Frogtoon Music

1999 (Album) by Prince & The Revolution

Artist Biography For Prince & The Revolution

Prince Formed The Revolution In Minneapolis Minnesota In 1979 As His Backing Band For His First Concert Tour. The Original Lineup Consisted Of Gayle Chapman On Keyboards André Cymone On Bass Dez Dickerson On Guitar Doctor Fink On Keyboards And Bobby Z. On Drums & Percussion. The Band Went Nameless For Almost Three Years While Supporting Prince Live And Appearing In His Music Videos. Chapman And Cymone Left In The Early 1980's And Were Replaced By Lisa Coleman On Keyboards And Brownmark On Bass. The First Album On Which The Revolution Performed Was The 1982 Prince Release 1999 Which Has The Band's Moniker Written In Reverse On The Back Cover. When The 1999 Tour Ended In 1983 Dez Dickerson Left The Band For Religious Reasons And Was Replaced By Lisa's Childhood Friend And Soon-To-Be Lover Wendy Melvoin On Guitar. The First Album Officially Released As Prince & The Revolution Was Purple Rain In 1984 Which Sold Over 16 Million Copies In The United States Alone. The Band's Sound Incorporated Heavy Metal Pop Funk R&B And Hard Rock Elements. Wendy Melvoin & Lisa Coleman Formed A Particular Creative Bond With Prince And Greatly Influenced The Band's Output During The Rest Of Their Tenure. The Band Achieved Two Number-One Billboard 200 Albums Purple Rain & Around The World In A Day Six Top Ten Singles On The Billboard Hot 100 Chart And Won Three Grammy Awards. In 1985 Members Of The Soon-To-Be-Defunct Group The Family Which In Turn Included Former Members Of Another Group The Time Joined The Revolution Along With People From Sheila E.'s Band. This Included The Addition Of Three Dancers/vocalists/comic Foils Known As The Bodyguards . The Last Lineup Of Prince & The Revolution Was Informally Known As The Counter-Revolution And Consisted Of - Jerome Benton The Bodyguards - Atlanta Bliss Trumpet - Greg Brooks The Bodyguards - Lisa Coleman Keyboards Piano And Vocals - Doctor Fink Keyboards And Vocals - Eric Leeds Saxophone - Brown Mark Bass Guitar And Vocals - Susannah Melvoin Backing Vocals - Wendy Melvoin Guitar And Vocals - Prince Lead Vocals Guitar And Piano - Wally Safford The Bodyguards - Miko Weaver Guitar - Bobby Z. Drums The Revolution Was Officially Disbanded By Prince In 1986 After The Hit N Run Tour Which Supported Parade The Soundtrack For The Movie Under The Cherry Moon. Melvoin And Coleman Went On To A Successful Career As Wendy & Lisa.

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Frogtoon Music Album Info: 1999

1999 Is The Fifth Album By Prince Released On October 27 1982. It Was His First Top Ten Album On The Billboard 200 Charts In The United States Peaking At Number 9 And Became The Fifth Best-Selling Album Of 1983. 1999 Was Prince's Breakthrough Album But His Next Album Purple Rain Would Become His Most Successful. According To The Rolling Stone Album Guide "1999 May Be Prince's Most Influential Album Its Synth-And-Drum Machine-Heavy Arrangements Codified The 'Minneapolis Sound' That Loomed Over Mid-'80s R&B And Pop Not To Mention The Next Two Decades' Worth Of Electro House And Techno." In 2003 The TV Network VH1 Placed 1999 Forty-Ninth In Its List Of The Greatest Albums Of All Time. The Album Was Also Part Of Slant Magazine's List "The 50 Most Essential Pop Albums" And Was Inducted Into The Grammy Hall Of Fame In 2008. The Album's Critical And Commercial Success Secured Prince A Place In The Public Psyche And Marked The Beginning Of Two Years Of Intense Activity Which Via Massively Successful Tours Hit Singles And A Hollywood Movie Would Make Prince Arguably The Biggest Musical Star On The Planet Next To Michael Jackson. In 2003 The Album Was Ranked Number 163 On Rolling Stone Magazine's List Of The 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time. Originally Released On Vinyl As A Double LP The First Of A Number Of Double Sets From Prince 1999 Was Cut To A Single Vinyl Edition In Some Countries Brazil For Example Opted To Issue The Release As Two Separate Vinyl Albums 1999 And 1999 II. The Original Compact Disc Version Of The Album Was Also Cut Omitting "D.M.S.R.". There Is A Disclaimer On The Back Cover Of The Original Compact Disc Pressing That Reads "To Enable The Release Of 1999 As A Single Compact Disc The Song DMSR Has Been Omitted From The Original LP Edition". Later Compact Disc Pressings Included The Track. Also On The Cassette Release "Free" Was Placed After "D.M.S.R." To End The First Side Balancing Out The Lengths Of Both Sides Of The Cassette. The Album's Opening Title Track "1999" Was Also Its First Single Initially Peaking At 44 On The Billboard Hot 100. It Was Later Re-Released Hitting Number 12 On The Billboard Charts Once Interest In The Album Had Caught Fire With The Release Of 1999's Second Single "Little Red Corvette" Which Peaked At Number 6 On The Billboard Hot 100 And Heralded Prince's Rise To Superstardom. The Music Video For The Song Was Significant In Itself As One Of The First Videos By A Black Artist To Receive "heavy Rotation" Airplay On The Newly Launched Music Video Channel MTV. The Two Tracks Were Later Combined As A Double A-Side Single In The UK Peaking At Number 2. A Third Single "Delirious" Still Managed Top Ten Status In The US But A Fourth "Let's Pretend We're Married" Got No Further Than Number 52. While "Little Red Corvette" Helped Prince Cross Over To The Wider Rock Audience The Rest Of The Album Retains The Elements Of Previous Albums And Is Dominated By Funk And Synthesizer Dance Tracks. The Album Is However Notable Amongst Prince's Catalogue For Its Wide Variety Of Imagery And Themes Besides The Sexual Themes That Had Already Become Something Of A Trademark On Previous Albums. "Automatic" Extending To Almost Ten Minutes Starts Side Three Of The Album With A Cocktail Of Synthesizers And Bawdy Bondage-Inspired Lyrical Imagery Which Transplanted To The Music Video For The Track With A Scene That Depicted Prince Being Tied Up And Whipped By Band-Members Lisa Coleman And Jill Jones Was In 1983 Considered Too Hot For MTV. "Free" Is A Delicate Piano Ballad Expressing Patriotism And How Fellow Americans Should Appreciate Their Freedom While "Something In The Water Does Not Compute " An Ode To A Harsh Lover Is The Centerpiece Of A Preoccupation With Computer Age Themes That Would Continue Into Future Albums. This "computer" Theme Is Also Reflected In The Album's Instrumentation With Prince Fully Embracing The Gadgetry And Sounds Of Emergent Electro-Funk And '80's Sequencing Technology On Tracks Like "Let's Pretend We're Married" And "All The Critics Love U In New York" Songs That Widen His Use Of Synthesizers And Effects And Prominently Feature His Noted Uses Of The Linn Drum Machine. Prince Himself Admitted At The Time The Movie Blade Runner Was An Influence On The Album's Synth Sound And Look In The Music Videos For The Album. The Album's Cover Features Elements From The Front Cover Of Prince's Previous Album Controversy Namely The Eyes And The "Rude Boy" Pin In The "1999" The Jacket Studs In The "R" And The Smile In The "P". The "I" In Prince In Addition To Being An Obvious Phallic Symbol Also Contains The Words "and The Revolution" Written Backwards Both Acknowledging His Backing Band And Foreshadowing The Next Four Years Of His Career. One Particular Interesting Fact About The Ballad "Free" Was That Fans Have Created Myths That Prince Is Crying Towards The End Of The Ballad. His Voice Can Be Heard Getting Very Choked Up Around The 3 05 Mark. This Might Be Due To The Fact That The Song Is Well-Meaning And Emotional. In 2007 While Performing The Song Prince Was Said To Have Gotten Emotional.