, these tapes were over 20 years old.

In any case, we were able to bring to you a truly extraordinary piece of work that not only reflects the incredible talent of Prince, but also several other teenage musicians from the original group 94 East. What makes these recordings so incredibly valuable is that they reflect an important part of the development of Prince and the history of the "Minneapolis Sound." Prince was born with a gift for creating music, but somehow, somewhere, Prince had to learn the business. Someone had to have given Prince the inside information he needed to become so successful so quickly. Therein lies the importance of the relationship between Prince and Pepé Willie.

"Let me tell you a story
From a long time ago
Let me tell you, man
I was there,
Livin' in Brooklyn
Round the start of rock n' roll
There are things to remember
And stories to be told."
"Let me tell you how I used to
Run up and down the stairs
Playin' gopher to all the stars
Performing' there."
"Man, I can tell you about
Murray the K
How he and Clay Cole
Could put on a show,
They had acts from all over
Man, let me tell you,
The Shirelles, the Chantels
Chiffons and Ray Charles;
Little Anthony and the Imperials,
Johnny Mathis, the Coasters,
Chuck Jackson and Chubby Checker.
Man, I can tell you
I could go on forever."
"The Paramount Theatre closed
and we moved to the Fox
that's when it all broke loose
And things really got hot."
"These groups did five, maybe
Six shows a day
Back to back, Saturdays
Sundays and holidays.
The Temptations, The Vibrations,
The Marvelettes, were all there.
Ruby and the Romantics, The Four Tops
Gladys Knight and the Pips
Smokey Robinson and the Miracles
Timi Yuru and Wayne Newton
The Ronnettes, Dionne Warwick
And of course, The Five Satins,
Dion and the Belmonts
And a young Stevie Wonder
Man let me tell you,
I could go on forever."
Copyright Pepé Willie 1987


Pepé Willie wrote this poem about his actual experiences as a teenager growing up in Brooklyn, New York, hanging with the hottest rock n' roll R&B artists of the 60's. Pepé's Uncle, Clarence Collins, is one of the original founding members of the legendary group, Little Anthony and the Imperials, and he was also Pepé's educational avenue to the music business. Pepé started as a valet for Little Anthony and the Imperials when he was only 16 years old. It kept him off the streets of Brooklyn.

So, what's this got to do with Minneapolis Genius? First of all, you have to understand that Pepé had the presence of mind to watch, listen and absorb everything he saw and heard. He observed how people worked with one another – what worked and what didn't. He learned about the business – managers, agents, studio recording, performing, record executives, songwriting, contracts. He gained THE KNOWLEDGE. It was this priceless information that he brought with him to Minneapolis. It was this same information that he passed on to Prince.

How did Pepé and Prince initially get together? Pepé recalls . . .
I was introduced to Prince in 1974 by my fiancée', Prince's cousin, Shauntel. She was excited about Prince because he was a very talented musician. She knew I really knew about the business of music and she wanted me to talk to Prince. He was playing at a ski party in Minnesota when we met. I remember thinking,"Boy, he's got a big Afro."

Pepé moved to Minneapolis and began working with Prince in 1974-75. It wasn't long before he realized that Prince was more than good, he was a phenomenal musician, and a singer as well. He also showed a deep desire and serious determination to make it. It was at this point that Pepé committed himself to passing the THE KNOWLEDGE to Prince; and Prince listened and listened.

Like Prince and the group he was in, Grand Central (a.k.a. Grand Central Station), most local musicians were performing cover tunes and not even thinking about writing and recording original material. Prince was about to change all that. He was about to start the ripple in the water that eventually grew to become internationally recognized as the "Minneapolis Sound."
Pepé had been working with Grand Central on a regular basis. He remembers some of the rehearsals they held in an attic in South Minneapolis:

Prince was on guitar, André Anderson (now known as André Cymone), was on bass, Morris Day (later of The Time) was on drums, Linda Anderson (André's sister) was on keyboard and William Doughty was on Percussion. I remember asking them to play one of their original songs. It was a disaster. Of course, there was raw talent there, but when they began to sing, everyone was singing something different. Prince was singing "she", André was singing "he", the rest of the group was singing something else; and the name of the song was You Remind Me of Me (written by André). I couldn't believe they didn't take the time as a group to learn the words. So I had them put down their instruments and start learning the lyrics. You know , it was like Song Construction 101 had begun. Of course, my No. 1 student was Prince.

Prince and Pepé spent the next several months working intensely with Grand Central. As Pepé recalls it . . .

I taught them about song construction, singing together, the best ways to rehearse together, but I didn't have to tell Prince anything more than once. Even though the members of Grand Central were talented musicians, they were still 'kids' and they often acted like it. These guys would laugh and tell jokes all the time. Prince would show-off doing gymnastics in our living room. Man, that was great! They especially loved to tease Wendell Thomas, the bass player from 94 East by writing funny little names and comments about him on the chalkboard.

Grand Central had made quite a bit of progress when Pepé decided to bring them into Cookhouse Recording Studios in 1975. Prince was so excited! Arrangements had been made for Grand Central to play for a co-owner of Cookhouse. He was fairly impressed with their original material, but then asked them to do one of their cover songs, an Earth, Wind and Fire tune. Unfortunately, they played Earth, Wind and Fire better than they played Grand Central. They were not ready. Back to practice


In the meantime, Pepé had begun recording his own demo material at Cookhouse. Pepé decided to hire Prince to record with him. Prince was very eager to participate (plus getting paid, too!). Pepé describes him as being 'like a kid in a candy store'. Prince recorded lead and rhythm guitar along with the musicians who later formed the group, 94 East. From this came the five songs referred to as the 'Cookhouse Five'.


All the members of 94 East except for Pepé were from Minneapolis and St. Paul. Wendell Thomas, bass player, had been a long time friend of Pepés. He was essentially in from the very beginning. His younger brother, Dale Alexander, was recruited to play drums and Pierre Lewis joined as keyboard player. Dale and Pierre were both as young as Prince AND blessed with a great deal of talent for such a young age. Later, Dale Alexander became drummer for Prince's group, Madhouse.>

Kristie Lazenberry, background vocalist, met Pepé while they were both performing in a musical in St. Paul. Kristie introduced him to her good friend, Marcy Ingvoldstad. It was pure coincidence that one day they were all riding in Pepés Volkswagen Beetle, singing to the radio – in harmony. Pepé had found his background singers.
The Cookhouse Five songs were written by Pepé in 1975, and were all personal reflections of his own experiences. Better Than You Think was co-written with Kristie Lazenberry. It turned out to be one of Pepés favorite songs (most likely yours, too, once you hear it). "Write what you feel," he instructed. Pure and simple.

If You See Me, one of Prince's favorites, gives a simple picture of Pepés feelings at that time: "Now I'm alone feelin' free/Freer than a butterfly, flyin' high now, yea, yea baby/...If you see me/Walk on by, girl/Don't say nothin'/...". What's interesting is that Prince took such a liking to this particular song, he recorded it himself. As Pepé remembers . . .

One evening in 1982, Morris Day and I were sitting in my car outside a mutual friend's house, when Prince came up and handed me a cassette through the window. He told me to check it out. There was Prince's own funked up version of If You See Me (a.k.a. Do Yourself a Favor). It was a fairly long version of it and Prince had added some pretty humorous vocalizations. You could tell Prince had a lot of fun doing it.

Sorry we couldn't share that one with you!

The Cookhouse Five recording sessions were, as Wendell Thomas remembers, "spontaneous and went very quickly". There were probably two reasons for that. One, 94 East did a tremendous amount of practice prior to going into the studio and two, they had very limited funds! Most importantly, the sessions were a great deal of fun. Pepé loved having Prince involved in the project. Pepé recalls that Prince was very dependable, eager to please and inspiring in his performance...

I remember, Prince would call me up and tell me that he wanted to redo his tracks. I trusted Prince enough to let him go into the studio by himself and redo the track(s). I mean, that's how talented he was at 16.
> If we really listen to the contributions Prince made to the Cookhouse Five songs, it's hard to imagine that he was just 16. If you pick out the guitar parts in Games you'll hear how talented the really is. Listen to the verses. His riffs are enough to make you bow and shake your head. In fact, if you listen very carefully to Prince's guitar and Pierre Lewis' keyboard during the music break (after the 2nd chorus) you'll hear Prince play a riff that is so "bad" (meaning good) it seems to literally freak Pierre out and he ends up hitting some unwanted notes.


Here's an extra treat for all you Prince fans. Listen to the beginning of I'll Always Love You. You can hear Prince saying, "Wait a second" before the song begins. (We guess he wasn't ready, yet.) The rhythm guitar licks are impressive to say the least.

We know you'll love Better Than You Think not only for the beautiful ballad that it is, but also the melotron string parts by Teddy Randazzo, the solo lead guitar by Prince and Pepé's acoustic guitar. When you listen to the solo lines Prince plays at the middle and the end of Better Than You Think, it's so full of feel that it sends chills up and down your spine. If you listen real carefully in the last verse, you'll hear the special effect Prince adds on guitar. It sounds like a light switch. Was he thinking that at the time? Who knows.

With the completed Cookhouse songs in his possession, Pepé and Wendell, the bass player for 94 East, flew to New York in April of 1976 and literally beat the pavement until 94 East was signed with Polydor. 94 East had to prepare to go in to the studio and record a single. By this time, Dale Alexander had lost his position as drummer with 94 East and was replaced by Bobby "Z" Rivkin. Bobby later became the drummer for Prince's first band, the Revolution. When Prince began working on his own demo recordings at Sound 80, André Lewis, Pierre Lewis' younger brother was given the task of learning all of Prince's guitar parts.

Even though the Cookhouse Five songs got 94 East the deal with Polydor, two other songs were actually recorded for the single. They were Fortune Teller and 10:15. These two songs were co-produced by Pepé and producer, writer, A&R man, Hank Cosby. Hank Cosby wrote Fortune Teller and Pepé wrote 10:15. Hank Cosby brought in a singer by the name of Colonel Abrams to do the lead vocals. In an unfortunate turn of events 94 East's contract was cancelled and their single was never released. It was devastating to the group and what struck Pepé was how personally Prince took this loss. Prince was upset and the only retaliation we had was to go right back in the studio and do some new recordings. That's when we rehearsed and recorded Dance To The Music Of The World – the practice session on our own 4-track recorder. The very next day, Prince, André Cymone and Pepé were in Sound 80 Recording Studios, recording new material.

From these sessions came Dance To The Music The World, Lovin' Cup and Just Another Sucker (the song Pepé and Prince co-wrote). If You Feel Like Dancin' and One Man Jam were recorded at a studio in New York. That trip proved to be an excellent experience for Prince and André (Cymone). They got the kind of professional studio exposure that would prove invaluable to them in the future.

These five songs really show the fast-growing maturity and versatility of Prince since the Cookhouse Five recordings. On Just Another Sucker, Lovin' Cup and Dance To The Music Of The World, Prince not only played guitar, but also drums, keyboards, and did vocal work. André Cymone played bass and Pepé played rhythm guitar. On If You Feel Like Dancin', Prince is on keyboards and guitar. One Man Jam, André Cymone is on bass and Prince "went crazy" playing everything else. Pepé added synthesizer parts in the overdub. We guess Prince really wanted to "show them" for Pepés sake.

The songs, Love, Love, Love and You Can Be My Teacher are from our 1/4" tape collections. The music tracks were done on a 4-track tape recorder. The beat was done on a Korg rhythm machine (this was before there were drum machines). On Love, Love, Love, Prince is playing bass and guitar. Pepé is playing keyboards. Marcy Ingvoldstad is singing vocals. On You Can Be My Teacher, Prince is playing bass and Pepé is playing guitar. Pepé talks about their collaboration . . .

It was great how Prince could play off my style of writing. We worked well together.

We decided to add Dance To The Music of the World – the practice session – to give you an indication of how intense practices could be. After 94 East's contract with Polydor was cancelled, the only remaining members were Pepé, Marcy, and Kristie. So in this practice tape, you'll hear Prince on guitar playing bass parts. Pepé on rhythm guitar, and Prince, Pepé, Marcy, and Kristie on vocals. You'll enjoy hearing Prince cracked a joke before they start to play ("I was out with my old lady and she said jive sucker I'll kick you too."). Everyone laughs, of course, and in Prince's characteristically shy way of speaking, he responds, "I'm embarrassed." (Yeah, right.) Really listen to Prince's falsetto note in the harmonies. He has an amazing vocal range.
By now, Prince had started his association with Owen Husney, whom he later hired as his manager. Soon after, Prince was recording his own demos at Sound 80 with the financial support of Husney and the engineering skills of David Z (Bobby Z's brother).

The demos Prince recorded at Sound 80 landed him a contract on the Warner Bros. label. Pepé continued his close relationship with Prince, advising and assisting Prince and Owen Husney when needed. Not surprisingly, Prince auditioned his first band members and rehearsed them for six months in the basement of Pepé's home. His first concert as a professional took place at the Capri Theatre in North Minneapolis in January 1979 and was produced by Pepé's company, Pepé Music Inc. The rest, shall we say, is history.

We the members of 94 East recognize that we were extremely fortunate to have played and worked with a musician like Prince. We think these historical recordings are a classic addition to anyone's music library. We sincerely hope you will enjoy these recordings as much as we do, especially when we dusted them off and listened to them for the first time after all those years. It was a once in a lifetime experience to have been the first to have worked with a phenomenon like Prince at such an early age.
Congratulations!! You made it!! The END!

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Reply #6 posted 07/14/11 11:54pm

Emancipation89

Love this thread...thanks!

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Reply #7 posted 07/15/11 3:16am

JOYJOY

avatar

thumbs up! Your threads rule.

One minute they want peace……

Then do everything to make it go away. rolleyes
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Reply #8 posted 07/15/11 5:19am

OldFriends4Sal
e

Baby (alt. version) 1976 early version 3:13
Baby (Instrumental) 1976, instrumental version of released song 3:21
Baby Baby Baby 1976 For You outtake 2:52
Been Down A Long Lonely Road Early outtake 1:21
Broken (AKA Broken Lonely and Cryin') Dirty Mind outtake played on tour occasionally 3:03

Do You Wanna Ride? 1976 outtake 5:14
Donna 1979 outtake 4:11
Down a Long Lonely Road 1976 demo 1:21

For You #1 1976 demo 1:08
For You #2 1976 demo 0:45
For You #3 1976 demo 1:18
For You #4 1976 demo 1:21

Just as Long as We're Together #1 3:44
Just as Long as We're Together #2 5:47
Just as Long as We're Together #3 5:57

Leaving 4 New York 1976 demo to get record contract from Warner Bros. 5:52
Lisa Dirty Mind outtake 5:49
Loving u 1976

Make it Through the Storm 1976 demo later given to SueAnn Carwell 2:45

Nadeara 1976 demo 1:53
Nightengale 1976 outtake 4:16

We Can Work It Out written 2 Warner Brothers at the start of his contract
Wouldn't U Love 2 Love Me #1 (1987)
Wouldn't U Love 2 Love Me #2 (1980) 6:03

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Reply #9 posted 07/15/11 5:20am

OldFriends4Sal
e

We Can Work It Out


Singing in his regular voice, Prince sells himself to Warner Bros. Records as the lyrics "Making music naturally, me and WB" indicate. Ironically, 20 years later, is now free from any contract with Warner Bros. It's likely he recorded this outtake after signing a contract for his first 3 albums in June, 1977.

But before making his final decision, Prince voiced an important concern directly to Warner Bros. officials:He didn't want to be pigeonholed as an R&B artist. "I'm an artist and I do a wide range of music," Prince insisted. "I'm not an R&B artist, I'm not a rock n roller. At a time when most labels, including Warners, had seperate "black music" departments, Prince dreaded the idea of limiting his appeal in any respect.

The executives said all the right things, and Prince signed a three-album contract with Warner Bros. on June 25, 1977, just weeks after turning nineteen. An association began that would become one of the most fruitful and lucrative-but also one of the most frustating and embarrassing - in the company's venerable history. For the moment, Ostin and Waronker felt nothing but confidence-they had an artist who might be a once-in-a-generation talent. Had they paused, however, the executives might have wondered about the darker side of Prince's passion and ambition, and they might have wondered how such a fiercely independent figure would react to the constraints that inevitable arise from working within a major U.S. corporation. For an artist like Prince, how much control would be enough?

At a celebration luncheon with company executives, he seemed shy and awkward. After the fete, though, he recorded a song that represented his own way of communicating with his new patrons. Called "We Can Work It Out," the unreleased song's lyrics can only be interpreted as an expression of hope that the Prince-Warners partnership would be a happy one. It ended, though, with the sound of an explosion.

-Possessed: the Rise & Fall of Prince

We Can Work It Out

Now that I know your name and U know mine
Ain't it just about time that we got 2gether?
We should make such beautiful music 4ever
Oh, 2gether 4ever

Put your trust in me, I'll never let U down
Cuz I know I can count on U 2 help me make it
Ain't no doubt about it
We can work it out, work it out
I know we can work it out
Work it out, work it out
Ooh wee!

CHORUS:
Hope we work it out, I hope we work it out
(Everybody sing) Hope we work it out, I hope we work it out
Hope we work it out, I hope we work it out
(Everybody sing) Hope we work it out, I hope we work it out

Makin' music naturally, me and W.B. (CHORUS)
Music 4 the young and old, music bound 2 be gold
Work it out

Hope we work it out, I hope we work it out {x2}

Hope we work it out, I hope we work it out (Can we work it out?)
Hope we work it out, I hope we work it out (I want 2 work it out)
Hope we work it out, I hope we work it out
(Everybody sing) Hope we work it out, I hope we work it out
Hope we work it out, I hope we work it out
(Everybody sing) Hope we work it out, I hope we work it out
Hope we work it out, I hope we work it out
(Everybody sing) Hope we work it out, I hope we work it out

Makin' music naturally, me and W.B. [/color]


[img:$uid]http://tbn3.google.com/images?q=tbn:3StPsuUiB8xxdM:http://www.pycomall.com/images/P/Warner_Brothers_logo.jpg[/img:$uid]

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Reply #10 posted 07/15/11 9:08am

ItsGonnaBLonel
y

avatar

hug Thank U so much!!! The Early Years are truly my favorite, & its nice to see a thread that has some actual meaning, that is present to 2 today & reflects the past.

Aww the begining years, theres so little detailed information on this era. Just scrambled facts it seems, although the way he & Husney went about getting him signed is pretty cool.

"How Can I Stand To..Stay Where I Am? Poor Butterfly Who..Dont Understand." P
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Reply #11 posted 07/15/11 9:39am

ItsGonnaBLonel
y

avatar

Make It Through The Storm

So now you want 2 leave me, but why you will not say
Then don't tell me why, just tell me that you'll never go away
Oh, don't give up now, girl, we've been through so much more
Oh, can't you see you're the only thing that I'm living 4

The world's a cold and empty place
Without a love 2 keep you warm
Oh, hold me in your arms 2night
Don't you know we'll make it, make it through the storm

Our love is pain and pleasure but I keep holding on
Cause I never want 2 lose your love, gotta help me make it strong
Just hold me tight, I'm yours 2night, your love will keep me warm
Hold me in your arms 2night, we'll make it through the storm

The world's such an empty place
Without a love 2 keep you warm
Oh, hold me in your arms 2night
Don't you know we'll make it, make it through the storm

Yeah, yeah, yeah

We're gonna make it, we got 2 make it

(We're gonna make it)
Make it through the storm
The wind, the wind, your heart is so cold
I can make it
Make it through the storm

Your love, is pain and pleasure
you, it's you, it's you I'll always treasure
We'll make it through the storm

"How Can I Stand To..Stay Where I Am? Poor Butterfly Who..Dont Understand." P
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Reply #12 posted 07/15/11 12:01pm

OldFriends4Sal
e

ItsGonnaBLonely said:

hug Thank U so much!!! The Early Years are truly my favorite, & its nice to see a thread that has some actual meaning, that is present to 2 today & reflects the past.

Aww the begining years, theres so little detailed information on this era. Just scrambled facts it seems, although the way he & Husney went about getting him signed is pretty cool.

I know what U mean. It's hard to describe in words what I feel about these early years. I can almost feel the excitement reading thru the history background songs and pics

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Reply #13 posted 07/15/11 12:08pm

ItsGonnaBLonel
y

avatar

OldFriends4Sale said:

ItsGonnaBLonely said:

hug Thank U so much!!! The Early Years are truly my favorite, & its nice to see a thread that has some actual meaning, that is present to 2 today & reflects the past.

Aww the begining years, theres so little detailed information on this era. Just scrambled facts it seems, although the way he & Husney went about getting him signed is pretty cool.

I know what U mean. It's hard to describe in words what I feel about these early years. I can almost feel the excitement reading thru the history background songs and pics

Lets keep this thread going wink

& I know what you mean, I had to pull my copy of 94 East out, after reading this thread. and jam to it, in between listening to Empty Room though (its been a bad day sad )

"How Can I Stand To..Stay Where I Am? Poor Butterfly Who..Dont Understand." P
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Reply #14 posted 07/15/11 2:16pm

OldFriends4Sal
e

ItsGonnaBLonely said:

OldFriends4Sale said:

I know what U mean. It's hard to describe in words what I feel about these early years. I can almost feel the excitement reading thru the history background songs and pics

Lets keep this thread going wink

& I know what you mean, I had to pull my copy of 94 East out, after reading this thread. and jam to it, in between listening to Empty Room though (its been a bad day sad )

I know, and you hear so much of the early Prince & the Time releases on the 94 East album

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Reply #15 posted 07/15/11 8:39pm

MadamGoodnight

I'm loving your thread! Bravo! cool cool cool

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Reply #16 posted 07/16/11 3:53am

OldFriends4Sal
e

our introduction 2 Purple & Dawn, and this is pre album deal
Leaving 4 NY lyrically is seen in a lot of Prince love songs throught his career
one of my favorites

Leaving For New York

Sitting there on the purple lawn
U've been there since dawn
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Reply #17 posted 07/16/11 4:04am

OldFriends4Sal
e

I'm Yours

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!
Up until the other day
There remained an empty space within my bed
Then I took one look at U
And naughty things that we could do danced within my head

CHORUS:
Never have I ever made love before
Never have I wanted 2 till now
Lover, can't U see I want U more and more?
Take me baby, yeah, I'm yours!

Ah, love me any way U want
But please love me now
I'll do anything U want
U're the teacher, show me how

CHORUS

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!

[Edited 8/22/11 8:48am]

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Reply #18 posted 07/16/11 4:09am

OldFriends4Sal
e

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Reply #19 posted 07/18/11 7:47am

OldFriends4Sal
e

January 26. 1980
American Bandstand w Dick Clark:
I Wanna Be Your Lover
Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?





Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?

There's some talk going 'round town
That U really don't give a damn
They say U really put me down
When I'm doing the best I can
I gave U all of my love
I even gave U my body
Tell me baby, ain't that enough?
What more do U want me 2 do?

I play the fool when we're 2gether
But I cry when we're apart, yeah
I couldn't do U no better
Don't break what's left of my broken heart, baby

CHORUS:
Why U wanna treat me so bad when U know I love U?
How can U do this 2 me when U know I care?
Why U wanna treat me so bad when U know I love U?

U know I try so hard
2 keep U satisfied
Sometimes U play the part
Sometimes U're so full of pride
And if it's still good 2 ya
Why U wanna treat me so bad?
U used 2 love it when I'd do ya
U used 2 say I was the best U'd ever had

I play the fool when we're 2gether
I give U everything I can, yeah
And if it's still good 2 ya
There's just somethin' that I can't understand


CHORUS

© 1979 Ecnirp Music Inc. - BMI

[Edited 8/22/11 8:49am]

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Reply #20 posted 07/18/11 8:47pm

purplerain14

avatar

its really amazing and inspiring to me how someone can start out with so little, and end up being someone with so much. ur the man princy!

Don't need no reefer, don't need cocaine
Purple music does the same 2 my brain
And I'm high, so high
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Reply #21 posted 07/18/11 11:14pm

rudeboy4711

Timmy84 said:

OldFriends4Sale said:

CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL (1976)
What follows is a transcript of Prince's very first interview. It appeared in his high school newspaper on February 16, 1976. It is accompanied by a picture of a young afro-clad Prince sitting at a piano



Nelson Finds It "Hard To Become Known"

"I play with Grand Central Corporation. I've been playing with them for two years," Prince Nelson, senior at Central, said. Prince started playing piano at age seven and guitar when he got out of eighth grade.


Prince was born in Minneapolis. When asked, he said, "I was born here, unfortunately." Why? "I think it is very hard for a band to make it in this state, even if they're good. Mainly because there aren't any big record companies or studios in this state. I really feel that if we would have lived in Los Angeles or New York or some other big city, we would have gotten over by now."


He likes Central a great deal, because his music teachers let him work on his own. He now is working with Mr. Bickham, a music teacher at Central, but has been working with Mrs. Doepkes.


He plays several instruments, such as guitar, bass, all keyboards, and drums. He also sings sometimes, which he picked up recently. He played saxophone in seventh grade but gave it up. He regrets he did. He quit playing sax when school ended one summer. He never had time to practice sax anymore when he went back to school. He does not play in the school band. Why? "I really don't have time to make the concerts."


Prince has a brother that goes to Central whose name is Duane Nelson, who is more athletically enthusiastic. He plays on the basketball team and played on the football team. Duane is also a senior.


Prince plays by ear. "I've had about two lessons, but they didn't help much. I think you'll always be able to do what your ear tells you, so just think how great you'd be with lessons also," he said.


"I advise anyone who wants to learn guitar to get a teacher unless they are very musically inclined. One should learn all their scales too. That is very important," he continued.

Prince would also like to say that his band is in the process of recording an album containing songs they have composed. It should be released during the early part of the summer.

"Eventually I would like to go to college and start lessons again when I'm much older."

And that particular album they were working on was For You. I love this vintage pic of teenage Andre and teenage Prince.

There's also a chance that the album mentioned in this interview might have been another album because Grand Central had already recorded the following:

Grand Central repertoire, 1973 – 1974
Danger Lover (Chazz Smith)
Do You Feel Like Dancing?
Funk It Up (André Cymone)
Sex Machine

Grand Central Corporation repertoire, 1974-1975
You Remind Me of Me

Grand Central Corporation, ASI, Minneapolis, early 1976
39th St. Party (André Cymone)
Lady Pleasure
Machine – possibly identical with Sex Machine
You’re Such a Fox
Grand Central
Whenever

When their band changed the name from Grand Central to Champagne they went to the recording studio once again:

Champagne, Moonsound, Minneapolis, spring 1976
(No known titles)

Not to mention the solo recordings that Prince recorded at home:

Home recordings, 1976
Sweet Thing (4:24) (Chaka Khan)
Wouldn’t You Love to Love Me? #1 (3:53)
I Spend My Time Loving You (7:20)
Rock Me, Lover #1 (3:51)

Don’t You Wanna Ride? (5:14)
Nightingale (4:16)
Leaving for New York #1 (5:52)

Songs that were intended to be on For You started being recorded in late 1976:

14-track demo tape, Moonsound, Minneapolis, spring – December 1976 – no known order
Instrumental (7:25) – possibly titled Farnborough
Aces (Prince/Chris Moon)
Diamond Eyes (Prince/Chris Moon)
Don’t Forget (Prince/Chris Moon)
Don’t Hold Back (Prince/Chris Moon)
Fantasy (Prince/Chris Moon)
Love Is Forever #1 (Prince/Chris Moon)
Make It Through the Storm #1 (Prince/Chris Moon)
Piano Intro (0:40)
Soft and Wet #1 (3:22) (Prince/Chris Moon)
Surprise (Prince/Chris Moon)
Baby #1
I’m Yours #1
Jelly Jam #1 (Instrumental)
Leaving for New York #2
Since We’ve Been Together #1
For You #3 (1:19)
For You #4 (1:20)
Outro (0:13)

I just wish that all these recordings would see the light of day! The question is if these early recordings are in Paisley Park or in the hands of people like Chris Moon, Owen Husney, David Rivkin and/or former members of Grand Central and Champagne hmmm

[Edited 7/18/11 23:16pm]

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Reply #22 posted 07/19/11 8:35am

OldFriends4Sal
e

OldFriends4Sale said:

January 26. 1980
American Bandstand w Dick Clark:
I Wanna Be Your Lover
Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?





Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?

There's some talk going 'round town
That U really don't give a damn
They say U really put me down
When I'm doing the best I can
I gave U all of my love
I even gave U my body
Tell me baby, ain't that enough?
What more do U want me 2 do?

I play the fool when we're 2gether
But I cry when we're apart, yeah
I couldn't do U no better
Don't break what's left of my broken heart, baby

CHORUS:
Why U wanna treat me so bad when U know I love U?
How can U do this 2 me when U know I care?
Why U wanna treat me so bad when U know I love U?

U know I try so hard
2 keep U satisfied
Sometimes U play the part
Sometimes U're so full of pride
And if it's still good 2 ya
Why U wanna treat me so bad?
U used 2 love it when I'd do ya
U used 2 say I was the best U'd ever had

I play the fool when we're 2gether
I give U everything I can, yeah
And if it's still good 2 ya
There's just somethin' that I can't understand


CHORUS

© 1979 Ecnirp Music Inc. - BMI

In October 1979, Prince released his self-titled album PrincePrince (album)Prince is the second album by Prince, released on October 19, 1979. It was a quickly written album in reaction to his debut For You. The album needed to have hits and sell well to make up for the blown budget on his first release...
, which scored #4 on the Billboard R&B charts, and contained two R&B hits: "Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?"Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?" is the U.S. follow-up single to Prince's first big hit, "I Wanna Be Your Lover". It is also Prince's first rock and roll-inspired single release, though it didn't make the top 40 of the charts. The lyrics are self-explanatory from the title, and deal with a cruel...
" and "I Wanna Be Your LoverI Wanna Be Your Lover"I Wanna Be Your Lover" is a song by Prince from his second album Prince . It was his first successful single, gaining radio airplay and chart success: the song scored two weeks at number one on the R&B singles chart during December 1979, and peaked at number eleven on the Billboard Hot 100.In the...
". These two R&B successes were performed on January 26, 1980, on American BandstandAmerican BandstandAmerican Bandstand was a television show that aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989, hosted from 1957 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as producer...
with this first backing band. Legend has it that Prince became annoyed when, during the interview segment, host Dick Clark expressed surprise that Prince and his bandmates were from Minneapolis "of all places". Prince refused to speak, instead answering a question by gesturing with his hand. It was later admitted by Dez Dickerson that it was planned from the beginning as a way to disconcert Clark. Dickerson was quoted as saying, "Great. We're illiterate, but we play well."

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Reply #23 posted 07/19/11 10:40am

PurpleLove7

avatar

moderator

... threads like this is why I'm a member of this site thumbs up

Peace ... & Stay Funky ...

~* The only love there is, is the love "we" make *~

www.facebook.com/purplefunklover
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Reply #24 posted 07/20/11 11:21am

Whitnail

avatar

[img:$uid]http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/cc5/level11/73615904za7.jpg[/img:$uid]

[img:$uid]http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/cc5/level11/19803IT9.jpg[/img:$uid]

If it were not for insanity, I would be sane.

"True to his status as the last enigma in music, Prince crashed into London this week in a ball of confusion" The Times 2014
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Reply #25 posted 07/20/11 11:56am

OldFriends4Sal
e

PRINCE: Well, you know, it's like...I worked a long time under a lot of different people, and most of the time I was doing it their way. I mean, that was cool, but ya know, I figured if I worked hard enough and kept my head straight, one day I'd get to do this on my own...and that's what happened. So I feel like...if I don't try to hurt nobody...and like I say...keep my head on straight...my way usually is the best way.

MOJO: Growin' up in Minne-wood, as it's been now called, simply because that is the hot point on this planet right now.

PRINCE: Well, it's been called a lot of things, but it's always Uptown to me.

MOJO: Uptown?

PRINCE: Yes.

MOJO: What was it like growin' up Uptown?

PRINCE: Pretty different. Uh, kinda sad, to be exact. (laughs) I mean, the radio was dead, the discos was dead, ladies was kinda dead, so I felt like, if we wanted to make some noise, and I wanted to turn anything out....I was gonna have to get somethin' together. Which is what we did. We put together a few bands and turned it into Uptown. That consisted of a lot of bike riding nude, but ya know...it worked. We had fun. That's why I wanted to come here on my birthday...'cuz I wanted to give them a little taste of where we live and get a little taste of where you all live. To me, this is like my second home. If I could spend the night at somebody's crib, I would...'cuz this hotel.... They're real nice to us, but, this bed is hard!

Electrifying Mojo Interview with Prince 1985

[img:$uid]http://d.yimg.com/kq/groups/21303846/sn/96473680/name/Uptown+Theater.jpg[/img:$uid]

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Reply #26 posted 07/20/11 12:37pm

Timmy84

Whitnail said:

[img:$uid]http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/cc5/level11/f_theband2197m_06b8b3d.jpg[/img:$uid]

One of my fav pics from those days, I got this on here BTW, so I am not taking credit for it, cannot remember the orger that originally posted it

Hah look at Morris and Prince.

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Reply #27 posted 07/22/11 9:05am

purplethunder3
121

avatar

biggrin

"Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything." --Plato

https://youtu.be/CVwv9LZMah0
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Reply #28 posted 07/24/11 5:53am

julia319

avatar

wow, i really love this thread, thank U smile

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Reply #29 posted 07/25/11 8:27am

OldFriends4Sal
e

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