Prince passed away on April 21, 2016. To put the date in perspective, here is what he recorded 31 years earlier on that exact date.

Sunday, April 21, 1985

1. SOMETIMES IT SNOWS IN APRIL (tracking)

2. LIFE CAN BE SO NICE (tracking)

Sunset Sound, Studio 3, Los Angeles, California
3 p.m. – 10 p.m.

Producer: Prince

Artist: Prince

Engineer: Peggy Leonard

“Some people think Prince is loud and full of shit, but the fact of the matter is he does a lot of things which manifest good. I mean most people don’t feel. They would like to, but the essence of their training has been so negative as to keep it all in check, so that men can’t sit and discuss things with their wife. They have to clam up and walk off and that’s a major problem in this country in that women are open and display their emotions and feelings and men are taught that you don’t do that because it’s not masculine. Well that comes out in music and you know the ones that feel.”

Clare Fischer (orchestral arranger for Prince)

Prince was one of those artists who could feel.

That was reflected in the lyrics to “Sometimes It Snows In April.”

“He used to say so strong unafraid to die.

Unafraid of the death that left me hypnotized.

No, staring at his picture I realized.

No one could cry the way my Tracy cried.”

Despite the gentle manner of this song, it was a very busy time for Prince.

It had been two weeks since the conclusion of the Purple Rain tour, but unlike most musicians, Prince had difficulty relaxing, so he booked his usual room at Sunset Sound in Los Angeles. Over the previous week, he’d worked on at least eight new songs for other artists as well as for his next album, seemingly ignoring the fact that Around The World In A Day (his follow-up album to Purple Rain), was scheduled to be released the next day.

For this session, he asked his regular engineer, Peggy “Peggy Mac” Leonard to set up the studio for him to record with Revolution members Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman. “It was just the three of us, one take,’ explained Melvoin to author Matt Thorne. ‘I think I had some of the words written. Lisa was playing the piano in an isolation booth. It was written on the spot and recorded in a couple of hours. A beautiful moment, hanging out for a while, recording at Sunset Sound.”

Coming off the Purple Rain tour, where everything was magnified and loud, this track is radically different in tone. If you listen on headphones and you can hear the intimacy that Prince shared with Wendy and Lisa, and in turn shared with everyone. It was obvious that when he worked with them, his guard would come down… at least temporarily. “Wendy makes me seem all right in the eyes of people watching,’ revealed Prince. ‘She keeps a smile on her face. When I sneer, she smiles. It’s not premeditated, she just does it. It’s a good contrast. Lisa is like my sister. She’ll play what the average person won’t. She’ll press two notes with one finger so the chord is a lot larger, things like that. She’s more abstract.”

It wasn’t uncommon for him to work on more than one track during a session and it is likely that he also recorded the basic tracks for “Life Can Be So Nice” on that same date.

A rough mix of “Sometimes It Snows In April” was created, and the session was over by 10 p.m., which was unusually early for Prince. The song was eventually gathered together with 11 other tracks for his Parade album, although he’d ultimately alter the direction of the project, filling in the sound on most of the tracks and adding strings created by Clare Fischer. Apparently he knew he had something special with “Sometimes It Snows In April.” Fischer wrote a score for the track, but Prince decided not to use it. According to Peggy, “The only song that I worked on that was unchanged from the original sessions was ‘Sometimes It Snows In April.’ The rest was changed.”

Prince did enjoy the orchestral parts of the track, and decided to use them as part of the score in Under The Cherry Moon.

“‘Sometimes It Snows In April’ was really the pinnacle of our relationship together [with Prince],’ according to Coleman. ‘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.”

The released version of this track remains as a snapshot of this specific day, and a view of what have been.

“I had hoped we would follow that trail further, you know?’ reflected Coleman. ‘Like make a whole record like that or something. But, that didn’t happen.”

“He opted out,” concluded Melvoin.

Prince would continue to record with Wendy, Lisa and the rest of The Revolution for another year. “Sometimes It Snows In April” would be released in 1986 as the closing track on Parade, his final album with The Revolution, bringing down the curtain forever on his close collaboration with Wendy and Lisa.

“Sometimes I wish that life was never ending. But all good things, they say, never last.

And love, it isn't love until it's past.”

--

From an early draft of “PRINCE: The Studio Sessions” by Duane Tudahl.

“PRINCE: The Studio Sessions” is a daily diary of Prince’s time in the recording studio. Similar in scope to THE BEATLES RECORDING SESSIONS, the book is an historical overview about the music that was recorded by Prince during his time at Sunset Sound and the first volume covers 1983/84. Over the last 20 years, I’ve interviewed over 50 different band members, singers, studio engineers and others about their private stories surrounding his biggest successes, including Purple Rain, When Doves Cry, Raspberry Beret and dozens of others including never before revealed details about unreleased outtakes hidden from the public in Prince’s vault.

These stories are told by the people who were in the room with Prince when these tracks were recorded. The access I was granted is unprecedented and exposes an entirely new view of the genius of Prince, revealed by those who knew him best.

Over 200 sessions are detailed in the book including music recorded for Prince as well as The Bangles, Stevie Nicks, Sheena Easton, Apollonia 6, The Time, The Family, Sheila E. and others.

I created a facebook group to keep everyone up to date on the publication, etc.

https://www.facebook.com/...104195943/

The first volume is finished and is scheduled for 2016.

madhouseman said:

Similar in scope to THE BEATLES RECORDING SESSIONS,

.

That Beatels reording sessions book is thee best music book ever written. I don't care about John marrying Yoko in Gibraltar nor do I care about how many times Prince banged Carmen Electra . What I care about from my favorite artists is the music. I like listening to it, I like delving in to how it came about. Can't wait for this book.

Cloreen said:

madhouseman said:

Similar in scope to THE BEATLES RECORDING SESSIONS,

.

That Beatels reording sessions book is thee best music book ever written. I don't care about John marrying Yoko in Gibraltar nor do I care about how many times Prince banged Carmen Electra . What I care about from my favorite artists is the music. I like listening to it, I like delving in to how it came about. Can't wait for this book.

100% agree on the Beatles book! "The Love You Make" (another Beatles bio) is a close 2nd for me....but I am certainly looking forward to reading this book as well. I would like to add that I found that "Prince in the studio (1975-1995) by Jake Brown really good too.....not great reviews but most all people who gave a bad review complained about too much detail on instruments and effects used....I love that kinda stuff so I really enjoyed the book.

This one I'll be on the lookout for.

It's a great idea if someone has all the info, and knows their Prince. Both of which may be the case here.

But... although the sample works as a sample, it just wouldn't work in a book. It only works if read completely in isolation, describing Prince's session habits (indeed, Prince as a whole) as if for the first time when we should already be a hundred pages in, and closing the book on Parade and Wendy & Lisa long before either have exited stage left.

This sounds promising. Count me in.

McD said:

It's a great idea if someone has all the info, and knows their Prince. Both of which may be the case here.

But... although the sample works as a sample, it just wouldn't work in a book. It only works if read completely in isolation, describing Prince's session habits (indeed, Prince as a whole) as if for the first time when we should already be a hundred pages in, and closing the book on Parade and Wendy & Lisa long before either have exited stage left.

The sample is from volume 2 (1985/86) and you are right, it has been embellished. The book is only about 1983/84 but it covers around 200 different recording sessions with details about every one of them.

Check out the fb group. Prince: the studio sessions book (https://www.facebook.com/groups/1091596104195943/)

I'm looking forward to getting it out. Thank you for the interest.

You've done an amazing work, Duane ! I'm so looking forward for your book to be published. And glad to know, you're already working on the second volume

I've been looking forward to this for a very long time.

Cant wait to add this to my collection sounds amazing

madhouseman said:

Prince passed away on April 21, 2016. To put the date in perspective, here is what he recorded 31 years earlier on that exact date.

Sunday, April 21, 1985

1. SOMETIMES IT SNOWS IN APRIL (tracking)

2. LIFE CAN BE SO NICE (tracking)

Sunset Sound, Studio 3, Los Angeles, California
3 p.m. – 10 p.m.

Producer: Prince

Artist: Prince

Engineer: Peggy Leonard

“Some people think Prince is loud and full of shit, but the fact of the matter is he does a lot of things which manifest good. I mean most people don’t feel. They would like to, but the essence of their training has been so negative as to keep it all in check, so that men can’t sit and discuss things with their wife. They have to clam up and walk off and that’s a major problem in this country in that women are open and display their emotions and feelings and men are taught that you don’t do that because it’s not masculine. Well that comes out in music and you know the ones that feel.”

Clare Fischer (orchestral arranger for Prince)

Prince was one of those artists who could feel.

That was reflected in the lyrics to “Sometimes It Snows In April.”

“He used to say so strong unafraid to die.

Unafraid of the death that left me hypnotized.

No, staring at his picture I realized.

No one could cry the way my Tracy cried.”

Despite the gentle manner of this song, it was a very busy time for Prince.

It had been two weeks since the conclusion of the Purple Rain tour, but unlike most musicians, Prince had difficulty relaxing, so he booked his usual room at Sunset Sound in Los Angeles. Over the previous week, he’d worked on at least eight new songs for other artists as well as for his next album, seemingly ignoring the fact that Around The World In A Day (his follow-up album to Purple Rain), was scheduled to be released the next day.

For this session, he asked his regular engineer, Peggy “Peggy Mac” Leonard to set up the studio for him to record with Revolution members Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman. “It was just the three of us, one take,’ explained Melvoin to author Matt Thorne. ‘I think I had some of the words written. Lisa was playing the piano in an isolation booth. It was written on the spot and recorded in a couple of hours. A beautiful moment, hanging out for a while, recording at Sunset Sound.”

Coming off the Purple Rain tour, where everything was magnified and loud, this track is radically different in tone. If you listen on headphones and you can hear the intimacy that Prince shared with Wendy and Lisa, and in turn shared with everyone. It was obvious that when he worked with them, his guard would come down… at least temporarily. “Wendy makes me seem all right in the eyes of people watching,’ revealed Prince. ‘She keeps a smile on her face. When I sneer, she smiles. It’s not premeditated, she just does it. It’s a good contrast. Lisa is like my sister. She’ll play what the average person won’t. She’ll press two notes with one finger so the chord is a lot larger, things like that. She’s more abstract.”

It wasn’t uncommon for him to work on more than one track during a session and it is likely that he also recorded the basic tracks for “Life Can Be So Nice” on that same date.

A rough mix of “Sometimes It Snows In April” was created, and the session was over by 10 p.m., which was unusually early for Prince. The song was eventually gathered together with 11 other tracks for his Parade album, although he’d ultimately alter the direction of the project, filling in the sound on most of the tracks and adding strings created by Clare Fischer. Apparently he knew he had something special with “Sometimes It Snows In April.” Fischer wrote a score for the track, but Prince decided not to use it. According to Peggy, “The only song that I worked on that was unchanged from the original sessions was ‘Sometimes It Snows In April.’ The rest was changed.”

Prince did enjoy the orchestral parts of the track, and decided to use them as part of the score in Under The Cherry Moon.

“‘Sometimes It Snows In April’ was really the pinnacle of our relationship together [with Prince],’ according to Coleman. ‘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.”

The released version of this track remains as a snapshot of this specific day, and a view of what have been.

“I had hoped we would follow that trail further, you know?’ reflected Coleman. ‘Like make a whole record like that or something. But, that didn’t happen.”

“He opted out,” concluded Melvoin.

Prince would continue to record with Wendy, Lisa and the rest of The Revolution for another year. “Sometimes It Snows In April” would be released in 1986 as the closing track on Parade, his final album with The Revolution, bringing down the curtain forever on his close collaboration with Wendy and Lisa.

“Sometimes I wish that life was never ending. But all good things, they say, never last.

And love, it isn't love until it's past.”

--

From an early draft of “PRINCE: The Studio Sessions” by Duane Tudahl.

“PRINCE: The Studio Sessions” is a daily diary of Prince’s time in the recording studio. Similar in scope to THE BEATLES RECORDING SESSIONS, the book is an historical overview about the music that was recorded by Prince during his time at Sunset Sound and the first volume covers 1983/84. Over the last 20 years, I’ve interviewed over 50 different band members, singers, studio engineers and others about their private stories surrounding his biggest successes, including Purple Rain, When Doves Cry, Raspberry Beret and dozens of others including never before revealed details about unreleased outtakes hidden from the public in Prince’s vault.

These stories are told by the people who were in the room with Prince when these tracks were recorded. The access I was granted is unprecedented and exposes an entirely new view of the genius of Prince, revealed by those who knew him best.

Over 200 sessions are detailed in the book including music recorded for Prince as well as The Bangles, Stevie Nicks, Sheena Easton, Apollonia 6, The Time, The Family, Sheila E. and others.

I created a facebook group to keep everyone up to date on the publication, etc.

https://www.facebook.com/...104195943/

The first volume is finished and is scheduled for 2016.

Fan fucking tastic. For those of us not on FB, we'd appreciate the updates on here and I'm sure I speak on behalf of others when I say we'll be glad to support this!

Musze said:

madhouseman said:

Prince passed away on April 21, 2016. To put the date in perspective, here is what he recorded 31 years earlier on that exact date.

Sunday, April 21, 1985

1. SOMETIMES IT SNOWS IN APRIL (tracking)

2. LIFE CAN BE SO NICE (tracking)

Sunset Sound, Studio 3, Los Angeles, California
3 p.m. – 10 p.m.

Producer: Prince

Artist: Prince

Engineer: Peggy Leonard

“Some people think Prince is loud and full of shit, but the fact of the matter is he does a lot of things which manifest good. I mean most people don’t feel. They would like to, but the essence of their training has been so negative as to keep it all in check, so that men can’t sit and discuss things with their wife. They have to clam up and walk off and that’s a major problem in this country in that women are open and display their emotions and feelings and men are taught that you don’t do that because it’s not masculine. Well that comes out in music and you know the ones that feel.”

Clare Fischer (orchestral arranger for Prince)

Prince was one of those artists who could feel.

That was reflected in the lyrics to “Sometimes It Snows In April.”

“He used to say so strong unafraid to die.

Unafraid of the death that left me hypnotized.

No, staring at his picture I realized.

No one could cry the way my Tracy cried.”

Despite the gentle manner of this song, it was a very busy time for Prince.

It had been two weeks since the conclusion of the Purple Rain tour, but unlike most musicians, Prince had difficulty relaxing, so he booked his usual room at Sunset Sound in Los Angeles. Over the previous week, he’d worked on at least eight new songs for other artists as well as for his next album, seemingly ignoring the fact that Around The World In A Day (his follow-up album to Purple Rain), was scheduled to be released the next day.

For this session, he asked his regular engineer, Peggy “Peggy Mac” Leonard to set up the studio for him to record with Revolution members Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman. “It was just the three of us, one take,’ explained Melvoin to author Matt Thorne. ‘I think I had some of the words written. Lisa was playing the piano in an isolation booth. It was written on the spot and recorded in a couple of hours. A beautiful moment, hanging out for a while, recording at Sunset Sound.”

Coming off the Purple Rain tour, where everything was magnified and loud, this track is radically different in tone. If you listen on headphones and you can hear the intimacy that Prince shared with Wendy and Lisa, and in turn shared with everyone. It was obvious that when he worked with them, his guard would come down… at least temporarily. “Wendy makes me seem all right in the eyes of people watching,’ revealed Prince. ‘She keeps a smile on her face. When I sneer, she smiles. It’s not premeditated, she just does it. It’s a good contrast. Lisa is like my sister. She’ll play what the average person won’t. She’ll press two notes with one finger so the chord is a lot larger, things like that. She’s more abstract.”

It wasn’t uncommon for him to work on more than one track during a session and it is likely that he also recorded the basic tracks for “Life Can Be So Nice” on that same date.

A rough mix of “Sometimes It Snows In April” was created, and the session was over by 10 p.m., which was unusually early for Prince. The song was eventually gathered together with 11 other tracks for his Parade album, although he’d ultimately alter the direction of the project, filling in the sound on most of the tracks and adding strings created by Clare Fischer. Apparently he knew he had something special with “Sometimes It Snows In April.” Fischer wrote a score for the track, but Prince decided not to use it. According to Peggy, “The only song that I worked on that was unchanged from the original sessions was ‘Sometimes It Snows In April.’ The rest was changed.”

Prince did enjoy the orchestral parts of the track, and decided to use them as part of the score in Under The Cherry Moon.

“‘Sometimes It Snows In April’ was really the pinnacle of our relationship together [with Prince],’ according to Coleman. ‘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.”

The released version of this track remains as a snapshot of this specific day, and a view of what have been.

“I had hoped we would follow that trail further, you know?’ reflected Coleman. ‘Like make a whole record like that or something. But, that didn’t happen.”

“He opted out,” concluded Melvoin.

Prince would continue to record with Wendy, Lisa and the rest of The Revolution for another year. “Sometimes It Snows In April” would be released in 1986 as the closing track on Parade, his final album with The Revolution, bringing down the curtain forever on his close collaboration with Wendy and Lisa.

“Sometimes I wish that life was never ending. But all good things, they say, never last.

And love, it isn't love until it's past.”

--

From an early draft of “PRINCE: The Studio Sessions” by Duane Tudahl.

“PRINCE: The Studio Sessions” is a daily diary of Prince’s time in the recording studio. Similar in scope to THE BEATLES RECORDING SESSIONS, the book is an historical overview about the music that was recorded by Prince during his time at Sunset Sound and the first volume covers 1983/84. Over the last 20 years, I’ve interviewed over 50 different band members, singers, studio engineers and others about their private stories surrounding his biggest successes, including Purple Rain, When Doves Cry, Raspberry Beret and dozens of others including never before revealed details about unreleased outtakes hidden from the public in Prince’s vault.

These stories are told by the people who were in the room with Prince when these tracks were recorded. The access I was granted is unprecedented and exposes an entirely new view of the genius of Prince, revealed by those who knew him best.

Over 200 sessions are detailed in the book including music recorded for Prince as well as The Bangles, Stevie Nicks, Sheena Easton, Apollonia 6, The Time, The Family, Sheila E. and others.

I created a facebook group to keep everyone up to date on the publication, etc.

https://www.facebook.com/...104195943/

The first volume is finished and is scheduled for 2016.

Fan fucking tastic. For those of us not on FB, we'd appreciate the updates on here and I'm sure I speak on behalf of others when I say we'll be glad to support this!

Thank you. As soon as there is an update, I'll be posting on here about that immediately.

Good job Duane, I have always enjoyed your writing regarding Prince´s work, whether here or for Uptown or now in the form of a book. Can´t wait for this book to be released.

It´s about time for another good Prince book for the oldschool fans.

I´ve ignored most of the books that came out in the past decade but this one is obviously going to be a must-have.

Not to be a thorn in your side, but,

isn't it

Peggy McCreary?

Good luck getting it out before the "PRINCE Act" is passed!

i'd love to read it!

Prost!

nayroo2002 said:

Not to be a thorn in your side, but,

isn't it

Peggy McCreary?

Good luck getting it out before the "PRINCE Act" is passed!

i'd love to read it!

Prost!

By this time, Peggy had married David Leonard, another of Prince's engineers. She was still referred to as Peggy Mac, but her married name was Peggy Leonard.

Thanks for the info!

madhouseman said:

“Some people think Prince is loud and full of shit, but the fact of the matter is he does a lot of things which manifest good. I mean most people don’t feel. They would like to, but the essence of their training has been so negative as to keep it all in check, so that men can’t sit and discuss things with their wife. They have to clam up and walk off and that’s a major problem in this country in that women are open and display their emotions and feelings and men are taught that you don’t do that because it’s not masculine. Well that comes out in music and you know the ones that feel.”

Clare Fischer (orchestral arranger for Prince)

Duane, great to hear about this book. Hope it comes out soon. Where is this Clare Fischer quote from?

Great stuff indeed! Really looking forward to it.

[Edited 5/13/16 14:49pm]

plymouthavenuenorth said:

madhouseman said:

“Some people think Prince is loud and full of shit, but the fact of the matter is he does a lot of things which manifest good. I mean most people don’t feel. They would like to, but the essence of their training has been so negative as to keep it all in check, so that men can’t sit and discuss things with their wife. They have to clam up and walk off and that’s a major problem in this country in that women are open and display their emotions and feelings and men are taught that you don’t do that because it’s not masculine. Well that comes out in music and you know the ones that feel.”

Clare Fischer (orchestral arranger for Prince)

Duane, great to hear about this book. Hope it comes out soon. Where is this Clare Fischer quote from?

I was fortunate enough to interview Clare personally. For the book, I interviewed about 50 different engineers, band members, etc. and he was one of them. Great guy and missed by so many people.

The Beatles book was written by Mark Lewisohn with access to Abbey Road Studio notes

Were you able to find engineers and staff at sunset sound to interview for stuff recorded way back then? I'd imagine a lot retired and have passed on.

Thizz said:

The Beatles book was written by Mark Lewisohn with access to Abbey Road Studio notes

Lewisohn's book is literally the inspiration for every in the studio book out there, including mine because he was able to base his on the actual studio notes from Abbey Road. I was able to get copies of all of the daily session notes from Sunset Sound (most of them signed by Prince) as well as the cooperation of WB who supplied information about when songs went into their vault. I interviewed practically every engineer at Sunset Sound who worked with Prince (including dozens of hours spent with some of them going over every detail), I've interviewed members of The Revolution, The Time, Apollonia 6/Vanity 6 and other groups, and was given access to all of the interviews from Per Nilsen/Uptown magazine. I helped research The Vault for Uptown magazine as well as DMSR by Per Nilsen and Possessed by Alex Hahn.

I've also gone through over 1,000 articles (many rare and hard to find) that quote people who weren't ready to go on the record, so that everyone is represented.

I've been working on this book for 20 years (my first interviews for it were in late 1995) and have been fortunate enough to talk to several people before they passed away, so in many ways, this is a chance to give everyone who was involved with those sessions the opportunity to tell their stories about working with Prince in the studio.

The book is formatted like Lewisohn's because he really nailed how it should be done and The Beatles Recording Sessions is the gold standard for studio books. I hope I can come close.

Thank you for the interest.

[Edited 5/13/16 22:19pm]

madhouseman said:

Thizz said:

The Beatles book was written by Mark Lewisohn with access to Abbey Road Studio notes

Lewisohn's book is literally the inspiration for every in the studio book out there, including mine because he was able to base his on the actual studio notes from Abbey Road. I was able to get copies of all of the daily session notes from Sunset Sound (most of them signed by Prince) as well as the cooperation of WB who supplied information about when songs went into their vault. I interviewed practically every engineer at Sunset Sound who worked with Prince (including dozens of hours spent with some of them going over every detail), I've interviewed members of The Revolution, The Time, Apollonia 6/Vanity 6 and other groups, and was given access to all of the interviews from Per Nilsen/Uptown magazine. I helped research The Vault for Uptown magazine as well as DMSR by Per Nilsen and Possessed by Alex Hahn.

I've also gone through over 1,000 articles (many rare and hard to find) that quote people who weren't ready to go on the record, so that everyone is represented.

I've been working on this book for 20 years (my first interviews for it were in late 1995) and have been fortunate enough to talk to several people before they passed away, so in many ways, this is a chance to give everyone who was involved with those sessions the opportunity to tell their stories about working with Prince in the studio.

The book is formatted like Lewisohn's because he really nailed how it should be done and The Beatles Recording Sessions is the gold standard for studio books. I hope I can come close.

Thank you for the interest.

[Edited 5/13/16 22:19pm]

I'm waiting for this Release with Big ATTENTION but i have a question 4u > why not have started these volume sessions chronologically 76-78, 79-80, 81-82 etc...? thanx 4 ur reply! Best regards stephan

madhouseman said:

Thizz said:

The Beatles book was written by Mark Lewisohn with access to Abbey Road Studio notes

Lewisohn's book is literally the inspiration for every in the studio book out there, including mine because he was able to base his on the actual studio notes from Abbey Road. I was able to get copies of all of the daily session notes from Sunset Sound (most of them signed by Prince) as well as the cooperation of WB who supplied information about when songs went into their vault. I interviewed practically every engineer at Sunset Sound who worked with Prince (including dozens of hours spent with some of them going over every detail), I've interviewed members of The Revolution, The Time, Apollonia 6/Vanity 6 and other groups, and was given access to all of the interviews from Per Nilsen/Uptown magazine. I helped research The Vault for Uptown magazine as well as DMSR by Per Nilsen and Possessed by Alex Hahn.

I've also gone through over 1,000 articles (many rare and hard to find) that quote people who weren't ready to go on the record, so that everyone is represented.

I've been working on this book for 20 years (my first interviews for it were in late 1995) and have been fortunate enough to talk to several people before they passed away, so in many ways, this is a chance to give everyone who was involved with those sessions the opportunity to tell their stories about working with Prince in the studio.

The book is formatted like Lewisohn's because he really nailed how it should be done and The Beatles Recording Sessions is the gold standard for studio books. I hope I can come close.

Thank you for the interest.

[Edited 5/13/16 22:19pm]

Could you give me your take on

The Complete Beatles Songs: The Stories Behind Every Track Written by the Fab Four by Steve Turner

http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Beatles-Songs-Stories-Written/dp/0062447343?ie=UTF8&colid=RT6HJ7JBLYQR&coliid=I1DYBNTZ3KY5FW&ref_=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl

vs.

All The Songs: The Story Behind Every Beatles Release by Phillippe Margotin

http://www.amazon.com/All-Songs-Behind-Beatles-Release/dp/1579129528?ie=UTF8&colid=RT6HJ7JBLYQR&coliid=I3V0HKQ67KFTTS&ref_=wl_it_dp_o_pd_nS_ttl

They seem the same . . are these just reiterations of the Mark Lewisohn book?

If this is a successful venture for you and you're inspired by the subject perhaps you could do a Tune In type book?

Thizz said:

madhouseman said:

Lewisohn's book is literally the inspiration for every in the studio book out there, including mine because he was able to base his on the actual studio notes from Abbey Road. I was able to get copies of all of the daily session notes from Sunset Sound (most of them signed by Prince) as well as the cooperation of WB who supplied information about when songs went into their vault. I interviewed practically every engineer at Sunset Sound who worked with Prince (including dozens of hours spent with some of them going over every detail), I've interviewed members of The Revolution, The Time, Apollonia 6/Vanity 6 and other groups, and was given access to all of the interviews from Per Nilsen/Uptown magazine. I helped research The Vault for Uptown magazine as well as DMSR by Per Nilsen and Possessed by Alex Hahn.

I've also gone through over 1,000 articles (many rare and hard to find) that quote people who weren't ready to go on the record, so that everyone is represented.

I've been working on this book for 20 years (my first interviews for it were in late 1995) and have been fortunate enough to talk to several people before they passed away, so in many ways, this is a chance to give everyone who was involved with those sessions the opportunity to tell their stories about working with Prince in the studio.

The book is formatted like Lewisohn's because he really nailed how it should be done and The Beatles Recording Sessions is the gold standard for studio books. I hope I can come close.

Thank you for the interest.

[Edited 5/13/16 22:19pm]

Could you give me your take on

The Complete Beatles Songs: The Stories Behind Every Track Written by the Fab Four by Steve Turner

http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Beatles-Songs-Stories-Written/dp/0062447343?ie=UTF8&colid=RT6HJ7JBLYQR&coliid=I1DYBNTZ3KY5FW&ref_=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl

vs.

All The Songs: The Story Behind Every Beatles Release by Phillippe Margotin

http://www.amazon.com/All-Songs-Behind-Beatles-Release/dp/1579129528?ie=UTF8&colid=RT6HJ7JBLYQR&coliid=I3V0HKQ67KFTTS&ref_=wl_it_dp_o_pd_nS_ttl

They seem the same . . are these just reiterations of the Mark Lewisohn book?

If this is a successful venture for you and you're inspired by the subject perhaps you could do a Tune In type book?

I haven't read them, but many books about The Beatles are based on Lewishon's work. I wish he'd come out with an updated version of it because there were several errors in it. Overall, it is still the best book out there about The Beatles in the studio, but I also suggest the books by Geoff Emerick (http://www.amazon.com/Here-There-Everywhere-Recording-Beatles/dp/1592402690/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1463214395&sr=8-1&keywords=Geoff+Emerick) and George Martin (http://www.amazon.com/All-You-Need-Ears-personal/dp/0312114826/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1463214395&sr=8-2&keywords=Geoff+Emerick). I'd also suggest Glyn John's book (http://www.amazon.com/Sound-Man-Recording-Rolling-Zeppelin/dp/0147516579/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1463214395&sr=8-3&keywords=Geoff+Emerick).

Regarding Tune In... I couldn't get through it. I'm looking forward to his next book which covers the main part of their career.

love2thenines2003 said:

madhouseman said:

Lewisohn's book is literally the inspiration for every in the studio book out there, including mine because he was able to base his on the actual studio notes from Abbey Road. I was able to get copies of all of the daily session notes from Sunset Sound (most of them signed by Prince) as well as the cooperation of WB who supplied information about when songs went into their vault. I interviewed practically every engineer at Sunset Sound who worked with Prince (including dozens of hours spent with some of them going over every detail), I've interviewed members of The Revolution, The Time, Apollonia 6/Vanity 6 and other groups, and was given access to all of the interviews from Per Nilsen/Uptown magazine. I helped research The Vault for Uptown magazine as well as DMSR by Per Nilsen and Possessed by Alex Hahn.

I've also gone through over 1,000 articles (many rare and hard to find) that quote people who weren't ready to go on the record, so that everyone is represented.

I've been working on this book for 20 years (my first interviews for it were in late 1995) and have been fortunate enough to talk to several people before they passed away, so in many ways, this is a chance to give everyone who was involved with those sessions the opportunity to tell their stories about working with Prince in the studio.

The book is formatted like Lewisohn's because he really nailed how it should be done and The Beatles Recording Sessions is the gold standard for studio books. I hope I can come close.

Thank you for the interest.

[Edited 5/13/16 22:19pm]

I'm waiting for this Release with Big ATTENTION but i have a question 4u > why not have started these volume sessions chronologically 76-78, 79-80, 81-82 etc...? thanx 4 ur reply! Best regards stephan

My goal was to write a book about his biggest period. I'd researched multiple books about Prince (The Vault, DMSR, Possessed, etc.) so I'm familiar with his earlier years, but honestly, they didn't fascinate me like 1981 on. I started the story in 1983 and ended it in 1984 because I think it tells a full story.

At the beginning of 1983, he was still a cult star/critical darling, but hadn't had a huge success. In the 2 years that are listed in this book, he went from critical darling to the biggest star on the planet so this is the story of Prince's rise and it is told in a way that has never been done before... through his music and the events in his life that helped inspire his music.

At the end of the day, it is the music that makes the musician immortal. The biggest claim to his musical immortality was based in 1983/84. It was his high water mark in sales, popularity and still to this day, people associate purple with him for a reason.

Perhaps I'll eventually go back to some of the earlier eras, but my goal is to move forward and cover 1985/86 if I do another book.