Most beneficial: Wendy & Lisa

I miss how they contrasted Prince's vocals on songs.

Though when I first saw the thread title Sonny T came straight to mind.

Least beneficial: Damaris Lewis, though she is only a dancer I see no reason for her there.

If selecting a musician, then no idea maybe Shelby.

I can be swayed on this is anyone wants to put suggestions forward

I've never viewed dancers (no matter how talented) as necessary additions to a band

I'm not sure about the 'greatest additions' though...

If Andre had the same work ethic, was as good of a singer, as ambitious and unafraid as Prince, he'd probably be not far behind Prince with his success. It's only speculation, but alot of Dirty Mind, Controversy and 1999 as well as his concept for The Time and Vanity 6 was inspired by Andre wasn't it? I always thought of Andre and Dez as nerds who knew alot about german electronic music, rock, new wave, punk etc. Prince was on the other hand naturally gifted sponge that would suck all that knowledge into his bones and deliver the music like he was born to do it. It's very easy for us to say that Living In The New Wave was similar to Dirty Mind. However, it was difficult for Andre to release music before Prince, when he didn't have a solo record deal, and was at the same time the bassist in Prince band.

treehouse said:

KCOOLMUZIQ said:

Its reminiscent of the James Brown Revue, Plus i c what he is trying to do with the NPG. Eye TOTALLY get it!!!!

I don't know on what alternate universe the NPG are even half as good as James Brown's Revue, but that must be the planet Shelby came from...let's also not discount her for some other talents...like Dual flag bearer during live shows! Without her, who carries the flag? Exactly.

chocolate1 said:

OldFriends4Sale said:

Where would U place Andy Allo?

I had to think about this one...

I've been one of the main people who had no use for Andy in the NPG.
Then I went to see her in NYC. I really enjoyed her show. She showed us what she can really do.

After seeing her perform on her own, it became clear to me that she WAS useless in the NPG. Her role in the band was "standing there dressed like Prince looking cute holding a guitar."

I thought the same, I felt sorry for her actually the way Prince put her out there. She mostly just held that pretty guitar

She had her thing going on her own before Prince, her visibility with him helped. But instead of trying to make her some funk phenomenon he should have just didn't some accoustic/piano tracks with her, and kept her true to her own form

OldFriends4Sale said:

chocolate1 said:

I had to think about this one...

I've been one of the main people who had no use for Andy in the NPG.
Then I went to see her in NYC. I really enjoyed her show. She showed us what she can really do.

After seeing her perform on her own, it became clear to me that she WAS useless in the NPG. Her role in the band was "standing there dressed like Prince looking cute holding a guitar."

I thought the same, I felt sorry for her actually the way Prince put her out there. She mostly just held that pretty guitar

She had her thing going on her own before Prince, her visibility with him helped. But instead of trying to make her some funk phenomenon he should have just didn't some accoustic/piano tracks with her, and kept her true to her own form

It may be true that she is better as a solo artist, but I think her career had a jump once she was part of Prince's band no matter how temporary, a band member she was with the NPG. I think that exposure was definitely beneficial to her career, even though she had been doing tons of commercials, was part of series on BET, has music credits on a movie, and has been an artist, long before she was temporarily part of Prince's band. So either way, I would say

Andy touring with Prince for the time period she did, and doing an album with him, gave her name more exposure, and like any other artist, I'm quite sure that exposure has been beneficial to her music career. I say that because there are musicians/artists that have worked with him longer, been there from early in his career, and now have a hard time getting booked at venues.

2elijah said:

OldFriends4Sale said:

I thought the same, I felt sorry for her actually the way Prince put her out there. She mostly just held that pretty guitar

She had her thing going on her own before Prince, her visibility with him helped. But instead of trying to make her some funk phenomenon he should have just didn't some accoustic/piano tracks with her, and kept her true to her own form

It may be true that she is better as a solo artist, but I think her career had a jump once she was part of Prince's band no matter how temporary, a band member she was with the NPG. I think that exposure was definitely beneficial to her career, even though she had been doing tons of commercials, was part of series on BET, has music credits on a movie, and has been an artist, long before she was temporarily part of Prince's band. So either way, I would say

Andy touring with Prince for the time period she did, and doing an album with him, gave her name more exposure, and like any other artist, I'm quite sure that exposure has been beneficial to her music career. I say that because there are musicians/artists that have worked with him longer, been there from early in his career, and now have a hard time getting booked at venues.

Yep I said the same in a smaller way: her visibiity with him(Prince) helped

I think they way it went set her up for an expectation she couldn't fulfill.

He should have taken who she was an capitalized on that, I mean it looked bad a lot, because the big thing was 'can she even play guitar?' most of the pictures we've seen she seems to just be holding the guitar. It was too big for her. Prince & Andy on some accoustic/piano sets would have put her in a better light.

And according the thread, I don't think she would be considered a 'beneficial' band member.

I like Andy, I like her for the Prince eye candy, (he just has to have it, and I'm cool with that) and I've seen a few of her sets on her own and enjoyed it.

treehouse said:

KCOOLMUZIQ said:

Its reminiscent of the James Brown Revue, Plus i c what he is trying to do with the NPG. Eye TOTALLY get it!!!!

I don't know on what alternate universe the NPG are even half as good as James Brown's Revue, but that must be the planet Shelby came from...let's also not discount her for some other talents...like Dual flag bearer during live shows! Without her, who carries the flag? Exactly.

I believe that vast and alternate universe is the same universe artists like James Brown, Jimi Hendrix, Robert Johnson, Chuck Berry, Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, DeAngelo, etc., came from and has been major influences to many, present day artists. Those artists express(ed) that sound in various and creative ways to make it their own. You can pull 'pop, rock, funk blues, blues-rock, funk rock, rockabilly, soul ballads, r&b, etc., all from that alternate universe, with so many variations of it. Jimi used to performed with the Isley Brothers and Little Richard, and a host of other Blues, R&B artists, before he went full on rock/blues rock, and if anyone knows the history of rock & rock & roll, it was born out of r&b. So yeah, that seems to be the vast universe that artists like Shelby, Liv, and many members of the NPG, past and present have been influenced by, and express it in a way some fans don't seem to comprehend, probably due to some of those fans' lack of embrace and comprehension of the history of the artistic, and gifted vocal sounds that artists like Shelby, Liv possess. I think if Prince didn't comprehend or recognize what that sound is, then I gather he wouldn't have had any of those NPG members as part of his band. I think all members, brought something to the table, whether one or two fans liked them or not, including past or present members.

[Edited 2/14/14 7:37am]

2elijah said:

treehouse said:

I don't know on what alternate universe the NPG are even half as good as James Brown's Revue, but that must be the planet Shelby came from...let's also not discount her for some other talents...like Dual flag bearer during live shows! Without her, who carries the flag? Exactly.

I believe that vast and alternate universe is the same universe artists like James Brown, Jimi Hendrix, Robert Johnson, Chuck Berry, Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, DeAngelo, etc., came from and has been major influences to many, present day artists. Those artists express(ed) that sound in various and creative ways to make it their own. You can pull 'pop, rock, funk blues, blues-rock, funk rock, rockabilly, soul ballads, r&b, all from that alternate universe, with so many variations of it. . Jimi used to perform with James Brown before he went full on rock/blues rock, and if anyone knows the history of rock & rock & roll, it was born out of r&b. So yeah, that seems to be the vast universe that artists like Shelby, Liv, and many members of the NPG, past and present have been influenced by, and express it in a way some fans don't seem to comprehend, probably due to some of those fans' lack of embrace and comprehension of the history of the artistic, and gifted vocal sounds that artists like Shelby, Liv possess. I think if Prince didn't understand what that sound is, then I gather he wouldn't have had any of those NPG members as part of his band. I think all members, brought something to the table, whether one or two fans liked them or not, including past or present members.

[Edited 2/12/14 8:07am]

sorry Tony M ummmm errr naaawww lol

OldFriends4Sale said:

2elijah said:

I believe that vast and alternate universe is the same universe artists like James Brown, Jimi Hendrix, Robert Johnson, Chuck Berry, Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, DeAngelo, etc., came from and has been major influences to many, present day artists. Those artists express(ed) that sound in various and creative ways to make it their own. You can pull 'pop, rock, funk blues, blues-rock, funk rock, rockabilly, soul ballads, r&b, all from that alternate universe, with so many variations of it. . Jimi used to perform with James Brown before he went full on rock/blues rock, and if anyone knows the history of rock & rock & roll, it was born out of r&b. So yeah, that seems to be the vast universe that artists like Shelby, Liv, and many members of the NPG, past and present have been influenced by, and express it in a way some fans don't seem to comprehend, probably due to some of those fans' lack of embrace and comprehension of the history of the artistic, and gifted vocal sounds that artists like Shelby, Liv possess. I think if Prince didn't understand what that sound is, then I gather he wouldn't have had any of those NPG members as part of his band. I think all members, brought something to the table, whether one or two fans liked them or not, including past or present members.

[Edited 2/12/14 8:07am]

sorry Tony M ummmm errr naaawww lol

Where do you think rap was born out of hmm? lol...which is why you have so many artists, world-wide, even if you don't like that form of music, doing the same thing. Rap is not a form of music that is one of my favorites, but it dominated the music industry well throughout the 80s-to early-mid 2000s. Now a lot of it is watered-down. So obviously there is a love, even for forms of music you may not like.

RodeoSchro said:

Holy moley, and I going to be the first one to mention Tony M?!?



Best band member? Hmmm, very good question. Bobby Byrd's son told me that Rosie Gaines was so good she scared Prince, and that's why he quit featuring her. Maybe that inspired Prince to really improve his vocals. Who knows?

Instrument-wise, I really don't know. That is a very good question. I like the suggestion of Dr. Fink, although Prince to my knowledge has never said the things about Fink that he's said about Wendy.

Maybe John Blackwell? His drumming had to bring out things from Prince that no one else could have uncovered.

I liked some of Tony M's raps

Cat was also just kind of meh for me. Besides Lovesexy she wasn't even relevant. She was good for getting her panties stiolen by Prince i guess.

Most beneficial - tie: Dr Fink or Claire Fisher

Most useless - Tony M, Tony M, Tony M, Tony M, Tony M, Tony M, Tony M, Tony M, Tony M, and Tony M. For all you Kat Haters, it was a baaaaaaaaaaaad idea for Prince to let her rap, but not near as bad as letting Tony M.

Tony M may have done well as the voice over for game shows or the Animal Planet though.

btw, his voice always eerily reminded me of Prince's when it is slowed down, like at the beginning of 1999. Maybe Prince was pushing for that similarity. Why he would ever think that would be a good rap voice????? who know????

[Edited 2/14/14 1:33am]

2elijah said:

OldFriends4Sale said:

sorry Tony M ummmm errr naaawww lol

Where do you think rap was born out of hmm? lol...which is why you have so many artists, world-wide, even if you don't like that form of music, doing the same thing. Rap is not a form of music that is one of my favorites, but it dominated the music industry well throughout the 80s-to early-mid 2000s. Now a lot of it is watered-down. So obviously there is a love, even for forms of music you may not like.

Tony M ummmm errrr nawwwww lol

I didn't say Rap, I said Tony M

Prince had his light raps in the 1980s on Love or Money, It's Gonna Be A Beautiful Night, Girls & Boys, and a few others,

.

I was there when rap was underground and on 45s and such, it was a cool subculture with graffiti and breakdancing, style of dressing etc

.

I think Rap was still very 'underground' in the 80s a lot of resistance to it, even Prince had his Dead On It (against rap) resisting people who want to sample his stuff for rap like they did James Brown. But by the 1990s it was big. I hated that every RnB song had to have rapper on it

.

Prince doesn't need to be hooked up with a 'rapper' he tried with Tony, I don't care for it.

.

some of my favs:Common, the Roots, (Run-DMC)

.

Again, I said, Tony M ummmmm errrrrrr naaawwwww

Gunsnhalen said:

Cat was also just kind of meh for me. Besides Lovesexy she wasn't even relevant. She was good for getting her panties stiolen by Prince i guess.

I like Cat, and anyone smart enought 2 run from playing Graffiti Bridge has my vote

Even thought I do think somehow GB would be a bit easier to watch with the Lovesexy band

Mico & Levi ddn't have enough character to help. Dr Fink Sheila E Eric Leed & Cat would have

But I really prefere her with the SOTT band she fit will with that set

OldFriends4Sale said:

2elijah said:

OldFriends4Sale said:

Tony M ummmm errrr nawwwww lol

I didn't say Rap, I said Tony M

Prince had his light raps in the 1980s on Love or Money, It's Gonna Be A Beautiful Night, Girls & Boys, and a few others,

.

I was there when rap was underground and on 45s and such, it was a cool subculture with graffiti and breakdancing, style of dressing etc

.

I think Rap was still very 'underground' in the 80s a lot of resistance to it, even Prince had his Dead On It (against rap) resisting people who want to sample his stuff for rap like they did James Brown. But by the 1990s it was big. I hated that every RnB song had to have rapper on it

.

Prince doesn't need to be hooked up with a 'rapper' he tried with Tony, I don't care for it.

.

some of my favs:Common, the Roots, (Run-DMC)

.

Again, I said, Tony M ummmmm errrrrrr naaawwwww

I was around at that time during the early form of rap as well, so no big deal, but you as a fan can't tell any musician or artist what they need or shouldn't have with their music career or vision, as you don't know what their vision is musically, unless you're that musician or artist. You're basically speaking on your personal, music vision and desires.

2Elijah, we know this, this is a fan board, we look back as fans and talk about stuff

Why did you have to go there with all that. I can be critical of certain things if I want, and of course we are ALL speaking from our personal ideals. I'm mean so are you right?

.

And guess what? Prince can do all he wants, BUT if people don't like it, he will rethink what he did. If Prince sat at home in a studio and made music 4 himself and didn't charge $200 for a show or $15 for music, then definately, no one cares. BUT once you charge and say 'support' me, then you automatically give people a say into what you are doing. Period. Its not one sided. If Prince felt saying the P_$$y word all over his album, would you be inclined to suport? lol yes he can do what he wants but there is a price. Trust me, there is a reason there have been no Tony Ms after that period.

.

No one is saying don't try stuff... And I've heard your thoughts on certain eras of Prince: If Prince was 32 and strutting around in Gstrings and jock straps, jacking off his guitar and making out with the band members and women in the audience singing HEAD JACK U OFF etc don't tell me you won't critique and have an opinion and possibly not support the show, and say 'he's 32 he needs to/every grows up from that etc'

.

Threads like this is everyone Speaking On Our Personal... even u

so let me have my fun

OldFriends4Sale said:

2elijah said:

OldFriends4Sale said: I was around at that time during the early form of rap as well, so no big deal, but you as a fan can't tell any musician or artist what they need or shouldn't have with their music career or vision, as you don't know what their vision is musically, unless you're that musician or artist. You're basically speaking on your personal, music vision and desires.

2Elijah, we know this, this is a fan board, we look back as fans and talk about stuff

Why did you have to go there with all that. I can be critical of certain things if I want, and of course we are ALL speaking from our personal ideals. I'm mean so are you right?

.

And guess what? Prince can do all he wants, BUT if people don't like it, he will rethink what he did. If Prince sat at home in a studio and made music 4 himself and didn't charge $200 for a show or $15 for music, then definately, no one cares. BUT once you charge and say 'support' me, then you automatically give people a say into what you are doing. Period. Its not one sided. If Prince felt saying the P_$$y word all over his album, would you be inclined to suport? lol yes he can do what he wants but there is a price. Trust me, there is a reason there have been no Tony Ms after that period.

.

No one is saying don't try stuff... And I've heard your thoughts on certain eras of Prince: If Prince was 32 and strutting around in Gstrings and jock straps, jacking off his guitar and making out with the band members and women in the audience singing HEAD JACK U OFF etc don't tell me you won't critique and have an opinion and possibly not support the show, and say 'he's 32 he needs to/every grows up from that etc'

.

Threads like this is everyone Speaking On Our Personal... even u

so let me have my fun

But there was no reason for you to take offense to my opinion then, as you said we're all sharing our personal opinions, so what's the problem, if I'm sharing mine as well? If I hit or ruffled a nerve of yours, then that was not the intention of expressing my point of view. Furthermore, how could I stop you from having your fun expressing yourself on the topic, when I don't have the power to do that unless you allowed that to happen?

All I'm saying is that regardless of which band member as fans we like/dislike, it's still not up to us whether their time with a musician/artist was/is of value to that musician/artist, because we don't know exactly what that musician/artist is looking for in that individual.

See, absolutely no reason for you to get offended. It's just an opinion as is yours. It's ok if you disagree.

[Edited 2/14/14 8:04am]

SuperSoulFighter said:

Let me clear up one misunderstanding: Jimi Hendrix was never in James Browns band!

You're correct. That was my error. I was stuck on James Brown in that post where I mentioned that. I meant, he played with musicians/artists such as The Isley Brothers, Little Richard, and had many influences like BB King. Jimi played along what they called back then as the Chitlin' Circuit, before later getting more into 'rock' moreso than r&b.

[Edited 2/14/14 7:53am]

2elijah said:

OldFriends4Sale said:

2Elijah, we know this, this is a fan board, we look back as fans and talk about stuff

Why did you have to go there with all that. I can be critical of certain things if I want, and of course we are ALL speaking from our personal ideals. I'm mean so are you right?

.

And guess what? Prince can do all he wants, BUT if people don't like it, he will rethink what he did. If Prince sat at home in a studio and made music 4 himself and didn't charge $200 for a show or $15 for music, then definately, no one cares. BUT once you charge and say 'support' me, then you automatically give people a say into what you are doing. Period. Its not one sided. If Prince felt saying the P_$$y word all over his album, would you be inclined to suport? lol yes he can do what he wants but there is a price. Trust me, there is a reason there have been no Tony Ms after that period.

.

No one is saying don't try stuff... And I've heard your thoughts on certain eras of Prince: If Prince was 32 and strutting around in Gstrings and jock straps, jacking off his guitar and making out with the band members and women in the audience singing HEAD JACK U OFF etc don't tell me you won't critique and have an opinion and possibly not support the show, and say 'he's 32 he needs to/every grows up from that etc'

.

Threads like this is everyone Speaking On Our Personal... even u

so let me have my fun

But there was no reason for you to take offense to my opinion then, as you said we're all sharing our personal opinions, so what's the problem, if I'm sharing mine as well? If I hit or ruffled a nerve of yours, then that was not the intention of expressing my point of view. Furthermore, how could I stop you from having your fun expressing yourself on the topic, when I don't have the power to do that unless you allowed that to happen?:

You don't have to agree with my opinion at all, there's no requirement here that says that you have to. Basically, regardless of which band member as fans we like/dislike, it's still not up to us whether their time with a musician/artist was/is of value to that musician/artist, because we don't know exactly what that musician/artist is looking for in that individual. As I said, none of us have to or are forced to like any of the band associates.

See, absolutely no reason for you to get offended by that. It's all good, so let me have my fun and opinion as well whether you agree or not or would you rather limit my opinion to only what you want to hear and not from my honest point of view? My point of view is not for you to personally get offended by.. it's just an opinion as is yours.

[Edited 2/14/14 7:57am]

Not offended, I just didn't need to be told but you as a fan can't tell any musician or artist what they need or shouldn't have with their music career or vision, as you don't know what their vision is musically, unless you're that musician or artist. You're basically speaking on your personal, music vision and desires.

.

Just because I don't care for Tony M, I wasn't trying to tell any musician or artist anything. Like I said this is just a fan site with fans expressing our opinions. Not trying to control Prince. I think it's obvious that we are all basically speaking from our personal about

Who would U argue was Prince's most beneficial band member & most useless band member in his career

And Tony M is one of my choices

You have yet to contribute your choices, what are they?

OldFriends4Sale said:

2elijah said:

But there was no reason for you to take offense to my opinion then, as you said we're all sharing our personal opinions, so what's the problem, if I'm sharing mine as well? If I hit or ruffled a nerve of yours, then that was not the intention of expressing my point of view. Furthermore, how could I stop you from having your fun expressing yourself on the topic, when I don't have the power to do that unless you allowed that to happen?:

You don't have to agree with my opinion at all, there's no requirement here that says that you have to. Basically, regardless of which band member as fans we like/dislike, it's still not up to us whether their time with a musician/artist was/is of value to that musician/artist, because we don't know exactly what that musician/artist is looking for in that individual. As I said, none of us have to or are forced to like any of the band associates.

See, absolutely no reason for you to get offended by that. It's all good, so let me have my fun and opinion as well whether you agree or not or would you rather limit my opinion to only what you want to hear and not from my honest point of view? My point of view is not for you to personally get offended by.. it's just an opinion as is yours.

[Edited 2/14/14 7:57am]

Not offended, I just didn't need to be told but you as a fan can't tell any musician or artist what they need or shouldn't have with their music career or vision, as you don't know what their vision is musically, unless you're that musician or artist. You're basically speaking on your personal, music vision and desires.

.

Just because I don't care for Tony M, I wasn't trying to tell any musician or artist anything. Like I said this is just a fan site with fans expressing our opinions. Not trying to control Prince. I think it's obvious that we are all basically speaking from our personal about

Who would U argue was Prince's most beneficial band member & most useless band member in his career

And Tony M is one of my choices

You have yet to contribute your choices, what are they?

<--again. You humor me. Anyway, I can't control how you took my comment, but it's my opinion as is. No matter how small or big a role any former/current band associate played/plays in Prince's band, apparently they all had/have some value, whether I was moved by their performance or not. I can't say one is more beneficial to the other so I will leave it at that. So as they would say to the host of Jeopardy...."Alex....that's my answer"


Wait...let me take some of that back. Let's just say I have my favorites, but those who were/are not particularly my favorite band members, I could still never say they had no value or were/are useless to his band.



(Edit 'has to have')

[Edited 2/14/14 9:56am]

2elijah said:

OldFriends4Sale said:

Not offended, I just didn't need to be told but you as a fan can't tell any musician or artist what they need or shouldn't have with their music career or vision, as you don't know what their vision is musically, unless you're that musician or artist. You're basically speaking on your personal, music vision and desires.

.

Just because I don't care for Tony M, I wasn't trying to tell any musician or artist anything. Like I said this is just a fan site with fans expressing our opinions. Not trying to control Prince. I think it's obvious that we are all basically speaking from our personal about

Who would U argue was Prince's most beneficial band member & most useless band member in his career

And Tony M is one of my choices

You have yet to contribute your choices, what are they?

<--again. You humor me. Anyway, I can't control how you took my comment, but it's my opinion as is. No matter how small or big a role any former/current band associate played/plays in Prince's band, apparently they all had/have some value, whether I was moved by their performance or not. I can't say one is more beneficial to the other so I will leave it at that. So as they would say to the host of Jeopardy...."Alex....that's my answer"


Wait...let me take some of that back. Let's just say I have my favorites, but those who were/are not particularly my favorite band members, I could still never say they had no value or were/are useless to his band.



(Edit 'has to have')

[Edited 2/14/14 9:56am]

We are cool, no offenses.

.

So do you think the keyboard player in Graffiti Bridge movie had more value/less or more/less benefitial than Boni or Dr Fink?

.

the subject is not who is valueless. It's about impact change for the better or worse etc

Ok since you're not answering the OP's question.

Who are your favorites... and how did they affect Prince's music (live or studio)

OldFriends4Sale said:

2elijah said:

<--again. You humor me. Anyway, I can't control how you took my comment, but it's my opinion as is. No matter how small or big a role any former/current band associate played/plays in Prince's band, apparently they all had/have some value, whether I was moved by their performance or not. I can't say one is more beneficial to the other so I will leave it at that. So as they would say to the host of Jeopardy...."Alex....that's my answer"


Wait...let me take some of that back. Let's just say I have my favorites, but those who were/are not particularly my favorite band members, I could still never say they had no value or were/are useless to his band.



(Edit 'has to have')

[Edited 2/14/14 9:56am]

We are cool, no offenses.

.

So do you think the keyboard player in Graffiti Bridge movie had more value/less or more/less benefitial than Boni or Dr Fink?

.

the subject is not who is valueless. It's about impact change for the better or worse etc

Ok since you're not answering the OP's question.

Who are your favorites... and how did they affect Prince's music (live or studio)

Dude, nobody's avoiding the OP's question, and I don't shy away when being asked any question here.

I just basically told you more than once, that I don't value any band member (those whose names I'm familiar with) or see one of the other less than the other, based on their participation in Prince's band. Also, the subject is about who was more beneficial or useless as a band member. Secondly, I don't remember much of Graffiti Bridge, so I can't give an honest response on the band members in that movie/not to mention who all was in the band in that movie. So I will pass on that question.

Again, I don't see any band. He has had a plethora of band members who are very talented.

Now one thing I will do is express how good a musician/artist, any of his band members are regarding their talent. I have no problem giving credit where credit is due. For example, if I find that a band member's guitar or drumming skills are that good or that any of his (backup) singers have great vocal skills, then I will express how much I like/enjoy their talent.

Also, I just expressed how Donna Grantis' guitar playing in that thread about Prince and 3rdeyegirl performing 'Chaos & Disorder', in London, gives Prince a run for his money, because she plays the guitar pretty good, from my point of view. However, I don't see her guitar skills as good as his, but could be competition for him, more or less. Now some may say Wendy played better, but quite frankly, they just both have different, playing styles, so I don't see one better than the other.

(Edits, due to trying to be discreet and typing fast, while visiting this site from work..lol)

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

Cat was just great in the SOTT concert film and in the Lovesexy VHS releases. Really brought a whole lot more energy to the show than Mayte (not that Mayte was ever one of his worst onstage dancers / muses).

Wow. Did Mandingo get banned again?

2elijah said:

OldFriends4Sale said:

We are cool, no offenses.

.

So do you think the keyboard player in Graffiti Bridge movie had more value/less or more/less benefitial than Boni or Dr Fink?

.

the subject is not who is valueless. It's about impact change for the better or worse etc

Ok since you're not answering the OP's question.

Who are your favorites... and how did they affect Prince's music (live or studio)

Dude, nobody's avoiding the OP's question, and I don't shy away when being asked any question here.

I just basically told you more than once, that I don't value any band member (those whose names I'm familiar with) or see one of the other less than the other, based on their participation in Prince's band. Also, the subject is about who was more beneficial or useless as a band member. Secondly, I don't remember much of Graffiti Bridge, so I can't give an honest response on the band members in that movie/not to mention who all was in the band in that movie. So I will pass on that question.

Again, I don't see any band member more valuable, creating a major impact in his music career or less than any other band member. He's had a plethora of band members who are very talented, but I can't say which ones made a major impact on his music career.

Now one thing I will do is express how good a musician/artist one of his band members are regarding their talent. I have no problem giving credit where credit is due, for example, if I find either their guitar playing, drumming skills very good or how fantastic some of his backup singers are, then I will say it.

I just expressed how Donna Grantis' guitar playing in that thread about Prince and 3rdeyegirl performing 'Chaos & Disorder', in London, and how her guitar playing gives Prince a run for his money, because she plays the guitar pretty good, from my point of view. However, I don't see her guitar skills as good as his, but could be competition for him, more or less. Now some may say Wendy played better, but quite frankly, they just both have different, playing styles, so I don't see one better than the other.

[Edited 2/14/14 12:04pm]

The GB musician question was a joke, we've talked about it in this thread.

That 'musician' was not a musician, he was Prince's hair dresser ha ha he hee

.

Tony M ummm ahhhhh uggggghhh naawwww

OldFriends4Sale said:

2elijah said:

Dude, nobody's avoiding the OP's question, and I don't shy away when being asked any question here.

I just basically told you more than once, that I don't value any band member (those whose names I'm familiar with) or see one of the other less than the other, based on their participation in Prince's band. Also, the subject is about who was more beneficial or useless as a band member. Secondly, I don't remember much of Graffiti Bridge, so I can't give an honest response on the band members in that movie/not to mention who all was in the band in that movie. So I will pass on that question.

Again, I don't see any band member more valuable, creating a major impact in his music career or less than any other band member. He's had a plethora of band members who are very talented, but I can't say which ones made a major impact on his music career.

Now one thing I will do is express how good a musician/artist one of his band members are regarding their talent. I have no problem giving credit where credit is due, for example, if I find either their guitar playing, drumming skills very good or how fantastic some of his backup singers are, then I will say it.

I just expressed how Donna Grantis' guitar playing in that thread about Prince and 3rdeyegirl performing 'Chaos & Disorder', in London, and how her guitar playing gives Prince a run for his money, because she plays the guitar pretty good, from my point of view. However, I don't see her guitar skills as good as his, but could be competition for him, more or less. Now some may say Wendy played better, but quite frankly, they just both have different, playing styles, so I don't see one better than the other.

[Edited 2/14/14 12:04pm]

The GB musician question was a joke, we've talked about it in this thread.

That 'musician' was not a musician, he was Prince's hair dresser ha ha he hee

.

Tony M ummm ahhhhh uggggghhh naawwww

Ok I get it..you don't like Tony M. , but you'll survive even knowing he was still a part of Prince's band, regardless of his rapping. By the way, if that was Tony M rapping in 'Wiling & Able', it sounded pretty cool to me. I especially like that video with a gospel feel. It's like Prince caught the holy spirit the way he dances in that vid. His eyes closed while singing, and it's as if thunder & lightning struck Prince, threw his body up in the air, skidded him across the floor,body quivering, and into full turns and JB splits in every direction, with his feet tearing up the floor, as Prince catches the 'feeling'.....and then your boy, Tony M comes in and saves Prince...by rapping. (j/k)...my all-time favorite vid though.

[Edited 2/14/14 17:46pm]

2elijah said:

OldFriends4Sale said:

The GB musician question was a joke, we've talked about it in this thread.

That 'musician' was not a musician, he was Prince's hair dresser ha ha he hee

.

Tony M ummm ahhhhh uggggghhh naawwww

Ok I get it..you don't like Tony M. , but you'll survive even knowing he was still a part of Prince's band, regardless of his rapping. By the way, if that was Tony M rapping in 'Wiling & Able', it sounded pretty cool to me. I especially like that video with a gospel feel. It's like Prince caught the holy spirit the way he dances in that vid. His eyes closed while singing, and it's as if thunder & lightning struck Prince, threw his body up in the air, skidded him across the floor,body quivering, and into full turns and JB splits in every direction, with his feet tearing up the floor, as Prince catches the 'feeling'.....and then your boy, Tony M comes in and saves Prince...by rapping. (j/k)...my all-time favorite vid though.

[Edited 2/14/14 17:46pm]

I like the fake GB musician more than Tony M

Band members said he didn't think Prince was black enough and he was going to make him blacker...sorry can't respect that. Worthless band member

OldFriends4Sale said:

2elijah said:

Ok I get it..you don't like Tony M. , but you'll survive even knowing he was still a part of Prince's band, regardless of his rapping. By the way, if that was Tony M rapping in 'Wiling & Able', it sounded pretty cool to me. I especially like that video with a gospel feel. It's like Prince caught the holy spirit the way he dances in that vid. His eyes closed while singing, and it's as if thunder & lightning struck Prince, threw his body up in the air, skidded him across the floor,body quivering, and into full turns and JB splits in every direction, with his feet tearing up the floor, as Prince catches the 'feeling'.....and then your boy, Tony M comes in and saves Prince...by rapping. (j/k)...my all-time favorite vid though.

[Edited 2/14/14 17:46pm]

I like the fake GB musician more than Tony M

Band members said he didn't think Prince was black enough and he was going to make him blacker...sorry can't respect that. Worthless band member

Maybe Tony M meant 'not black enough' in a music sense, moreso than culturally. If Tony M meant 'not black enough' in a cultural sense, he could have been referring to Prince growing up in a town in Minnesota, where there were few Black families at the time (according to what his sister Tyka said in a radio interview a few years back) and so he probably wasn't exposed to a large population of Blacks from various ethnic groups, but at the same time, not saying he wasn't exposed to some form of Black culture at all. I remember his sister stated their family was among the few Black families that lived in the town in Minnesota where they grew up. I am not sure how many or how much of Black musicians/artists' music he was exposed to at the time, but Prince did say in an interview a while back, that Chuck Berry, Ike Turner, Little Richard, and many other Black musicians/artists were an inspiration to him. It's pretty clear that James Brown, Larry Graham, Sly Stone, and Jimi Hendrix certainly were. You're the Org Prince music historian, so maybe you would know that.

Not exactly sure what Tony M meant by that statement, but isn't it clear that during the Purple Rain/Revolution eras, Prince's soul/funk/r&b side were emulated through the (Morris Day and) The Time group he created, as an extension of his funk/soul/r&b side/persona? Not to mention, during the Lovesexy/Sign of the Times era, and thereafter, Prince's music was inclusive of funk/r&b/soul/jazz/gospel, etc., which those forms/styles of music has always been familiar within much of the Black population. Not generalizing of course, and also not saying everyone within general, Black population embraces it or that those particular forms/styles of music are limited to which part of the human population embraces it.

[Edited 2/15/14 7:14am]

I don`t know if this guy is considered a band member exactly, but he sure has worked with Prince, so I choose to include it here. I think Ricky Peterson did a remarkable job as co-producer and keyboardist (I guess) on songs like I hate U, The Most beautiful girl... and Gold. To me it seems like those songs benefited heavily on that Prince brought him along as a producer. (at least according to my taste regarding production)