The Minneapolis Sound
Minneapolis?? Who ever thought that much soul would come out of a town in Minnesota, of all places? That being said, can you imagine how much 80's R&B/Funk that we wouldn't have, if it had not been for His Royal Badness himself, Prince. Take a minute and really let that one sink in.......The sound that he brought out of The Twin Cities had never really been heard before, and in turn, influenced the rest of the music industry as we know it; putting Minnesota on the map- musically speaking. Up until that point, no one had ever dared to cross the lines between R&B/Funk and Rock. To do so, meant ostracism from either side, if not both. But Prince did it in a way that without question, positioned him as a legend in his own time; with his name forever being mentioned in the same "un-breathable" air space as only The King of Pop himself, MJ.
It all started with Prince's 1980 album, Dirty Mind. It not only helped to shape what would become Prince's definitive sound throughout his career, but also the sound of 80s R&B. Remember what time it was now.....Disco had just died a "fiery, record-burning" death not only a year before- so people were looking for the sound that would shift them right into the 80's. Prince provided just that with his use of synthesizers that had essentially taken over the role of the horns that were so prevalent in Disco music. In doing so, he not only embraced Rock and R&B, but also New Wave, which was huge at the time. Prince had found a style and sound that was un-mistakenly all his own.
The 1st of Prince's many side projects included a funk band, made up of Garry "Jellybean" Johnson, James "Jimmy Jam" Harris, Terry Lewis, Jesse Johnson, Monte Moir, Jerome Benton, and of course Morris Day on lead. Together, they called themselves The Time. Think about that...Prince is the one who introduced the world to not only Morris Day, but also "JAM AND LEWIS"- who in turn, later catapulted the career of Janet Jackson, and so many others into the stratosphere. It's just the type of "domino effect" that would make Prince a major player for many years to come. Little Known Fact: R&B Crooner, Alexander O'Neal was originally supposed to sing lead for The Time, but he felt that there wasn't enough money involved in the project, and instead went on to embark on a successful solo career in his own right. Prince's next project in 1982 included a girl group that he christened "Vanity 6," led by front-woman and then-girlfriend, Denise "Vanity" Matthews. The group was only together for a short amount of time before Vanity was offered a solo recording contract from Motown records and left the Prince Camp. She was soon replaced with Apollonia Kotero, and the group was re-named "Apollonia 6." Picking right up where Vanity left off, Apollonia won the lead role in Purple Rain, and recorded the rest of the album that was previously started with the remaining member group members.
By 1984, Prince started calling his backing band "The Revolution," whose members provided instrumentation on most Prince-related projects around that time, including a band called "The Family", which also consisted of members of The Time, after their disbanding in 1984. By this time the effects of The Minneapolis Sound were spreading, and quick. It could be heard throughout artists such as Sheena Easton, Sheila E, Alexander O'Neal, Cherrelle, The Jets, Janet Jackson, Wendy & Lisa, Ready for the World, Pebbles, and Lipps Inc....just to name a few. Even veteran acts like Chaka Khan did a cover of a Prince album cut named "I Feel For You." The tune became one of the biggest hits of Khan's career. Now keep in mind, that these were some of the biggest names in 80's R&B, all of which, Prince had a hand in creating successes for. He even wrote the song "Nothing That Compares 2 U," which later went on to become a mega-hit for Irish singer, Sinead O'Connor, and one of the biggest songs of 1990.
In short, few artists have EVER made the impact on the record industry that Prince has. Its one thing to become a success in your own right....its a whole other thing to develop talent and make a success out of others in the process. All I know is that Warner Bros. must have owed him a hefty sum for all the money that he made for them during his tenure with the label. The Minneapolis Sound is what helped to define 80's R&B, and it's effects were still heavily felt well into the 90's with artists like Karyn White, Mint Condition, and Usher, just to name a few. It is one of those great eras in music that is not nearly recognized enough, and essentially helped to establish the framework for what would eventually come to be known as New Jack Swing.
Until Next Time......
