Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site pyuxd.UUCP
Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!gamma!pyuxww!pyuxd!rlr
From: rlr@pyuxd.UUCP (Fred Mertz)
Newsgroups: net.music
Subject: Re: Wanted:The Origin of Prince
Message-ID: <446@pyuxd.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 1-Feb-85 11:26:29 EST
Article-I.D.: pyuxd.446
Posted: Fri Feb  1 11:26:29 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 2-Feb-85 14:15:22 EST
References: <1018@hou3c.UUCP>
Organization: Pristine Area
Lines: 43

> As stated in the subject line, I am curious in knowing the
> origin of "Prince".  Did anyone hear of this "musician"
> before last year (or whenever "Purple Rain" came out)?
> I really do not enjoy his music, but I have nothing particular
> against it either (no flames please).  I am just wondering
> how "Prince" made it so big, so fast, and if "Prince" had
> a real music life before the hit.  If so, what was it?
> R. Switzer @ AT&T Bell Labs

ONE STORY:
Yes, Prince came out of nowhere, had no musical history before Purple Rain,
suddenly decided to make a movie and became famous overnight.  This is proven
by the fact that *no* AOR radio station EVER played a Prince song before
Purple Rain.

ANOTHER STORY:
Prince has been around for years.  The first album of his that I am familiar
with (there were a few before it, too) was "Dirty Mind", which is one of the
truly feelthy albums of our age.  This was followed by "Controversy", in
which the title songs asks questions about the "controversy" around the public
sexual image of Prince.  I think that was 1981, when he got booed off the stage
by an "extremely hip" Los Angeles crowd as the opening act for the Rolling
Stones (real broad minded, tolerant, and hi, those rock n' rollers...).  He
really broke ice with the album "1999".  Both the title cut and "Little Red
Corvette" received a lot of airplay even on top40 stations (and maybe even
a "progressive" AOR station), but other cuts (like "Delirious", "DMSR"---which
was used in the party scene in "Risky Business", "Let's Pretend We're
Married", and "A-U-T-O-Matic") were noticed as well, especially on so-called
"urban contemporary" (great pigeonholing, guys!) stations.  And, of course,
Purple Rain followed last year.

THE MORAL:
Don't assume that because you've never heard of someone, that they just shot up
overnight out of nowhere.  For every person with even the broadest musical
tastes, there's a whole world of music that's still "unknown"...

THE QUESTION:
Where is "Erotic City"?  I know it's a B-side of some Prince single from 
Purple Rain, but I haven't been able to find out which one.
-- 
"So, it was all a dream!" --Mr. Pither
"No, dear, this is the dream; you're still in the cell." --his mother
				Rich Rosen    pyuxd!rlr