Javi said:

Not a band member, but I can't help mentioning Clare Fisher. Many years of brilliant collaborations.

Notable to mention

If this thread was about Prince movies it would be:

Best: Jerome Benton. No one person has enriched a Prince movie more than Jerome. Why oh why was he not in the SOTT concert movie? "U did it 2 Mary's Mum"

Worst: Aura from Graffitti Bridge. I think the bridge was a better actor than she was

Mandingo said:

If this thread was about Prince movies it would be:

Best: Jerome Benton. No one person has enriched a Prince movie more than Jerome. Why oh why was he not in the SOTT concert movie? "U did it 2 Mary's Mum"

Worst: Aura from Graffitti Bridge. I think the bridge was a better actor than she was

lol I know U don't care for Cat, but SOTT with Cat wouldn't B

But I thought too that Jerome Benton, Cat and 1 of the others would have been perfect

I still would have prefered BrownMark on bass

But yeah Jerome B would have added another element to the concert/movie, shows

TrevorAyer said:

Mandingo said:

Lianachan said:

Best would have to be one of the Revolution, probably Dr Fink. Most useless as a band member would be Shelby, with a special mention for Larry Graham as worst influence.

Shelby is the new cat.

An unattractive weird looking female jumping around on the stage around arguably the most gifted performer of our age and distracting the audience from Il ne faut pas le sous-estimer. .The modern day Wolfgang Amadeus

Shelby needs to go. Not only does she not add, her shreiking azz gives ass much to a performance as there are hairs on her head

what does THIS have to do with the price of tea in China? focus on their musical/singing deficits

datdude said:

Mandingo said:

Shelby is the new cat.

An unattractive weird looking female jumping around on the stage around arguably the most gifted performer of our age and distracting the audience from Il ne faut pas le sous-estimer. .The modern day Wolfgang Amadeus

Shelby needs to go. Not only does she not add, her shreiking azz gives ass much to a performance as there are hairs on her head

what does THIS have to do with the price of tea in China? focus on their musical/singing deficits

Exactly. I'd like to know what a musician's/artist's looks has to do with their talent/gifts as musicians/artists, and since when do some fans, on the basis of some fans' personal hangups, do think they have an inkling of a chance to give permission to any artist to perform with another? It's obvious if Prince didn't want ShelbyJ or any artist he invites or hires to perform on stage with him or to be part of his band, then more than likely they wouldn't be there. Furthermore, when will some folks grow an ounce of intelligence and learn that a musician's/artist's music or singing skills are not born from looks?

[Edited 2/8/14 17:33pm]

jfrost said:

The worst:::; the guy on keyboards in Graffiti Bridge "Bang"

Philip C!

This is the only correct answer, because he wasn't even a bandmember, he's a hairdresser. They just put him iin the movie to fill a position.

This is totally a subjective question, so here's my subjective answer.

Most beneficial: Wendy & Lisa. They inspired him and challenged him in a way different than a girlfriend or wife. They gave him a run for his money, musically. We got the benefit of that, with all those awesome albums in what many consider the golden era of his career.

Most useless: Tony M. The guy rapped horribly, his dancing was mediocre at best, and his presence overall was ridiculous. He's had other band members that were useless, (for example the random trumpet player on a random tour). However, Tony M sucked because he got in the way and poisoned several good songs. For example, Willing and Able did not need a rap, and at the end of every line in 2gether there's a "huh" that I can't ignore.

That's just my opinion!

Chas

Lots I could say were best, but it would be down to the following, Dez, and WendynLisa from the Revolution and Sonny and Michael from the NPG, oh heck with, everyone will choose the revolution members. I will go with Sonny Thompson, his bass guitar provided the themes to Prince's 90s smashes and he was also admired from afar by Prince since his teens. Of course Michael Bland has to be mentioned too, but Sonny T was the main cat Prince played with. But there are many, many worthy people who would make this group and came damn close to Sonny, but the man needs a shout out with his bass in my face!!!

As for worst direct band member, I would definitely not say CAT, her dancing and choreography skills were awesome, Prince's discarding of her sucked though. She would be amongst the best rather than worst.

Now the worst and most useless would be two different things, actual worst would be Tony M for his bad rapping and of course Kirky J and Scrap D along with TC Ellis, but at least they contributed something, so the most USELESS would have to be Greg Brooks and Wally Safford, physically ugly (A bearded midget and a Fat Albert lookalike), thick, violent stupid thugs comes to mind. They did nothing but the most basic dances and even then done poorly. Prince only had them in the group because they were bodyguards and no doubt his homies. The rest of the group despised them except maybe Jerome , and eventually Prince knew the writing was on the wall.

I would say Carmen Electra and Apollonia too, but they were exclusively side projects and were never fully in Prince's band as far as I know. Carmen did open for Prince and the NPG in 1992 and had members of the NPG play behind her sets, but she was never in the NPG. I won't even think of his dancers as they at least had presence and I liked Mayte's singing on Children of the Sun (Guilty Pleasure), besides Mayte made Prince happy for a while and inspired some of the better cuts on Emancipation.

Adorecream said:

Lots I could say were best, but it would be down to the following, Dez, and WendynLisa from the Revolution and Sonny and Michael from the NPG, oh heck with, everyone will choose the revolution members. I will go with Sonny Thompson, his bass guitar provided the themes to Prince's 90s smashes and he was also admired from afar by Prince since his teens. Of course Michael Bland has to be mentioned too, but Sonny T was the main cat Prince played with. But there are many, many worthy people who would make this group and came damn close to Sonny, but the man needs a shout out with his bass in my face!!!

As for worst direct band member, I would definitely not say CAT, her dancing and choreography skills were awesome, Prince's discarding of her sucked though. She would be amongst the best rather than worst.

Now the worst and most useless would be two different things, actual worst would be Tony M for his bad rapping and of course Kirky J and Scrap D along with TC Ellis, but at least they contributed something, so the most USELESS would have to be Greg Brooks and Wally Safford, physically ugly (A bearded midget and a Fat Albert lookalike), thick, violent stupid thugs comes to mind. They did nothing but the most basic dances and even then done poorly. Prince only had them in the group because they were bodyguards and no doubt his homies. The rest of the group despised them except maybe Jerome , and eventually Prince knew the writing was on the wall.

I would say Carmen Electra and Apollonia too, but they were exclusively side projects and were never fully in Prince's band as far as I know. Carmen did open for Prince and the NPG in 1992 and had members of the NPG play behind her sets, but she was never in the NPG. I won't even think of his dancers as they at least had presence and I liked Mayte's singing on Children of the Sun (Guilty Pleasure), besides Mayte made Prince happy for a while and inspired some of the better cuts on Emancipation.

Apollonia was moreso for the part of Purple Rain, and the act was a part of the movie so she gets pass.

I'm think Diamonds & Pearls too

Best: Susannah. She gave him so much inspiration which lead to (some of) his best songs.
Worst: Shelby J.

sovembol said:

Most beneficial - Andre Cymone

Most useless - Phillip C

Technically he was never a bandmember. He wasn't even a musician, just the hairdresser

databank said:

sovembol said:

Most beneficial - Andre Cymone

Most useless - Phillip C

Technically he was never a bandmember. He wasn't even a musician, just the hairdresser

True, he was just visibly filling in 4 Dr Fink while he was 'busy' ie married/child?

Dr Fink was back 4 the Nude tour

Most beneficial:

Andre Cymone - their musical partnership from a very young age must be ingrained in Prince's musical DNA.

Eric Leeds - bringing on board someone who's versatile on an instrument Prince doesn't play allowed Prince to explore new musical possibilities.

Most useless - Don't know. There's been a few

Can´t believe nobody mentions Sheila E, she was amazing at his shows.

Looks & talent.

nextedition said:

Can´t believe nobody mentions Sheila E, she was amazing at his shows.

Looks & talent.

I was thinking that too, as much as I wanted to include her. I just thought that others had more influence and a slightly longer impact. But she is definitely in that elite group, not just for her role in Prince's band, but her influence on him and her 3 Prince related solo albums.

Worst: Shelby J
Best: (After last night) Donna Grantis. Otherwise, probably John Blackwell, Michael B or Rhonda Smith.

I won't mention the Revolution as I never saw them live.

Anybody remember the rappers DVS and Scrap D?

Best! Lisa her creamy backing vocals on Prince's earlier 80's songs complimented Prince so much. Also; Her live haunting keyboard playing, was the icing on the cake to Prince's signature intricate keyboard style. Its what made her my all time favorite keyboard player of his. Hello POWER FANTASTIC!!!!!!!!

Hey Lisa! Is the water warm enough???

Useless NONE! Everyone played a part in his bands that made the stars collide for Prince's still highly successful career. NO ONE is useless in their life! God created them 4 a reason......

Chas said:

This is totally a subjective question, so here's my subjective answer.

Most useless: Tony M. The guy rapped horribly, his dancing was mediocre at best, and his presence overall was ridiculous. He's had other band members that were useless, (for example the random trumpet player on a random tour). However, Tony M sucked because he got in the way and poisoned several good songs. For example, Willing and Able did not need a rap, and at the end of every line in 2gether there's a "huh" that I can't ignore.

That's just my opinion!

Chas

Most useless? Tony M? Hell no! Mr Mosley the Deacon has to be Prince's finest and most appropriate artistic collaborator. To me, the Tony M/ Gameboyz era was the ZENITH and P really lost his way when Tony left. I mean, just imagine boring instrumental music like NEWS, C-NOTE and Xpectation, as well as dull stuff like most of his last 10 years worth of material made MUCH more cool and interesting by putting Tony on the mike all over those suckaz!

Word, if I were P, I'd bring Tony back to the NPG (WITH his brothas the Gameboyz of course, goes without sayin') TODAY! In fact, I wouldn't release remastered versions of the 80s albums until those records were improved by putting cool new overdubs and philosophisin' from Tony on those platters. IMAGINE Dorothy Parker, When Doves Cry, Sometimes It Snows in April or Sign o' the Times improved 100 x by having Tony layin' down the word about HIS experience in the hood and beyond.

Hell, MC Hammer must've got SCARED when he saw the Gameboyz at top of their game back in the day.

2Gether NEEDED those 'Huh's' at the end of every line, cuz without it Tony and P knew it wouldn't speak to the streets.

Bring back Tony, Prince, you know he's the Lennon to your McCartney

MarshallStacks said:

Chas said:

This is totally a subjective question, so here's my subjective answer.

Most useless: Tony M. The guy rapped horribly, his dancing was mediocre at best, and his presence overall was ridiculous. He's had other band members that were useless, (for example the random trumpet player on a random tour). However, Tony M sucked because he got in the way and poisoned several good songs. For example, Willing and Able did not need a rap, and at the end of every line in 2gether there's a "huh" that I can't ignore.

That's just my opinion!

Chas

Most useless? Tony M? Hell no! Mr Mosley the Deacon has to be Prince's finest and most appropriate artistic collaborator. To me, the Tony M/ Gameboyz era was the ZENITH and P really lost his way when Tony left. I mean, just imagine boring instrumental music like NEWS, C-NOTE and Xpectation, as well as dull stuff like most of his last 10 years worth of material made MUCH more cool and interesting by putting Tony on the mike all over those suckaz!

Word, if I were P, I'd bring Tony back to the NPG (WITH his brothas the Gameboyz of course, goes without sayin') TODAY! In fact, I wouldn't release remastered versions of the 80s albums until those records were improved by putting cool new overdubs and philosophisin' from Tony on those platters. IMAGINE Dorothy Parker, When Doves Cry, Sometimes It Snows in April or Sign o' the Times improved 100 x by having Tony layin' down the word about HIS experience in the hood and beyond.

Hell, MC Hammer must've got SCARED when he saw the Gameboyz at top of their game back in the day.

2Gether NEEDED those 'Huh's' at the end of every line, cuz without it Tony and P knew it wouldn't speak to the streets.

Bring back Tony, Prince, you know he's the Lennon to your McCartney

One reason I'm going to back you on Tony M was because he felt Prince was too white, He told some band member in his time that he was going make Prince 'blacker' "I'm going to shove black down that _ throat" He didn't accept Prince 4 who he was.

.

Prince is Prince, and it's his rainbow that makes him who he is. Superstars go beyond that limitation.

Kirky J gets a lot of stick (no pun), but as a drummer he's pretty serviceable (check Dinner with Delores on Letterman) The problem was we all loved Prince's 80s beats so much and the Kirky J machine beats were pretty horrid, 2D tinny sounds, dated so badly, so no wonder he came in for so much criticism. Tony M on the other hand, The Deacon....'nuff said!

Too hard to list favourites but always soft spots for Dr Fink, Eric Leeds, Lisa, Sonny T, Michael B. Best band technically was ONA era but they didn't have the heart of these guys!

Not quite band member, but Jesse Johnson had a much bigger influence than people think (as did Dez). These were the black men Prince wanted to be. Post Punk, glam. Jesse was turning out the tunes, and between 85-87, I think Prince was worried. "Shockadelica" was a good example. He blatantly ripped JJ off. I think he was worried that Jesse's star was rising as his was dulling a little. In the end, Jesse's career didn't take off like maybe it should.

Probably stretching things further. I could divide all the members I know of (There are a few 97 -03 bands I am not so familiar with) and divide them into four categories. I know theres a bit of bias between people who played over a decade or more like Fink and ones who were on one tour - Chance Howard etc.

1. Most Useful/ Beneficial Members

2. Useful/Beneficial Members

Anyone in the top 2 was an ace musician and was mutually beneficial to Prince and Prince to their own musical careers

3. Less useful/Slightly destructive

People in this group gave or cotributed something, but they are also remembered less fondly or just really lacked that much talent

4. Useless/Destructive

These people have virtually no redeeming features or in my eyes, did a lot to destroy Prince.

This is my list (In no order, chronological or otherwise)

1. Most Useful

Sonny T, Michael Bland, Dr Fink, Sheila E, Lisa, Wendy, John Blackwell, Mr Hayes, Dez Dickerson, Mark Brown (Prince said he's the reason I have bass in my music), Rosie Gaines, Camille

2. Useful (Most will fall in this group)

Andre Cymone, Bobby Z, Boni, Cat, Tommy Barbarella, Levi Seacer Jnr (This group nearly make the top group), Mayte, Ida, Candy, Rhonda, Kat, Cora and Josh Dunham, Rad, Shelby, Liv, Elisa, Matt Leeds, Atlanta Bliss, Spooky Electric

3. Less Useful
Jerome, Kirky J, Damon, Chance Howard, Geneva, Scrap D, Damaris (What does she do?), Diamond and Pearl, The Twinz (Need 2 make a mark)

4. Useless

Tony M, Steppa Ranks, Doug E fresh (For that accura rap alone), Greg and Wally

Of course this is one mans opinion, you may all think differently.

[Edited 2/10/14 19:20pm]

Best: Hard to pick one from Andre or Dez, or even Morris Day.

Sheila E. clearly has chemistry with him that brings out some of our favorite Prince.

Wendy/Lisa brough gave it depth and knew how to make songs bigger, and both Wendy's Sister, and Brother became collaboraters.

Dr. Fink is said to have expanded Prince's record collection, and of course we know he goes way back.

They all helped defined Prince.

Worst: Eric Leeds.

Obviously influential, and bless him for Parade, but trading out the rock for the horns was a wrong turn. It took a few more records before Prince just lost his way entirely, and live, it always seemed like Leeds would jump in with some inappropriate squawking solo that never ended. He was like the start of the boring backup, session players getting front of stage attention. Plus his Brother was tied up with some of Prince's business affairs.

Honorable Mention: Larry Graham, because lord knows how those two could collaborate over 15 years and be any less funky. How is it possible?

Mandingo said:

hw3004 said:

Beneficial - Wendy

Useless - Kirky J

Wasn't Kirk J a musician of sorts?

....that's possibly the best underhand insult ever!

KCOOLMUZIQ said:

Where would U place Andy Allo?

MarshallStacks said:

Chas said:

This is totally a subjective question, so here's my subjective answer.

Most useless: Tony M. The guy rapped horribly, his dancing was mediocre at best, and his

Bring back Tony, Prince, you know he's the Lennon to your McCartney

I hope to God you're being sarcastic.