Paris9748430 said:

I think that says it all. Sheila is the only one that is still relevant and making music with Prince. Rosie is trying but her last album blows - she was sensational while with Prince. Bonnie was only around for 2 albums. Rhonda is good but not as accomplished as Sheila and nowhere near the history that she has. Gayle Champman wimped out to soon to count. Lisa and Wendy, as someone else eluded to, were grossly overrated and just lucky to be in the band during that post Purple Rain period. Mayte cant really be called a band member since she could not really sing or play. Kat Dyson was damn near invisible and almost no one remembers her. Cat wasnt around long enough and only contributed a little vocals here and there.

oldschoolfunkmaster said:

playing a cowbell on a song doesn't constitute making music with someone

sheila...then bonnie.

thechronic2 said:

Helloooo? what about the great live drumming on the sign o the times tour?

sheeesh.

I would say the following in this order:

Lisa- her voice fit perfect for Prince music. Not only that, but what she contributed to him musically including the early stuff with the Time. Like someone has mentioned already, 1999, Purple Rain, ATWIAD, Parade, SOTT, all would not have been the same without her.

Wendy- The same as Lisa but I placed Wendy second because she wasn't around to work on the stuff on the Time Albums and some of the other early stuff. But her personality, her style, her look, etc., contributed so much to the Revolution IMO.

Sheila E- Self explanatory

Cat- Yeah, I said it. Cat is definitely one of Prince's most memorable band members. People still wonder about her (I saw her today in a old video by Jermaine Stewart called "We Don't Have to Take Our Clothes Off").

Rosie- The band member with the most Powerful voice of them all. Great member.

Respectable- Rhonda. She is so gorgeous and female bass players aren't something we see everyday. But she lacks that charisma and personality that some of the other female group members had. People notice her because she is so breath taking, but there just seems to be something missing that a lot of the others had.

VelvetJ said:

The "female" threads always trip me out. There's this expectation for a female bandmember to "entertain" in a way that I don't hear about in the "male" threads. No one ever faults Renato Neto for not smiling or being perky enough. He's a beast on the keys! What else is required? Brownmark was too sullen? Nope, don't hear that either.

But Rhonda "lacks" something the other female artists had? Rhonda has (well-documented) chops for days. Maybe, though, she should resort to giggling and jiggling a bit more to be taken seriously.

I think it's interesting that Prince, while finding and employing so many talented female musicians, insisted on objectifying them for the bulk of his career. Gayle Chapman, according to lore, wasn't having it and bailed. Good for her, if that's true.

As for the suggestion that Sheila E. (and, don't get me wrong -- I'm a fan) has contributed something because she's "endured" a lot from him in the past few decades, that doesn't exactly sound like an endorsement of her musical abilities. It just makes her sound co-dependent.

Definately Sheila E.

Wendy's my favorite!!

rainbowchild said:

not favorite....who's the best?

thechronic2 said:

What? Dude, crack kills.

Do I have to go through another schooling session? Wendy is the baddest female guitarist whether people want to admit it or not. Lisa is a master pianist, so hands down they are the best female band members he ever had, right along with Sheila E.

The main reason he went through a period of time performing with tracked backing vocals is because nobody but himself could sing harmony with him besides the 3 of them. So you have to add their vocal skills on top of their other talents.

I have to agree with madhouseman, EverlastingNow and everyone else who votes for Wendy & Lisa.

LovesexyIsThe1 said:

female guitarist?????now u know there are no great female guitarist at all.....women worry about shopping and men too much to really learn an instrument

thechronic2 said:

You sound more and more like you've got a firm grasp of the organ however.

this is what's called a bait post

ThreadBare said:

TOTALLY reading deeper into this than it should be. This is not at all a thread about gender inequality or sexism. Who is Prince's best female band member( posted on a Prince fan site on the internet). Who's the best bass player Prince has ever had? Who's has been his best drummer so far? Which girlfriend looked best with him? Come on it's not that serious.

Prince has always had women in his bands for the most part, but even still, men have always dominated his bands. So by nature, the women are going to "stick out" more. Wendy and Lisa stood out in the Revolution, Cat stood out in the SOTT/LoveSexy Band, Rosie stood out in the early NPG Band, and to a degree Candy is sticking out in this one. I don't think it's a situation of people are "expecting" his female band members to entertain more as much as it is they are minorities in terms of being female in a male dominated group that rotates members every few years. Has Prince objectified women...I would say so yes, but that is not the nature of this particular thread.

We could start a thread about Prince's best male band member, but it would be like starting a thread about Prince's best member with dark hair.

*note- I never questioned Rhonda's talent vocally or musically. She is fine the way she is. But in 20 years will she automatically come to mind of those that remember Prince's best female members of all time? Realistically, more than likely not. I love Rhonda just like I loved Gail Chapman, Bonnie Boyer , Susannah, and Rad. But on this particular subject, they all belong in the same category of not being Prince's "best female member of all time".

Rhonda Smith

thechronic2 said:

crazyhorse said:

've got a FEVER! And the only CURE... is more COWBELL!

getwild007 said:

i wonder how much prince pays sheila for those cowbell solos?

VelvetJ said:

I said the same thing as soon as I hit "post response." Pay me no mind.

And, in the spirit this thread was meant, allow me to respond: Lisa.

Wendy and Lisa

It' s hard for me to chose between Rhonda and Shelia. I think they are the best at what they do. They have the all around package.

thechronic2 said:

A "dummy instrument"??? What the hell??? Just listen to Sheila's intricate, inspired drumming on Alexa de Paris and you have your answer as to who was the best. Plus her work on SOTT and Lovesexy was great. I love all his "gals" because they all have skills cuz Prince ain't gon' have no punks playing with him, but Sheila was on a whole other level, musically.