OUTTAKE

Mink Kitty Cat is an unreleased track recorded in 1981, most likely at Prince's Wayzata Home Studio, Wayzata, MN, USA. The track was recorded for possible use on The Hookers' album The Hookers (which evolved into Vanity 6, but the song was not included on the release, and it is not clear whose vocals are on the track, or if different versions exist.

It is possible that the track Velvet Kitty Cat is an update of this track, but this is uncertain.

-PrinceVault

At the end of the song "He's So Dull",there appears to be some type of commotion.To me,it sounds like some dude is saying "glasses....I have...glasses!" Anyone know what this is all about?

SoulAlive said:

iZsaZsa said:

SoulAlive said:

At the end of the song "He's So Dull",there appears to be some type of commotion.To me,it sounds like some dude is saying "glasses....I have...glasses!" Anyone know what this is all about?

I hear something like, "Nasty! I have lost it!" (His dull part?). But I don't know.

SoulAlive said:

iZsaZsa said:

I hear something like, "Nasty! I have lost it!" (His dull part?). But I don't know.

in the video during this part,Vanity pushes the guy down a flight of stairs,lol

I played their album today. It always sounds so good!

I think this album works because Prince is having fun and messin' about.

I wish we had much more of this!!

4.1.1983 @ the Coliseum in Oakland, CA.

Vanity 6

1. Make Up
2. Wet Dream

3. Drive Me Wild
4. If A Girl Answers (Don't Hang Up)

5. Nasty Girls

the Time
Prince

In his autobography,Rick James claims that it was his idea to produce a sexy female group."I made the mistake of talking about my plans to Prince's manager",he said."The next thing I knew,Vanity 6 was out there,parading around in lingerie"

images from the "He's So Dull" video

SoulAlive said:

In his autobography,Rick James claims that it was his idea to produce a sexy female group."I made the mistake of talking about my plans to Prince's manager",he said."The next thing I knew,Vanity 6 was out there,parading around in lingerie"

I remember something like this. Didn't the Mary Jane Girls come out around the same time? or right after? But with 4 women

Rick James(RIP) had his proteges too: Teena Marie(RIP), Mary Jane Girls, Eddie Murphy ...

lol that story is always funny, Rick always said Prince stole ideals from him, even down to the ruffled shirts. Prince and crew wore em best though

But when I look at the story of the Mary Jane Girls vs Vanity 6 I think Vanity 6 had much more going for them. I serioiusly believe the next V6 album would have been BIG

The Mary Jane Girls were an American R&B, soul and funk group in the 1980s. They were protégées of singer Rick James. They are known for their hit songs "In My House", "All Night Long", "Candy Man", and their cover version of "Walk Like a Man".

Joanne "Jojo" McDuffie was the lead singer, the others filling out the group's style and appearance. On the studio recordings, McDuffie was backed by session vocalists rather than the other Mary Jane Girls. The Mary Jane Girls released two albums in the 1980s and recorded a third which was set to be finally released in 2014, but which was again delayed indefinitely.

Rick James was frequently backed in his studio recordings by vocalists Joanne "Jojo" McDuffie and the sisters Maxine and Julia Waters. For live performances starting in 1979, James was backed by McDuffie along with Cheryl Bailey {who used the stage name Cheri Wells), Candice "Candi" Ghant and Kimberly "Maxi" Wuletich. Casually amongst the musicians, McDuffie, Wells, Ghant and Wuletich used the moniker Mary Jane Girls, a subgroup of James' backing band, the Stone City Band. The girls learned choreographed dance routines and they practiced under a vocal coach.^[1]

In 1983 James proposed to Motown that McDuffie be offered a solo career but miscommunication caused the label to sign an all-girl group, which he determined would be the Mary Jane Girls.^[2] James filled the positions behind McDuffie with Wells, Ghant and Wuletich. He also wrote all the original songs and produced all the recordings.

The Waters sisters and McDuffie sang all the parts on the first Mary Jane Girls album: Mary Jane Girls (1983). The album yielded their first R&B hits: "Candy Man", "All Night Long" (which was later included in the soundtrack of the 2002 video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City), and "Boys". In live performances, the Mary Jane Girls were backed by the Stone City Band. The male band members also sang the background vocals to support McDuffie as lead vocalist. Cheri Wells left the group before the next album project was recorded. She was replaced by Yvette "Corvette" Marine.^[3]

The name of the group referenced mary jane, slang for marijuana; a favored recreational drug of James. The group's image was styled as containing a street-wise girl (McDuffie), a supermodel (Ghant), a cheerleader/valley girl (Wells then Marine), and a dominatrix (Wuletich).^[4]

The group released their second album Only Four You in 1985. McDuffie was featured on most of the songs, and the Waters sisters were hired to provide background vocals,

With it's commercial/radio-friendly sound,"He's So Dull" should have been a crossover pop hit and it should have gotten alot of MTV exposure.I'm guessing that alot of people were scared of Vanity 6 (lol) and that's why their singles weren't played very much outside of the R&B stations.But "He's So Dull" is one of the few 'clean' songs on their album!

Teena Marie.......R.I.P.

OldFriends4Sale said:

SoulAlive said:

In his autobography,Rick James claims that it was his idea to produce a sexy female group."I made the mistake of talking about my plans to Prince's manager",he said."The next thing I knew,Vanity 6 was out there,parading around in lingerie"

I remember something like this. Didn't the Mary Jane Girls come out around the same time? or right after? But with 4 women

Rick James had his proteges too: Tina Marie, Mary Jane Girls, Eddie Murphy ...

Vanity 6's album was released in August 1982.The Mary Jane Girls album didn't come out until the spring of 1983.Rick was too late Prince beat him to the punch

SoulAlive said:

iZsaZsa said:

SoulAlive said:

In his autobography,Rick James claims that it was his idea to produce a sexy female group."I made the mistake of talking about my plans to Prince's manager",he said."The next thing I knew,Vanity 6 was out there,parading around in lingerie"

Was Denise going to be a Mary Jane Girl? After she joined Prince instead she probably shared some secrets.

As far as I know,Vanity was never going to be in the Mary Jane Girls.

Interestingly,after Vanity left the Prince camp in 1983,she began dating Shalamar guitarist Micki Free and there were rumors (reported by Black Beat magazine) that she would join Shalamar to replace Jody Watley,who had just left....lol

He's So Dull
He's So Dull" was written by Dez Dickerson


CHORUS:
He's so dull, drives a '63 Rambler
He's so dull, still livin' with his mother
He's so dull and he won't get anywhere with me
He's always callin' on the telephone
He won't go out without a chaperone
Cuz he's so afraid 2 be alone with me

He's always reading science magazines
And he doesn't even wear blue jeans
Why can't he understand what all this means 2 me?

CHORUS

He watches television night and day
He doesn't listen 2 a word I say
And he's always tryin' 2 walk me home from school

I'd like 2 tell'em that I wish he was dead (Drop dead)
But he could never get it through his head
He'll never change, he'll always be a fool

CHORUS

(Anywhere, I say he won't get anywhere)
He's so dull {x4}
He's so dull (Still livin' with his mother)
He's so dull (I bet he never had a lover)
He's so dull (And he won't get anywhere with me)
He's so dull
He's so dull (Still livin' with his mother)
(I bet he never had a lover)
(And he won't get anywhere with me) {fade out}

Vanity - lead vocals

Susan Moonsie - vocals

Prince - all instruments, except where noted (credited as The Time)

Dez Dickerson - drums, guitar

He's So Dull is the fourth track on Vanity 6's first and only album Vanity 6, and, in some territories the track was also included on the 12" version of Nasty Girl, the album's first single. Five and a half months after the album's release, He's So Dull was released as the album's third single. The track was written and produced by Dez Dickerson, and features Prince as a musician only (unlike the rest of the album, which was written and produced by Prince).

While specific recording dates are unknown, initial tracking took place in late March, 1982 at Prince's Kiowa Trail Home Studio in Chanhassen, MN, USA (during the same set of sessions that produced Nasty Girl and Bite The Beat).

-PrinceVault

iZsaZsa said:

SoulAlive said:

In his autobography,Rick James claims that it was his idea to produce a sexy female group."I made the mistake of talking about my plans to Prince's manager",he said."The next thing I knew,Vanity 6 was out there,parading around in lingerie"

Was Denise going to be a Mary Jane Girl? After she joined Prince instead she probably shared some secrets.

I believe Vanity left the RJ camp before his plans on a girl group.
She met Prince in 1981

SoulAlive said:

images from the "He's So Dull" video

They had those move DOWN

Her are some more

SoulAlive said:

OldFriends4Sale said:

iZsaZsa said:

OldFriends4Sale said:

I believe Vanity left the RJ camp before his plans on a girl group.
She met Prince in 1981

But if Prince met Denise in '81 and the Vanity 6 album came out in '82, Rick wouldn't accuse Prince of stealing the idea unless he had it before then, no?

maybe it was all around the same time.
I never read that Vanity was going to front the group though, I think it was always going to be his back up singer(s)

OldFriends4Sale said:

Let's pretend that Vanity never left the group and their second album was released in the summer of '84.This is how I would have liked the tracklist to be....check out the outrageous title I came up with for the album! LOL

'In Search Of The G-Spot'----Vanity 6

Side One---

Sex Shooter (the circulating version with Vanity on lead vocals)

Vibrator (lead vocals: Vanity)

G-Spot (lead vocals: Vanity)

Side Two---

Blue Limousine (lead vocals:Brenda)

*****a song with Susan on lead vocals (not "Ooh She She Wa Wa"....let's have a stronger song)

Some Kind Of Lover (lead vocals: Brenda)

Moral Majority (lead vocals: Vanity)

SoulAlive said:

Let's pretend that Vanity never left the group and their second album was released in the summer of '84.This is how I would have liked the tracklist to be....check out the outrageous title I came up with for the album! LOL

'In Search Of The G-Spot'----Vanity 6

Side One---

Sex Shooter (the circulating version with Vanity on lead vocals)

Vibrator (lead vocals: Vanity)

G-Spot (lead vocals: Vanity)

Side Two---

Blue Limousine (lead vocals:Brenda)

*****a song with Susan on lead vocals (not "Ooh She She Wa Wa"....let's have a stronger song)

Some Kind Of Lover (lead vocals: Brenda)

Moral Majority (lead vocals: Vanity)

I would add

17 Days (w/Brenda & Prince co-lead) replace Some Kind of Lover

Manic Monday would have been a hit for Vanity 6 I can see Vanity's sassiness on this one

since Brenda was backing vocals on Next Time Wipe the Lipstick Off Your Collar, I think that would have been a fitting track.

Lust U Always ( a song with Susan on lead vocals) or Turn It Up

no A Millions Miles(I Love U) ??

I would put Vibrator as a B side to G-Spot

LOL I think the album title 'In Search of the GSpot' might make it harder to sell?

It would have been cool for them to do Head during their live set