https://www.rollingstone....s-1068978/

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We had finished the [1991] Diamonds and Pearls record. But Warner Bros. didn’t think we had the first single. They knew we had a lot of singles on it, but they felt like we didn’t have a kick-off single. I did all the talking with some of these companies for him. And so I said, “Hey, man, I just talked to Warner Bros. They don’t feel like we have a kick-off single.” He said, “What? That’s impossible!” He said, “OK, I’ll see you tomorrow.” But then he called me back about six hours later. He had written “Cream.”

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And not only had he written it, but he recorded about 70 percent of it. So he said, “You think they’ll like this?” I’m like, “Oh, yeah.”

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https://www.humo.be/muzie...~b2bf2ff5/

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When Prince had just delivered 'Diamonds and Pearls' I was approached by Warner Bros. They wanted to organize a pre-release party in their offices, where Prince would perform as a surprise act on the patio, in front of four hundred employees, during lunch. That went on, but not much was eaten then (laughs). The then directors asked me afterwards to tell Prince that they thought the record was very good, but that a first single was missing: whether he could make a hit soon? Apparently they did not dare to tell him that themselves. Well, Prince had negotiated total creative control then, and he wasn't happy when I got the message across to him. He looked annoyed but said nothing. I went home. Five hours later I got a phone call: "Come on now." In the studio he said dryly, "Hit the button." He let me know how he had put those five hours to good use: he'd written "Cream." And not only had he come up with the melody and the lyrics, the arrangement was also largely finished, only the intro was tinkered with later.

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(as translated by Google from Dutch)

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https://www.songfacts.com...ince/cream

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"'Cream' was done while we were in Europe," Tony Mosely of The New Power Generation told Billboard magazine. "When we're on the road, [Prince] will book studios and we'll go in and jam. And that was a vibe that the band, Levi Seacer Jr., Sonny Thompson, and everybody else came up with. The message is, keep striving, keep pushing, and it will happen - perseverance."

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http://www.princevault.co...itle=Cream

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A tape photographed in Prince’s vault at Paisley Park Studios lists it as 3 December 1990 alluding the exact date for the recording at Paisley Park Studios.

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Levi's story is nonsense. That concert happened on 3 June 1991 -- http://www.princevault.co...une_1991-m -- and by then "Cream" was six months old. Moreover, later that day Prince played another concert, so he likely didn't have time to go to the studio and record a song: http://www.princevault.co..._June_1991

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The story by Tony M also is incorrect: in December 1990 Prince wasn't touring Europe.

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[Edited 10/1/20 7:55am]

9to5People said:

I don't believe anything Tony M. says.

Writing a song, recording the basic tracks, and finishing a song for the record company are all quite different things. I'm sure some memories are playing up as well though.

BlueShakooo said:

I guess these people just thought it had just been done, when they heard it for the very first time. They probably were used to Prince playing them a new song saying he had just recorded it. So they just thought every new song was a fresh recording. Just my thoughts.

Lol that sounds like Prince alright. "Oh this old thing? Just came up with it" - *plays a song he has had in demo form since 1978*

jaawwnn said:

i think something people overlook is how much these folks actually remember. this was just work for some of these people, recording, live shows, and at such a frenzied pace. how can you be expected to remember every single detail especially the ones about small recording info

not saying that they shouldn't be asked or they shouldn't give interviews, but i think it's healthier for everyone to look at everything through the lens of "this was a long fucking time ago, who knows for sure" rather than "they're lying! they're taking credit!" etc etc

lustmealways said:

i think something people overlook is how much these folks actually remember. this was just work for some of these people, recording, live shows, and at such a frenzied pace. how can you be expected to remember every single detail especially the ones about small recording info

not saying that they shouldn't be asked or they shouldn't give interviews, but i think it's healthier for everyone to look at everything through the lens of "this was a long fucking time ago, who knows for sure" rather than "they're lying! they're taking credit!" etc etc

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Levi doesn't just get a detail wrong, his whole story is nonsense. If it happened at that gig, it is nonsense because the tracklist of D&P was already submitted months before, the only change between the March and the May tracklist is that the May one invovled different edits of the songs. Plus Prince did another concert that same day, he didn't go to a studio and record a track, especially not a track that was already included in the album months before.

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And Tony M.'s story is BS because a) when Cream was recorded they weren't touring Europe (plus Cream was recorded at PP), and b) Sonny T only joined the NPG at the end of 1990 and didn't tour Europe with them until 1992.

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That's not getting a detail wrong, that's just inventing whole stories out of cloth. There is simply no evidence of WBR asking Prince to add another song to D&P. Even if we assume that the pic is wrong, then there is still the fact that Cream was part of a D&P config in March, and that IIRC the only late change to the D&P config is the replacement of Horny Pony with Gett Off, and that was AFAIK Prince's decision after GO became a massive hit.

BartVanHemelen said:

lustmealways said:

i think something people overlook is how much these folks actually remember. this was just work for some of these people, recording, live shows, and at such a frenzied pace. how can you be expected to remember every single detail especially the ones about small recording info

not saying that they shouldn't be asked or they shouldn't give interviews, but i think it's healthier for everyone to look at everything through the lens of "this was a long fucking time ago, who knows for sure" rather than "they're lying! they're taking credit!" etc etc

Yes! Couldn't agree more. Focus adjustments welcome!

Not saying there can't be more deliberate creation of legends (urban/suburban/rural), exaggerations, myth building (as everyone knows, Prince himself knew how to build a good myth), and all sorts of other intentional fabrications. Just saying that the balance of evaluating lens is (at least IMO) off...judging by on-alert and launch-ready status of "liar" accusations. There are other very rational possiblities like those described in your comment.

Looking beyond motivation to whether facts square and what objectively happened...that's obviously easier for fans to assess with regard to some claims/stories than with others.

[Edited 10/2/20 18:14pm]

rednblue said:

Not saying there can't be more deliberate creation of legends (urban/suburban/rural), exaggerations, myth building (as everyone knows, Prince himself knew how to build a good myth), and all sorts of other intentional fabrications. Just saying that the balance of evaluating lens is (at least IMO) off...judging by on-alert and launch-ready status of "liar" accusations. There are other very rational possiblities like those described in your comment.

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The problem is: if these stories are so utterly unbelievable, how much can you trust their other stories where we don't have the luxury of comparing it to actual evidence? Levi claims for instance that after the tour, Prince wanted to re-record SOTT with the touring band. That is already a pretty unbelievable story, but then coupled with his story about "Cream" it becomes even less believable...

BartVanHemelen said:

rednblue said:

Not saying there can't be more deliberate creation of legends (urban/suburban/rural), exaggerations, myth building (as everyone knows, Prince himself knew how to build a good myth), and all sorts of other intentional fabrications. Just saying that the balance of evaluating lens is (at least IMO) off...judging by on-alert and launch-ready status of "liar" accusations. There are other very rational possiblities like those described in your comment.

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The problem is: if these stories are so utterly unbelievable, how much can you trust their other stories where we don't have the luxury of comparing it to actual evidence? Levi claims for instance that after the tour, Prince wanted to re-record SOTT with the touring band. That is already a pretty unbelievable story, but then coupled with his story about "Cream" it becomes even less believable...

Agree that sometimes fans can easily assess whether facts square with stories, and absolutely agree that this is useful. Fans are not often privy to what happens with some parts of the creative processes, but other things can tend quite the opposite. For a couple of simple examples, we have video records of performances, and we have documents from recording studios/record companies/etc.

If it's clear that someone is very reliable with stories that square, then IMO that surely is useful to know. There could be various reasons behind it such as a great memory, habit of checking with notes/calendars/other records, etc. Whatever the reasons, I do agree that any sense for reliability can guide view of accounts of events to which fans aren't as privy.

lustmealways said:

i think something people overlook is how much these folks actually remember. this was just work for some of these people, recording, live shows, and at such a frenzied pace. how can you be expected to remember every single detail especially the ones about small recording info

not saying that they shouldn't be asked or they shouldn't give interviews, but i think it's healthier for everyone to look at everything through the lens of "this was a long fucking time ago, who knows for sure" rather than "they're lying! they're taking credit!" etc etc

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You can't remember anything about studio sessions from 20-30 years ago unless you have a diary/log. It's simple as that. People such as Susan Rogers and Alan Leeds are interesting to listen to not only because they're intelligent, but also because they wrote down what they did.

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(I mean, people usually don't remember clearly what they did yesterday, according to my anecdotal experience.)

lustmealways said:

People, I suspect even Susan Rogers has mixups in her accounts.

If Prince were alive, even he would.

olb99 said:

We all have faulty momories. I know I have had to eat humble pie and shown I was wrong more than once.

It's true; memories are a tricky thing. So it's only logical people remember it differently or even tell it differently from interview to interview. Hell, I work night shift and sometimes get completely frazzed about which day I am at, let alone if you're touring and recording and rehearsing with Prince.

And then; Prince. A man known to mistify deliberately and a total player; just take into account how many women he told "Wonderfull Ass" was about them. So it's no wonder the origins of Cream are a bit shady; for all we know there is a 1979 demo. He might have been rehearsing it with the band before it was recorded; a lot of the songs on D&P went through changes. So Levi and Tony might remember it correctly, but only itho.

The conflicting stories about THE NEW LEAK FROM (1987?) PIANO DEMO "A Bridge of Graffiti"

Interesting place that Prince Vault.

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LITTLE RED CORVETTE

"After Prince’s passing a woman from St. Paul named Mi-Ling Stone came forward to claim she was the inspiration for the song. According to her she first met Prince in 1976 and then again in 1979. She was a student at the University of Minnesota, locally known as 'Fancy Dancer' and thinks Sexy Dancer could also have been about her. Prince started dating her in January 1979. She lived in a duplex on Fuller Street in Saint Paul, MN and she had pictures of jockeys on her wall, among them Mike “Hercules” Weaver, whom at some point she also dated. Prince and her stopped seeing each other when she left Minnesota in 1980."

https://www.princevault.c...d_Corvette

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Someone should tell this poor woman, and Prince Vault, that jockeys are horseback racers.

[Edited 10/4/20 17:39pm]

LoveGalore said:

olb99 said:

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You can't remember anything about studio sessions from 20-30 years ago unless you have a diary/log. It's simple as that. People such as Susan Rogers and Alan Leeds are interesting to listen to not only because they're intelligent, but also because they wrote down what they did.

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(I mean, people usually don't remember clearly what they did yesterday, according to my anecdotal experience.)

We also know Jill Jones wrote logs as well. The more interesting question could be: Who didn't?

In the general population: most people.

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In the Prince camp: most people as well, I suspect.

TrivialPursuit said:

I don't believe anything Tony M. says.

Unless it's in rhyme, right?

67minutes said:

TrivialPursuit said:

I don't believe anything Tony M. says.

Unless it's in rhyme, right?

Huh?