Paula Abdoul's U, maybe.

RiotPaisley said:

FUNKYNESS said:

Obvious choice and a good one. SHe was a nobody and was handed a masterpiece for which she is plainly ungrateful to this day. It wasnt even the best rendition because the Family's is actually better and Prince's live version with Rosie is better than that.

Hold up. While I do not disagree that Sinead is a few can short of six pack... She's always been shitty in regards to Prince, even before he died she said really awful stuff about him- HOWEVER! The chick CAN sing. She has an AMAZING voice and her album before Nothing Compares is wonderful. The Lion and The Cobra. Great album. Let's just face it- something went down between the two of them and we may never know exactly what that was but she DID that song justice. Her version is incredible. Take the personal feelings out of it and just recognize she has real musical talent. Her voice is amazing. And as for the question at hand... Why is this a topic? So much negativity and shade all over the place. Is this how people are coping with this? Hatin' on everything?

True, back then she was really good. And her version was incredible with such a great video too with her actually crying. I found it to much better than any of the versions that Prince released. I think chartplay in some alternate realities would prove that it was carved more into a pop gem when she covered it. that was a hit single the way she put it out. It would have tanked with The Family version... come on. You know this to be true. Just like Chaka really sparked up "I Feel for You".

I want to know how and why Sinead chose to cover it.

RiotPaisley said:

Askani said:

Carmen and Apollonia got entire albums. I guess that makes them the winners.

For one-offs/lower levels of involvement: hmm... there are some WTF ones like "Kenny Rogers" (also, song sucks) and Monie Love.

But the award for this category is split between

Fonky Baldheads and T.C. Ellis.



PS: Prince didn't give Sinead "Nothing Compares 2 U" ... she just covered it, independent of any involvement with him.

But I thought they worked together in the studio which is where some of her crazy stories come from? Where would she have heard it to cover it? The liner notes listed "Christopher" as the songwriter. [Edited 5/23/16 19:23pm]

wasn't it through steve fargnoli, who used to manage prince and went on to manage sinead.
he obviously knew the song from it's Family release and recognised what a killer song it was,
which didn't get the major exposure it deserved. so he got sinead to cover it, i guess.

Has to be Madonna, off the top of my head. He didn't give a song to Sinead O'Conner. She did a cover version of a song that was already released. That would be like saying that Chaka Khan was given I Feel For You or Leann Rimes was given Purple Rain.

RiotPaisley said:

Askani said:

Carmen and Apollonia got entire albums. I guess that makes them the winners.

For one-offs/lower levels of involvement: hmm... there are some WTF ones like "Kenny Rogers" (also, song sucks) and Monie Love.

But the award for this category is split between

Fonky Baldheads and T.C. Ellis.



PS: Prince didn't give Sinead "Nothing Compares 2 U" ... she just covered it, independent of any involvement with him.

But I thought they worked together in the studio which is where some of her crazy stories come from? Where would she have heard it to cover it? The liner notes listed "Christopher" as the songwriter. [Edited 5/23/16 19:23pm]

Absolutely not. Prince had nothing to do with Sinead's cover, didn't work on it and wasn't even asked for permission for her covering the song.

She heard it where it was first released, on The Family album from 1985.

Christopher was the moniker used by Prince for Manic Monday and has nothing to do with NC2U. Sinead's cover was credited to "Prince", which was in fact the way it was originally credited on The Family (coincidentally it was the only track on the album appropriately credited to Prince, while all his other songs were credited to various bandmembers)

PeteSilas said:

databank said:

Precisely because she has "such a weird vocal style"? Her career was launched by Zappa before she had Missing Persons, so Prince wasn't the only genius to see something in her. If having a weird artistic style is reason enough not to qualify as an artist, then Prince himself should never have been given a deal. Originality, while not an end in itself, is a very important componant of true talent.

never heard of her, don't know why anyone would have signed to paisley park anyway, Prince sabotaged quite a few albums and he signed quite a few talentless people too. I heard that the clinton and the staples and Khan albums were well reviewed but I never heard them so maybe one of you know.

I don't know which PP albums you've heard but there are basically 2 categories of albums that were released on the label:

- Prince albums in disguise, that he entirely or nearly entirely composed, arranged and produced for other artists. Save for Carmen Electra I think most would agree that the quality of those records more or less equaled the quality of the albums Prince released under his own name. You are virtually ignoring nearly a half of prince's official catalogue if you ignore those records.

- Albums by other artists that contained some or no input at all by Prince ("some" meaning one or 2 songs). The quality of those albums varied considerably and is first and foremost a matter of personal taste. As a fan of synthpop and electrofunk I am pretty happy with most of them.

A few additional albums were somewhere in between those 2 categories, with Prince contributing more or less half the songs.

But basically it can't be said Prince sabotaged any artist's album: either they were his own under disguise or he had little to do with them, if at all.

Chaka Khan's album wasn't released on PP but on NPG Records.

I didn't like On The Way Up by Elisa Fiorillo in 1990, I found her voice to be bland.

[Edited 5/24/16 0:15am]

databank said:

PeteSilas said:

never heard of her, don't know why anyone would have signed to paisley park anyway, Prince sabotaged quite a few albums and he signed quite a few talentless people too. I heard that the clinton and the staples and Khan albums were well reviewed but I never heard them so maybe one of you know.

I don't know which PP albums you've heard but there are basically 2 categories of albums that were released on the label:

- Prince albums in disguise, that he entirely or nearly entirely composed, arranged and produced for other artists. Save for Carmen Electra I think most would agree that the quality of those records more or less equaled the quality of the albums Prince released under his own name. You are virtually ignoring nearly a half of prince's official catalogue if you ignore those records.

- Albums by other artists that contained some or no input at all by Prince ("some" meaning one or 2 songs). The quality of those albums varied considerably and is first and foremost a matter of personal taste. As a fan of synthpop and electrofunk I am pretty happy with most of them.

A few additional albums were somewhere in between those 2 categories, with Prince contributing more or less half the songs.

But basically it can't be said Prince sabotaged any artist's album: either they were his own under disguise or he had little to do with them, if at all.

Chaka Khan's album wasn't released on PP but on NPG Records.

i heard he sabotaged ingrid chavez' album and i also heard he would release jill jones from contract. Our man wasn't a saint and I can't think of a whole lot after the time albums that was worth listening to. sheila e's albums being a major exception, she should have gotten a lot more push.

databank said:

SoulAlive said:

Dale Bozzio----she has such a weird vocal style....not sure why she was given a Paisley Park recording contract.

Precisely because she has "such a weird vocal style"? Her career was launched by Zappa before she had Missing Persons, so Prince wasn't the only genius to see something in her. If having a weird artistic style is reason enough not to qualify as an artist, then Prince himself should never have been given a deal. Originality, while not an end in itself, is a very important componant of true talent.

"originality"? No,this lady is just a terrible singer I knew that Paisley Park wasn't gonna survive with "singers" like this on the label

Vanity and Apollonia. I feel like Prince was disapponted in how little talent these women were able to develop despite him spending a ton of time coaching them.

When Shelia E. came along she made him so happy because she had tons of talent the previous ones lacked, the music and performances they made together showed this.

FUNKYNESS said:

PeteSilas said:

basket case sinead, just because she was so ungrateful and crazy. but really, I guess a case could be made for other people who made a career off of Prince and then bitched about how much he dogged them (not to say they were unjustified, but hey, morris and the time would have never been without Prince).

Obvious choice and a good one. SHe was a nobody and was handed a masterpiece for which she is plainly ungrateful to this day. It wasnt even the best rendition because the Family's is actually better and Prince's live version with Rosie is better than that.

Sinead's version was the first one I heard and I still thinks it's full of emotion. I've always felt the Family's version was a major letdown by the time I'd actually tracked the album down and listened to it. The male vocals are ridiculous. Over-dramatic in the least sincere way. Prince and Rosie made my LEAST favorite version by far. I can't even listen to it. It completely strips away the otherworldliness that I loved so much in other versions and replaced it with a faux-gospel style that sounds even less sincere than the cracker-fest that is the Family version. It just goes to show you, different strokes for different folks.

avajane said:

soladeo1 said:

PeteSilas said:

databank said:

I don't know which PP albums you've heard but there are basically 2 categories of albums that were released on the label:

- Prince albums in disguise, that he entirely or nearly entirely composed, arranged and produced for other artists. Save for Carmen Electra I think most would agree that the quality of those records more or less equaled the quality of the albums Prince released under his own name. You are virtually ignoring nearly a half of prince's official catalogue if you ignore those records.

- Albums by other artists that contained some or no input at all by Prince ("some" meaning one or 2 songs). The quality of those albums varied considerably and is first and foremost a matter of personal taste. As a fan of synthpop and electrofunk I am pretty happy with most of them.

A few additional albums were somewhere in between those 2 categories, with Prince contributing more or less half the songs.

But basically it can't be said Prince sabotaged any artist's album: either they were his own under disguise or he had little to do with them, if at all.

Chaka Khan's album wasn't released on PP but on NPG Records.

i heard he sabotaged ingrid chavez' album and i also heard he would release jill jones from contract. Our man wasn't a saint and I can't think of a whole lot after the time albums that was worth listening to. sheila e's albums being a major exception, she should have gotten a lot more push.

I'm not sure what u mean by "sabotaged" Ingrid's album. Prince wanted only spoken word and Ingrid wanted to sing a bit, something WB supported, so P lost interest and withdrew from the project after 5 songs were finished. Michael Koppleman had impressed Prince by composing new music for Wintersong, that Prince favored over his own version, so when he withdrew from the project, he put it in the very capable hands of Michael who did a wonderful job finishing it. P supported those sessions, complimenting Michael 4 his work on Hippy Blood and playing keys and guitar on Candle Dance. In the end neither Prince nor WB did much to promote the album (as usual with PP releases) but it has become a cult classic among fans and can hardly be considered a "sabotaged" project.

Jill Jones was not released from her contract: quite the opposite! She was indeed a "slave" to Prince up until her contract ended in 1993 (how ironic!): the situation with her was exactly the same as Sheila's: Prince wanted to compose their respective planned 1989 albums and came-up with uninspired tracks presenting them as little more than sex dolls. Sheila was lucky enough to be signed to WB not PP so she could just slam the door and eventually release Sex Cymbal on WB (who did little to promote it), but Jill was stuck with PP and Prince apparently wouldn't allow her to record something on her own, for whatever undisclosed reason (probably out of pride that she rejected his album project). In that sense it can be said that he "sabotaged" her second album... by preventing it from existing! What he did to Jill was pretty lame considering all the fuss about his freedom and masters in 93-96: he could just have let her record whatever she wanted. However, Jill's first album (a Prince album in nearly every possible way) is usually considered a masterpiece and has become a cult classic among fans.

Regarding Sheila's push I think she missed the train when she chose to not promote her third album and not open for Prince with songs from it in 1987, because she saw herself more as a drummer and percussionist than a singer and she wanted to put the emphasis on being P's drummer. This was her decision solely.

In the end I still don't see how Prince has "sabotaged" anything on PP though. He certainly ruined Jill's career. He also forced Levi as a producer on TC Ellis' album when TC would rather have worked with Miko, but that's pretty much it (and I'm not sure TC's album would have been better received had it been produced by Miko). The other artists Prince was not really involved with were pretty much left free to do as they pleased, and his side projects were the result of his own artistic choices (disastrous in the case of Carmen, pretty honorable when it comes to the others, which except for maybe Times Squared have all become fan favorites (The Family, Romance 1600, 8, 16, Jill Jones and Times Wait For No One have been praised over and over).

The only way P sabotaged PP was by not caring to support it and promoting its releases. As explained by Alan Leeds WB expected Prince to promote the label and Prince expected WB to do it, so in the end those records never went anywhere because with a very few exceptions no one did a thing to push them.

[Edited 5/24/16 5:22am]

SoulAlive said:

databank said:

Precisely because she has "such a weird vocal style"? Her career was launched by Zappa before she had Missing Persons, so Prince wasn't the only genius to see something in her. If having a weird artistic style is reason enough not to qualify as an artist, then Prince himself should never have been given a deal. Originality, while not an end in itself, is a very important componant of true talent.

"originality"? No,this lady is just a terrible singer I knew that Paisley Park wasn't gonna survive with "singers" like this on the label

This song is fabulous: u just don't get it! Dale's album is a synthpop gem but one has to be into synthpop to get the absolute beauty of its uncompromising sillyness

As I said, before signing with Prince Dale had been employed by Zappa and then got a deal with Capitol as the front singer of Missing Persons, a band which has had some honorable success in the early 80's, and enjoyed heavy rotation music videos on MTV. You can't just dismiss her because you don't like her voice. Her voice had seduced a lot of people back then.

[Edited 5/24/16 5:23am]

SoulAlive said:

Dale Bozzio----she has such a weird vocal style....not sure why she was given a Paisley Park recording contract.

Prince obviously liked her. One of the last CDs he bought was the best of Missing Persons. I loved them.

avajane said:

Just because Sinead didn't have a popular hit does not make her a nobody. It's clear that fame didn't do her any good, especially since she suffers from bipolar disorder. I don't condone her slander on Prince, but now she's facing the consequences of that by being sued by Arsenio and rightfully so. [Edited 5/23/16 18:51pm]

Bullshit - she was a nobody who would have never made it to MTV without Prince. And she is showing what she is after his death. I hope Arsenio gets any money she might have left from the Prince song.

PurpleDiamonds1 said:

Madonna

Good call - she proved your point recently as well. No DOubt damn sure didnt deserve to work with Prince either.

PeteSilas said:

avajane said:

RiotPaisley said: Thank you for saying this.

well, hating on sinead ya, her making up something which all look to be lies about a guy who wrote the song that most of us woulda never heard of her without. Well, she's not a very likeable person to begin with. Is her voice great? I don't know, never paid much attention.

You know nothing about Sinead if you think this. She was already someone when she released her first album "The Lion And The Cobra". She even performed her song "Mandinka" at the Grammy's. She has written dozens of songs better than the Prince tune. Yes her voice is great. As great if not greater than Prince's.

PeteSilas said:

I also recall mariah carey doing a horrible cover of the beautiful ones, don't know why she couldn't make that song better, the production was awful.

sure but she wasnt given a song by Prince

FUNKYNESS said:

avajane said:

Just because Sinead didn't have a popular hit does not make her a nobody. It's clear that fame didn't do her any good, especially since she suffers from bipolar disorder. I don't condone her slander on Prince, but now she's facing the consequences of that by being sued by Arsenio and rightfully so. [Edited 5/23/16 18:51pm]

Bullshit - she was a nobody who would have never made it to MTV without Prince. And she is showing what she is after his death. I hope Arsenio gets any money she might have left from the Prince song.

You embarrass yourself. You know nothing about Sinead if you think this. She was already someone when she released her first album "The Lion And The Cobra". It went Gold. She even performed her song "Mandinka" at the Grammy's. She has written dozens of songs better than the Prince tune. Get off Prince's jock. You don't need to bash another artist to praise Prince.

PeteSilas said:

RiotPaisley said:

Well check her out. The Lion and The Cobra is one of my favorite all time albums. The album with NC2U has lots of great tracks- Emperors New Clothes was actually another hit off that album. Faith and Courage is another good album, but TLATC is probably why Prince gave her a song. Crazy as hell? Sure seems as such but you know artists sometimes they are batty and that's what makes them great. I'll excuse your "women get crazy as they age comment" ... This time.

Well, to balance it out men start getting weird too when they get old.

Everybody does..

Dementia...

And it begins subtly over years..

The arteries and capillaries in the Brain have so much plack in them after a while...

Plus, people have less vitamin D from being inside so much after accomplishing what they have in life...

Add damage, alcohol and drugs, and other substances...

thetimefan said:

Yes Sinead covered the song with no P involvement. I believe her management of the time also pointed her to it since it was Steve Fargonli. I also like her cover it's heartfelt and one of the better covers of a P song. She has her issues but Sinead is a very good singer.

Her cover is good.. I won't be a revisionist--because of what she's done or said since..

I have to give credit wher eits due..

That said, Arsenio should receive compensation from her, if she is slandering him..

Linn4days said:

thetimefan said:

Yes Sinead covered the song with no P involvement. I believe her management of the time also pointed her to it since it was Steve Fargonli. I also like her cover it's heartfelt and one of the better covers of a P song. She has her issues but Sinead is a very good singer.

Her cover is good.. I won't be a revisionist--because of what she's done or said since..

I have to give credit wher eits due..

That said, Arsenio should receive compensation from her, if she is slandering him..

Not if it's true and odds are it is true. Deal with it. Prince (and Arsenio) was a druggy. Doesn't change his stature though (maybe it changes Arsenio's...)

Goddess4Real said:

I didn't like On The Way Up by Elisa Fiorillo in 1990, I found her voice to be bland.

[Edited 5/24/16 0:15am]

I AM by Elisa is a pretty good album IMO. To me she's always been a great singer.

homesquid said:

Linn4days said:

Her cover is good.. I won't be a revisionist--because of what she's done or said since..

I have to give credit wher eits due..

That said, Arsenio should receive compensation from her, if she is slandering him..

Not if it's true and odds are it is true. Deal with it. Prince (and Arsenio) was a druggy. Doesn't change his stature though (maybe it changes Arsenio's...)

There are no odds when she can't even keep her own story straight.

FunkiestOne said:

Has to be Madonna, off the top of my head. He didn't give a song to Sinead O'Conner. She did a cover version of a song that was already released. That would be like saying that Chaka Khan was given I Feel For You or Leann Rimes was given Purple Rain.

THe difference is negligble. Prince authorized those covers. THat is giving someone an old song - not a new one for them specifically.

Linn4days said:

PeteSilas said:

RiotPaisley said: Well, to balance it out men start getting weird too when they get old.

Everybody does..

Dementia...

And it begins subtly over years..

The arteries and capillaries in the Brain have so much plack in them after a while...

Plus, people have less vitamin D from being inside so much after accomplishing what they have in life...

Add damage, alcohol and drugs, and other substances...

and there you have it "ma (or dad) go sit down would ya".

FUNKYNESS said:

FunkiestOne said:

Has to be Madonna, off the top of my head. He didn't give a song to Sinead O'Conner. She did a cover version of a song that was already released. That would be like saying that Chaka Khan was given I Feel For You or Leann Rimes was given Purple Rain.

THe difference is negligble. Prince authorized those covers. THat is giving someone an old song - not a new one for them specifically.

well, if we're going to be so strict as to only make it songs that formally gave to others, I can't really think of anyone who was unworthy. You could say the Time or Vanity who got good starts to careers and then many of those people slammed him in interviews but I don't think that's fair. Prince was pretty hard on many of those people and didn't really pay them much so even though morris didn't have to sell shoes as Prince says he was before his break, that still doesn't give Prince the right to be cheap and mean as he often was in those days. So I guess, I can't say anyone. Stevie Nicks and Madonna said some pretty mean things about him in the press after he gave them songs but other than that, most of the people he gave songs to didn't even hit with it. Andre Cymone flopped with Dance Electric, Love Song was a dud, I never heard of too much friction between P and the Bangles. So the question is moot I guess.