Lisa Coleman: “Sometimes It Snows In April” was really the pinnacle of our relationship together [with Prince]. The three of us had kind of a love affair. And when we wrote that song– again– it was just the three of us sitting together in a room. I really loved it, and I had hoped we would follow that trail further, you know? Like make a whole record like that or something. But, that didn’t happen.

http://www.playbsides.com/?p=881

Sometimes It Snows In April is the twelfth and final track on Prince's eighth album Parade, the third to be credited to Prince and the Revolution.

Initial tracking took place on 21 April, 1985 at Sunset Sound, Hollywood, CA, USA (the day after Old Friends 4 Sale, Others Here With Us and Tibet, the same day as Life Can Be So Nice, the day before the release of Around The World In A Day and two days before recording Evolsidog). The recording features only Prince, Lisa Coleman (on piano) and Wendy Melvoin (on guitar). Clare Fischer arranged and recorded orchestration for the song at some point in mid-late 1985 at Monterey Sound Studios, Glendale, CA, USA, but Prince preferred the track without orchestration, and chose to use the track without orchestration for the final release.

PrinceVault.com

Band Prince (vox, bass) Bobby Z. (drums), Brown Mark (bass), Wendy Melvoin (guitar), Lisa Coleman (keyboards), Dr. Fink (keyboards),

.

June 7. 1985
Prom Center"St Poul
27th Birthday Concert

3. Sometimes It snows In April only Prince, Wendy Melvoin, Lisa Coleman, Sheila E.

.

After a two minute Sheila E. drum solo, the band slows things down for the public premiere of "Sometimes It Snows In April". This song would not see release for almost another year, on the "Parade" album in late March, 1986. It's obvious the song is a work in progress at this point as Prince sings the first two lines of the song, then it becomes an instrumental performance save the chorus which the band has worked out, full lyrics and all. It's a fascinating look at a song in its skeletal form. Prince tells the crowd 'y'all wanna get a drink or something, it's cool', probably aware of the funk explosion they were about to lay on them the rest of the evening.

.

Guest(s) Sheila E. (vox, drums), Jerome Benton (vox), Susannah Melvoin (vox), St. Paul (vox), Eddie M. (saxophone) Eric Leeds (saxophone)

Wendy was the only guitarist? Never noticed/thought about that. Does she have to play many solos?

Brings a little tear to eye. Such good times and vibes from that era.

dandan said:

Wendy was the only guitarist? Never noticed/thought about that. Does she have to play many solos?

Yes, and Wendy handled herself well

she funked it up

She had a solo on Mutiny, the Bird & I believe Hollyrock

emesem said:

Brings a little tear to eye. Such good times and vibes from that era.

It does. Whenever I listen to this one, it's clear the healthy competivity but friendly vibe in the camp

The Revolution, Sheila E & the Family 1985

OldFriends4Sale said:

dandan said:

Wendy was the only guitarist? Never noticed/thought about that. Does she have to play many solos?

Yes, and Wendy handled herself well

she funked it up

She had a solo on Mutiny, the Bird & I believe Hollyrock

Prince didn't play any guitar at all?

Somtimes it snows in April and The Beautiful Ones bring shivers down the spine.

paulludvig said:

OldFriends4Sale said:

Yes, and Wendy handled herself well

she funked it up

She had a solo on Mutiny, the Bird & I believe Hollyrock

Prince didn't play any guitar at all?

If he did it was little,

Wendy was called out for guitar solos

The songs set is generally songs he doesn't play guitar on,

I think he might have played guitar on Sometimes It Snows In April

Prince was the band leader here, he did play some bass, and St Paul called Prince out for a little bass solo.

It sounds like there is bass on Sometimes It Snows In April (if it is that would be Prince)

.

Jerome @ 8:30min on Munity "We're going to have a little Wendy. Wendy plant some right here."

@ 9:07min on Munity "Do ya'll want some bass? They want some bass" -Brown Mark

St Paul @ 9:42min "Help me out this is Prince's birthday...if he's gonna take a solo yall gotta help me out... Sheila E one time on the 1"

Jesse died soon after a long fought civil war

soon after I wiped his last tear

.

Sometims it snows in April

Sometimes I feel so bad

Sometimes I wish that life was never ending

And all good things they say never last

.

sing the chorus again

.

Sometims it snows in April

Sometimes I feel so bad

Sometimes I wish that life was never ending

And all good things they say never last

.

Bobby Z, U in the house?

BrownMark, U here?

chorus

Sometims it snows in April

Sometimes I feel so bad

Sometimes I wish that life was never ending

And all good things they say never last

And all good things they say never last

WorldofPeace said:

Somtimes it snows in April and The Beautiful Ones bring shivers down the spine.

I'm with U on both songs, same feeling everytime

Hearing Sometimes It Snows In April on this preview almost had the same feeling

I get when hearing the Purple Rain preview 1983 live

Unreleased version

• Prince - all vocals and instruments, except where noted
• Lisa Coleman - keyboards and vocals
• Wendy Melvoin - guitars and vocals

Orchestral Players:

• Violins - Isabelle Daskoff, Francine Walsh, Mari Botnik, Pam Gates, Janice Gower, Karen Jones, Betty Moor, Irma Neumann, Assa Drori, Bill Hymanson, Oscar Chasow, Ron Clark, Henry Ferber, Erne Granat, Ed Green, Bill Hybel, Reggie Hill, Pat Johnson, Don Palmer, Sheldon Sanov, Joe Schonbrun, Terry Schonbrun and Harold Wolf
• Violas - Pam Goldsmith, Margot Maclaine, Carol Mukagawa, Myer Bello, Alan Deverich, Norman Forrest, Alan Harshman, Jorge Moraga and David Stock
• Cellos - Jim Arkatoff, Ray Kelley, Ray Kramer and Fred Seykora
• Basses - Chuck Dominico and Arni Egilsson.
• Woodwinds - Gene Cipriano, Don Ashworth, John Clarke, Dave Edwards, Gary Foster, Jim Kanter, John Lowe, Dick Mitchell, Jack Nimitz, Joe Soldo and Bob Tricarico
• Trumpets - Ray Brown, Rich Cooper, Bob Findley, Larry Ford, Bob O'Donnell and Al Vizutti
• Trombones - Garnett Brown, Charles Loper, Morris Repass and Bill Watrous
• French Horns - Marni Johnson, David Duke, Joe Myer, Brian O'Connor, Calvin Smith and Jim Thatcher
• Tuba - Tommy Johnson
• Tympani and percussion - Brent Fischer

reprinted in ROCK & SOUL * APRIL 1986

THE PRINCE INTERVIEW
Mr. Purple Discusses His Movies, His Music, His Musicians
And More, More, More.

By Michael Shore

In Under the Cherry Moon, Prince's love interest is a rich girl named Mary Sharon who, according to one cast member, "wears miniskirts and pigtails." Prince plays Christopher, a piano player in a casino-style lounge in a place similar to the French Riviera, where the film was shot. One unconfirmed story was that Prince wanted to shoot some scenes in Monte Carlo but Prince Rainier wouldn't grant permission. Guess he felt one prince on the premises was enough.

.

While the plot may come from a Prince song, don't expect much Prince music in Under the Cherry Moon. Another unidentified crew member says the Revolution was on the set only to shoot the video for "America," that there's no band music in the film at all, and that the only Prince music in the film is His Royal Badness at the acoustic piano. So there may or may not be soundtrack album. Another crew member confirmed, though, that there is one actual "song," and it's called something like "Snowing in July." You'll recall that when Prince announced he would stop touring late in the Purple Rain tour, one of his cryptic reasons was, "Sometimes it snows in July."

.

The rest of the cast includes little-known British actress Kristen Scott-Thomas as Mary Sharon; Jerome Benton, Morris Day's former valet in the Time and now a member of the Family, as Prince's "partner"; veteran British actress Francesca Annis as an older woman with whom Prince's character reportedly has an affair; and Victor Spinetti, whose career as a supporting player in rock movies goes all the way back to the Beatles' A Hard Day's Night and Help!

OldFriends4Sale said:

Band Prince (vox, bass) Bobby Z. (drums), Brown Mark (bass), Wendy Melvoin (guitar), Lisa Coleman (keyboards), Dr. Fink (keyboards),

.

June 7. 1985
Prom Center"St Poul
27th Birthday Concert

3. Sometimes It snows In April only Prince, Wendy Melvoin, Lisa Coleman, Sheila E.

.

After a two minute Sheila E. drum solo, the band slows things down for the public premiere of "Sometimes It Snows In April". This song would not see release for almost another year, on the "Parade" album in late March, 1986. It's obvious the song is a work in progress at this point as Prince sings the first two lines of the song, then it becomes an instrumental performance save the chorus which the band has worked out, full lyrics and all. It's a fascinating look at a song in its skeletal form. Prince tells the crowd 'y'all wanna get a drink or something, it's cool', probably aware of the funk explosion they were about to lay on them the rest of the evening.

.

Guest(s) Sheila E. (vox, drums), Jerome Benton (vox), Susannah Melvoin (vox), St. Paul (vox), Eddie M. (saxophone) Eric Leeds (saxophone)

Great show!

paulludvig said:

OldFriends4Sale said:

Band Prince (vox, bass) Bobby Z. (drums), Brown Mark (bass), Wendy Melvoin (guitar), Lisa Coleman (keyboards), Dr. Fink (keyboards),

.

June 7. 1985
Prom Center"St Poul
27th Birthday Concert

3. Sometimes It snows In April only Prince, Wendy Melvoin, Lisa Coleman, Sheila E.

.

After a two minute Sheila E. drum solo, the band slows things down for the public premiere of "Sometimes It Snows In April". This song would not see release for almost another year, on the "Parade" album in late March, 1986. It's obvious the song is a work in progress at this point as Prince sings the first two lines of the song, then it becomes an instrumental performance save the chorus which the band has worked out, full lyrics and all. It's a fascinating look at a song in its skeletal form. Prince tells the crowd 'y'all wanna get a drink or something, it's cool', probably aware of the funk explosion they were about to lay on them the rest of the evening.

.

Guest(s) Sheila E. (vox, drums), Jerome Benton (vox), Susannah Melvoin (vox), St. Paul (vox), Eddie M. (saxophone) Eric Leeds (saxophone)

Great show!

lol yes it is HawwHaawwww

OldFriends4Sale said:

Lisa Coleman: “Sometimes It Snows In April” was really the pinnacle of our relationship together [with Prince]. The three of us had kind of a love affair. And when we wrote that song– again– it was just the three of us sitting together in a room. I really loved it, and I had hoped we would follow that trail further, you know? Like make a whole record like that or something. But, that didn’t happen.

http://www.playbsides.com/?p=881

Imagine if it had.

thisisreece said:

OldFriends4Sale said:

Lisa Coleman: “Sometimes It Snows In April” was really the pinnacle of our relationship together [with Prince]. The three of us had kind of a love affair. And when we wrote that song– again– it was just the three of us sitting together in a room. I really loved it, and I had hoped we would follow that trail further, you know? Like make a whole record like that or something. But, that didn’t happen.

http://www.playbsides.com/?p=881

Imagine if it had.

I know, I know

Indeed if it had. I would've loved to hear it. It would be so interesting to hear if Prince, Wendy and Lisa had just all gotten together back then and collaborated on one album to see what it would've come out sounding like!

Love2tha9s said:

Indeed if it had. I would've loved to hear it. It would be so interesting to hear if Prince, Wendy and Lisa had just all gotten together back then and collaborated on one album to see what it would've come out sounding like!

Wendy said they did a lot of pieces like that, so we can probably assume there are others in the vault

To this day though I still would like Prince to do an accoustic with Lisa Coleman

Prince buried one of his loveliest songs in an unwatchable movie

http://www.avclub.com/art...le--209790

Despite all these detriments, Under The Cherry Moon joins the ranks of abysmal movies with damn-good soundtracks. The accompanying Parade boasts several great songs: the dreamy, wistful (movie) title track, the funky “Anotherloverholenyohead,” the quintessential Prince jam “Kiss.” But one of my favorite tracks from this album rarely gets any love when people start talking Prince.

A few bars of “Sometimes It Snows In April” can be heard in the movie’s final scene, but other than that, it’s pretty absent and separate from the film. The song opens with a solid 90 seconds of just Prince humming on top of the piano and guitar parts before launching into the first verse, which introduces a solemn ballad lamenting the death of Christopher Tracy. But then it moves into the affecting chorus, “Sometimes it snows in April / Sometimes I feel so bad,” backed by gentle harmonies courtesy of Wendy & Lisa, and it becomes so simple yet lovely, you can almost forget this train wreck of a movie—almost.

Unlike most of the more serious-minded Prince tracks (“America,” “Sign O’ The Times,” “Seven”), it doesn’t go in for much preaching; it’s not really a message song. And there’s this magical moment on the second chorus where he slides right off of the melody for a moment to belt out an improvised moan, and it transcends whatever silly plot point Tracy’s death is supposed to be and becomes something else: a heart-wrenching, gut-punching breakup song. It’s Prince at his subdued finest, and that’s probably the best thing to be said about a tune inspired by a nonsensical pseudo period piece/musical that’s all about “chasing drawers” in the French Riviera.

Listening to Sometimes It Snows in April @ the Target Center 7.7.2007 Prince and Wendy on guitar

Hot Damn, there's a Clare Fischer version sleeping somewhere on earth.

Such a beautiful song! I never tire of hearing it. Whenever it comes on I always listen all the way through. What are some of the best versions of it he's done in concert?

Love2tha9s said:

Such a beautiful song! I never tire of hearing it. Whenever it comes on I always listen all the way through. What are some of the best versions of it he's done in concert?

These 3 are a few of my favorites

the 1st live rendition and earliest preview June 7. 1985

Parade Tour Finale Yokohama Stadium 9.9.86

the Target Center 7.7.2007 Prince and Wendy on guitar

OldFriends4Sale said:

Love2tha9s said:

Such a beautiful song! I never tire of hearing it. Whenever it comes on I always listen all the way through. What are some of the best versions of it he's done in concert?

These 3 are a few of my favorites

the 1st live rendition and earliest preview June 7. 1985

Parade Tour Finale Yokohama Stadium 9.9.86

the Target Center 7.7.2007 Prince and Wendy on guitar

Interesting The Target Center would be in Minneapolis right?

Love2tha9s said:

OldFriends4Sale said:

These 3 are a few of my favorites

the 1st live rendition and earliest preview June 7. 1985

Parade Tour Finale Yokohama Stadium 9.9.86

the Target Center 7.7.2007 Prince and Wendy on guitar

Interesting The Target Center would be in Minneapolis right?

Yes