I was just listening to "Cindy C.", which I think is a fantastic upbeat Prince song, supposedly about 1980's supermodel Cindy Crawford. Prince is singing how he want to "play" with her and "pay the usual fee".

I wonder how Cindy actually felt about that? I mean, it is flattering when someone like Prince writes and releases a song about you, and Prince might even have written it to win a date with her, but at the same time he seems to be implying he wants to pay her 'to play with her'. He is even willing to pay 'the usual fee', implying she is a professional.

Lots of mixed messages I get here, that is one thing for sure...

Yes.

If you read the gossip websites, they all seem to imply she's a high class escort, and become some type of high end Madame. It's not news that there have been models who worked as escorts at various times in their careers, so even if Cindy Crawford never had to do it, that's still a good diss.

Late in the song where P does his exasperated pleading with Cindy, it sounds like he's screaming inside a locked Closet, he's got that many issues. Best bit probably, where P goes "What's the matter with me Cindy?!" and Cindy replies "Nothing!". Clearly she was just being nice, because right before he was sounding proper mental.

When I first heard (late 88) it I assumed it was about a prostitute... I do not think I even knew (or cared) about models.

OnlyNDaUsa said:

There is more than one woman named Cindy crawford; the woman arrested is not the famous model who doesn't need money like that.
https://www.ocweekly.com/...n-6464712/

LoveGalore said:

OnlyNDaUsa said:

When I first heard (late 88) it I assumed it was about a prostitute... I do not think I even knew (or cared) about models.

He literally opens the song by calling her a high class model.

....and later on calls her a "heifer". LOL

LoveGalore said:

funkaholic1972 said:

I was just listening to "Cindy C.", which I think is a fantastic upbeat Prince song, supposedly about 1980's supermodel Cindy Crawford. Prince is singing how he want to "play" with her and "pay the usual fee".

I wonder how Cindy actually felt about that? I mean, it is flattering when someone like Prince writes and releases a song about you, and Prince might even have written it to win a date with her, but at the same time he seems to be implying he wants to pay her 'to play with her'. He is even willing to pay 'the usual fee', implying she is a professional.

Lots of mixed messages I get here, that is one thing for sure...

I guess the whole lyrics have to be taken with a pinch of salt - and I am sure Cindy C did just that

[Edited 1/26/22 5:56am]

I've heard repeatedly that some high class models do exactly that: charge high fees for sex with the rich and famous. Prince is known for asking his assistants to find him such or such model's/actess' phone number in the 80's and 90's, so it's likely he met a few of those along the way. Was he implying that Cindy C. was doing it, or simply that if she did it, he would pay, IDK. But it was really mostly a joke song anyway. According to Crawford, she wasn't made aware of the song until its release in 94, which I find odd given the amount of TBA bootlegs released between 88 and 93, but who knows... She didn't seem to take offense, though.

fortuneandserendipity said:

Late in the song where P does his exasperated pleading with Cindy, it sounds like he's screaming inside a locked Closet, he's got that many issues. Best bit probably, where P goes "What's the matter with me Cindy?!" and Cindy replies "Nothing!". Clearly she was just being nice, because right before he was sounding proper mental.

This bit sounds like he's standing at the edge of a tall building's rooftop during the exchange.

P:"dontcha wanna play with me, Cindy?!!!"

C:"YES! NO!! WAIT!!!"

.

...then he jumps

nayroo2002 said:

fortuneandserendipity said:

Late in the song where P does his exasperated pleading with Cindy, it sounds like he's screaming inside a locked Closet, he's got that many issues. Best bit probably, where P goes "What's the matter with me Cindy?!" and Cindy replies "Nothing!". Clearly she was just being nice, because right before he was sounding proper mental.

This bit sounds like he's standing at the edge of a tall building's rooftop during the exchange.

P:"dontcha wanna play with me, Cindy?!!!"

C:"YES! NO!! WAIT!!!"

.

...then he jumps

But his voice sounds muffled like he's locked away somewhere. And he's begging to be let out. So just come out of the closet, Prince . And by 'play' P is after sex, right?

The "fee" doesn't have to be so literal, I know Prince could be cutting but it seems pretty dark to openly call one of the worlds most famous models at the time a prostitute.

NouveauDance said:

Cindy's beauty was "to die for".

That's why that character Prince played in the song jumped off the building.

He paid "the usual fee".

sheesh!

nayroo2002 said:

Cindy's beauty was "to die for".

That's why that character Prince played in the song jumped off the building.

He paid "the usual fee".

sheesh!

It wasn't so difficult after all!!

databank said:

I've heard repeatedly that some high class models do exactly that: charge high fees for sex with the rich and famous. Prince is known for asking his assistants to find him such or such model's/actess' phone number in the 80's and 90's, so it's likely he met a few of those along the way. Was he implying that Cindy C. was doing it, or simply that if she did it, he would pay, IDK. But it was really mostly a joke song anyway. According to Crawford, she wasn't made aware of the song until its release in 94, which I find odd given the amount of TBA bootlegs released between 88 and 93, but who knows... She didn't seem to take offense, though.

.

Not that it matters, but I clearly remember Cindy Crawford answering viewers' questions on a French TV show (probably Sacrée Soirée on February 24, 1993, according to some newspapers archives). One of the questions was about "Cindy C". She just answered that she was aware of the song's existence, but did not comment any further. She was probably annoyed by the question. I remember that moment, because the Black Album was not officially available at the time. Of course, that was about 29 years ago, so maybe I'm wrong about the year. I would be very surprised if it happened after the official release, though.

olb99 said:

databank said:

I've heard repeatedly that some high class models do exactly that: charge high fees for sex with the rich and famous. Prince is known for asking his assistants to find him such or such model's/actess' phone number in the 80's and 90's, so it's likely he met a few of those along the way. Was he implying that Cindy C. was doing it, or simply that if she did it, he would pay, IDK. But it was really mostly a joke song anyway. According to Crawford, she wasn't made aware of the song until its release in 94, which I find odd given the amount of TBA bootlegs released between 88 and 93, but who knows... She didn't seem to take offense, though.

.

Not that it matters, but I clearly remember Cindy Crawford answering viewers' questions on a French TV show (probably Sacrée Soirée on February 24, 1993, according to some newspapers archives). One of the questions was about "Cindy C". She just answered that she was aware of the song's existence, but did not comment any further. She was probably annoyed by the question. I remember that moment, because the Black Album was not officially available at the time. Of course, that was about 29 years ago, so maybe I'm wrong about the year. I would be very surprised if it happened after the official release, though.

It's possible. What I found googling it was many articles quoting some later interview that implied she didn't know the song before its release, for example there: https://faroutmagazine.co...nce-song/, but between what people say and how things happen...

LoveGalore said:

NouveauDance said:

The "fee" doesn't have to be so literal, I know Prince could be cutting but it seems pretty dark to openly call one of the worlds most famous models at the time a prostitute.

I wouldn't call Cindy Crawford one of the most famous models in the world in 1987. But I do agree that it is tongue in cheek and not literal.

Crawford was the biggest supermodel of her day. In 1987 she had big exposure in The Secret of My Success (in the opening credits). Her star only rose from there. She was nude in Playboy in 1988, striking while the iron was hot. (She was photographed by Herb Ritts.) She was the supermodel for a couple of years there.

After that you had folks like Turlington, Campbell, Tyra, etc. We'd never really heard of a "supermodel" before Cindy, although there were models like Iman and Janice Dickinson who were paid a lot for their face before Cindy. But it wasn't until the excess of the 80s that the term "supermodel" really took hold and Crawford just happened to be right there.

PS the "Fee" in the song, IMO, is just what a model is paid for an appearance. Whether folks show up for a birthday party or a Versace show, they're gettin' paid. And apparently Prince's checkbook was open. hahaha

Cindy was also great in George Michael's Freedom video.

PennyPurple said:

Cindy was also great in George Michael's "Freedom '90" video.

OMG that was such a great video. GM utilized models again for "Too Funky." (I think one of those girls just died the other day, too.) I remember Cindy talking about how cold it was in the tub, and she was rubbed down with baby oil or something to look "wet," but there was no water in the tub. Everyone in it just looks so amazing. Took me years to really appreciate the song (I like the lyrics a bit more than the production), but that video was a trend-setter.

They were originally going to use the same "Freedom '90" models for "Too Funky," as a sequel of sorts, but only Linda Evangelista was kept in the hold over.

Apparently, there's a version with male models incorporated, including an actor from Grey's Anatomy, and Djimon Hounsou.

Something about "Freedom '90" really hit with folks, though. The visuals of young twenty-somethings living on hot tea and hope in a nearly-vacant loft, just listening to music felt authentic. For those of us in our 20s, it hit home. So even with just that, I was drawn in.

Plus - to just have something upbeat from GM again was great. Remember that he launched the album with "Praying for Time," and "Waiting For The Day," before "Freedom '90." It was the only more upbeat song released. It was a somber time for him, a time he reexamined who he wanted to be musically, and how he was portrayed. Even the lyrics reference him shaking his ass in "Faith" or otherwise:

Well it looks like the road to heaven
But it feels like the road to hell
When I knew which side my bread was buttered
I took the knife as well
Posing for another picture
Everybody's got to sell
But when you shake your ass
They notice fast
And some mistakes were built to last
That's what you get

He sort of scolds himself there, talking about he knew what he was doing, but he did it anyway. He let himself become a commodity, of sorts. And the only person he had to blame was himself. "That's what you get for changing your mind." That's what he got for letting his image come before his music.

It's a telling song, and it's why I appreciate the lyrics of it so much.

funkaholic1972 said:

I wonder how Cindy actually felt about that?

https://twitter.com/Cindy...6679596032

https://youtu.be/dGVVuoOarbs?t=92

[Edited 1/28/22 20:35pm]

TrivialPursuit said:

PennyPurple said:

Cindy was also great in George Michael's "Freedom '90" video.

OMG that was such a great video. GM utilized models again for "Too Funky." (I think one of those girls just died the other day, too.) I remember Cindy talking about how cold it was in the tub, and she was rubbed down with baby oil or something to look "wet," but there was no water in the tub. Everyone in it just looks so amazing. Took me years to really appreciate the song (I like the lyrics a bit more than the production), but that video was a trend-setter.

They were originally going to use the same "Freedom '90" models for "Too Funky," as a sequel of sorts, but only Linda Evangelista was kept in the hold over.

Apparently, there's a version with male models incorporated, including an actor from Grey's Anatomy, and Djimon Hounsou.

Something about "Freedom '90" really hit with folks, though. The visuals of young twenty-somethings living on hot tea and hope in a nearly-vacant loft, just listening to music felt authentic. For those of us in our 20s, it hit home. So even with just that, I was drawn in.

Plus - to just have something upbeat from GM again was great. Remember that he launched the album with "Praying for Time," and "Waiting For The Day," before "Freedom '90." It was the only more upbeat song released. It was a somber time for him, a time he reexamined who he wanted to be musically, and how he was portrayed. Even the lyrics reference him shaking his ass in "Faith" or otherwise:

Well it looks like the road to heaven
But it feels like the road to hell
When I knew which side my bread was buttered
I took the knife as well
Posing for another picture
Everybody's got to sell
But when you shake your ass
They notice fast
And some mistakes were built to last
That's what you get

He sort of scolds himself there, talking about he knew what he was doing, but he did it anyway. He let himself become a commodity, of sorts. And the only person he had to blame was himself. "That's what you get for changing your mind." That's what he got for letting his image come before his music.

It's a telling song, and it's why I appreciate the lyrics of it so much.

Yep I love the entire thing. If I remember correctly I think one of the models said they only had hours to prepare, and it was a last minute deal.

PennyPurple said:

Yep I love the entire thing. If I remember correctly I think one of the models said they only had hours to prepare, and it was a last minute deal.

I remember Naomi (I believe) saying how she got there after being up for hours and hours and wanted to sleep. But she showed up and did the job anyway. I think she said that on her YouTube show that she does. She later told Andy Cohen on Watch What Happens Live that the models used to blast "Freedom '90" backstage all the time.

poisonmouth said:

funkaholic1972 said:

I wonder how Cindy actually felt about that?

https://twitter.com/Cindy...6679596032

https://youtu.be/dGVVuoOarbs?t=92

[Edited 1/28/22 20:35pm]

Cool, thanks for posting this. Cindy still looks amazing!

TrivialPursuit said:

LoveGalore said:

TrivialPursuit said:

I remember Naomi (I believe) saying how she got there after being up for hours and hours and wanted to sleep. But she showed up and did the job anyway. I think she said that on her YouTube show that she does. She later told Andy Cohen on Watch What Happens Live that the models used to blast "Freedom '90" backstage all the time.

She was talking about Supermodel in that clip, Andy just thought she meant Freedom. But I'm sure they played Freedom too.

Hmmm, you're probably right on that. I remember there being a second of confusion by Cohen on that. But yeah, I can't imagine they didn't play "Freedom '90" and "Too Funky" just as much. "Too Funky" is a good strut song.

TrivialPursuit said: