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Sheila E., music legend/ex-fiancée of Prince, recently experienced heartbreak when she was denied entry into his iconic Paisley Park home on June 7, 2024, which would have been Prince’s 66th birthday. In an emotional Instagram video, Sheila E. expressed her disappointment at not being able to pay her respects to her mentor, who was also her former love whom she shared a tight bond with until his last day.

The “The Glamorous Life” singer/percussionist, had assumed she would be welcome at Paisley Park (just as Prince had always welcomed her) if she showed up unannounced to record a video. However, she was turned away at the gates, preventing her from entering the studio where she and Prince had once collaborated and shared beautiful moments together.

Recalling her intended visit in an Instagram video (below), Sheila E. captioned her post with this:

“Wow!! Watch the video (shame on u paisley park. Horrible. @officialpaisleypark #prince
Happy birthday Prince.”

In her video message, here’s what she shared about what went down when she showed up to Paisley Park:

“I went in to celebrate him, and I wanted to go into the studio and do a live video, take a picture, and they said, ‘No.’… My heart’s broken. I can’t even walk into Paisley. That’s kind of messed up… Not a nice way to celebrate his birthday.”

Seeking resolution and feeling that her history with Prince should hold value, Sheila E. now hopes that the museum will return her old drum kit, which Prince personally requested to display at Paisley Park. She even overheard a tour guide mentioning, “My idol, Sheila E., even has her drums set up in the studio!”

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A post shared by Sheila E. (@sheilaedrummer)

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It’s never been a secret that the beloved Prince, had a way with the ladies. There was one woman in particular though, whom inside sources of Prince’s inner circle say meant so much to him, that he wrote one of his most iconic hits about her. His 1984 classic,”When Doves Cry,” was said to have been about his high school sweetheart, who was supposedly the love of his life at that time. She’s an R&B singer we all know…but what many of us didn’t know, was that the two were together for years. Get your scroll on to see who she is…

The High School Sweetheart Prince Wrote When Doves Cry About

She’s one-third of Vanity 6/ Appollonia 6…Susan Moonsie! Susan was the ‘shy persona’ of the trio, and Prince actually created Vanity 6 around her when he put the group together. He allegedly wrote the song about their up-and-down relationship and it’s also alleged that Prince wrote the song, “Private Joy,” about Susan Moonsie as well.

Prince’s intentions were to have Susan be the lead singer of Vanity 6, but she didn’t want to be the lead. That’s Vanity and then Appollonia were the lead singers instead.

Those who were close to Prince and Susan say their relationship was rocky– they’d break up, then make up…and then break up again, but they allegedly loved each other deeply. Like we said, Prince and Susan were high school sweethearts first – before the fame and money – so maybe that’s why their love was so unbreakable.

Unsurprisingly, their relationship often had issues because of Prince’s alleged relationships with a few other singers who came onto to the scene after Susan. Allegedly, she thought Prince was cheating on her when he started becoming attracted to singer, Denise “Vanity” Matthews, around 1983. Insiders say that’s when Susan ended the relationship, and she even became close friends with Vanity.

Prince Allegedly Had A Relationship With This Singer, Too

Additionally, there’s this other singer who close friends of both Prince and Susan Moonsie have allegedly said ended their relationship again, and that’s when in 1984 Prince started messing around with singer, Susannah Melvoin, (twin sister of Prince’s The Revolution guitarist, Wendy Melvoin). There is no confirmation on which relationship actually deadened Prince’s and Susan Moonsie’s relationship for good though.

In case you still aren’t familiar with Susannah Melvoin, she was the one who co-sang the popular song, “Screams of Passion,” back in the day. It was also said that in 1985, Prince wrote “Nothing Compares 2 U” (the song eventually covered by Sinead O’Connor) about Susannah Melvoin. Prince was a busy brotha, wasn’t he?

An ’80s R&B Group Also Wrote A Song About Susan Moonsie

Now, here’s one more Old School fun fact that most of us never knew. There was another popular ’80s hit that had a line in it about Prince’s ex-girlfriend, Susan Moonsie. We all know this song, it was Timex Social Club’s hit song, “Rumours.” The line about Susan Moonsie was: “Did you hear that one about Susan, some say she’s just a tease. In a camisole she’s six feet tall. She’ll knock you to your knees.” This fact was confirmed by Timex Social Club founding member/ songwriter, Marcus A. Thompson. Wow…Susan was highly sought after back in the day.

The post Prince’s “When Doves Cry” Was Reportedly About ’80s R&B Singer Many Never Knew He Dated appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

In the world of music, Prince and Michael Jackson were legendary figures and reportedly fierce rivals…just ask Quincy Jones. And despite the public’s anticipation for a collabo’ between the two icons, it never came to fruition.

But why did Prince continuously reject the opportunity to work with the King of Music on his hit song “Bad”? The answer is both intriguing and revealing.

While the 1980s seemed destined to be colored purple with Prince’s rise to fame, he couldn’t bring himself to compromise his credibility by joining forces with Jackson on a track that he perceived as having a “cheesy narrative.”

Quincy Jones, a mutual connection between the two artists, attempted to bring them together for “Bad,” but Prince refused. He was well aware of the song’s future success, but ultimately dismissed it, stating, “You don’t need me on this, it’s going to be a number one anyway”:

“We invited [Prince] out to Michael’s house to sing on ‘Bad’, and he was very intelligent about it,” Quincy Jones explained in a prior interview. “Prince was always competing with Michael. So I told Michael, ‘you sit there and Prince sits there, so it won’t look like we’re ganging up on him to do the record’. It was a beautiful meeting, a funny meeting, and [Prince] said ‘you don’t need me on this, it’s going to be a number one anyway’ – which it was.”

A direct quote from Prince sheds light on his perspective, as he shared with comedian Chris Rock, “That Wesley Snipes character [in Michael Jackson’s “Bad” video]? That would have been me. Now you run that video in your mind.” Clearly, Prince objected to the opening line of the song, “your butt is mine,” and questioned who would sing it to whom. This fundamental disagreement created a bit of a hurdle:

“The first line of that song is ‘your butt is mine,’ Prince explained to Chris. “Now I’m saying, ‘Who’s gonna sing that to whom? Cuz you sure ain’t singing it to me, and I sure ain’t singing it to you.’ So right there, we got a problem,” he continued.

The rivalry between Prince and Michael Jackson was never personal; it was purely a professional competition. Both artists were driven by their creative ambitions and constantly sought to outdo each other. In the end, “Bad” went on to sell 35 million records, solidifying Jackson’s international success, while Prince maintained his artistic integrity.

While fans can only imagine the magic that could have been created through a collaboration between these two music giants, it was ultimately Prince’s refusal to compromise that kept him true to himself.

The post The Real Reason Prince Repeatedly Turned Down Michael Jackson For “Bad” Is Priceless appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

The legendary, Rick James, detailed in his book, “Glow,” exactly what went down on the night he got into it with the iconic, Prince. It was about to be a clash of thigh high boots, braid extensions, and blouses flying in the air (in a manly type of way though) when Rick and Prince came THIS close to throwin’ blows back in the day! As we all know, Prince was private, but Rick lived his life like an open book, which is why he had no problem revealing that he wanted to -and I quote- “kick Prince’s a$$.” Although it was a serious situation, the way Rick described this is actually pretty funny and a it’s fond memory of two incredibly talented legends gone way too soon.

RICK JAMES CLAIMED PRINCE DISSED HIS MOM?

Rick James wrote about the time he tried to fight Prince backstage at an awards show, after Prince turned down Rick’s mother’s autograph request. To Prince’s credit, he didn’t know that was Rick’s Mom, but that didn’t matter to Rick- he was PISSED after his Mom told him she was dissed by Prince. Here is what Rick James wrote about that night:

That’s all I needed to hear. I chased after that little turd. I caught up with him and was about to lay him out when his manager stepped in.

“What the hell is wrong with you, Rick?” asked the manager. I told him Prince had dissed Mom and that I was gonna kick his scrawny ass. Prince explained that he didn’t know who Mom was. “Well, now you know, motherfucker,” I said.

[…] Prince apologized to Mom and apologized to me. I was a little disappointed ‘cause I really did wanna kick his ass.’

Really? A “turd” Rick?!! LOL…the visual on this Rick James/Prince blow up is hilarious, but that wasn’t the first time they had beef. SEE WHERE THIS TENSION STARTED…

RICK JAMES CLAIMED PRINCE PLAYED HIM

Rick James made it widely known that he wasn’t a fan of Prince. Their issues date back to the late ’70s/early ’80s, when Prince opened up for Rick James’ tour. In his book, “Glow,” Rick alleged that Prince jacked his style on tour, stole his concept for his 80’s girl group, Mary Jane Girls…AND his original lead singer. Rick said he told Prince about his girl group he was building, with it’s lead singer, Denise “Vanity” Matthews. According to Rick, when Vanity saw Prince for the first time backstage at an award show, she left with him instead and never returned to Rick. The next thing he knew, Prince had formed his own girl group, Vanity 6, and made Vanity the lead singer.

Like we always say, there was rarely a dull day in the lives of some of our favorite icons and this is proof of that. May Prince, Vanity, and Rick James, forever rest in peace and we thank them for the timeless music and the priceless stories, like this one, that put smiles on our faces as we reminisce.

The post Rick James Once Detailed Heated Confrontation With Prince For ‘What Prince Did To His Mom’ appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

Singer/musician, Raphael Saadiq, has always been a private dude. So, for decades, not much has been known about his past. There’s one fact he revealed in recent years, that most fans of the former Tony! Toni! Toné! lead singer never knew. He once worked for the late, great Prince and when you see what Prince made him do, you will probably flip out…or at least lightly chuckle.

Raphael Saadiq On Working With Prince Back In The Day

In an interview with The Quietus, Raphael Saadiq revealed that at the age of 18 he auditioned to be Prince’s protege’ and also part of the band Prince created for Sheila E., during their “Parade Tour.” He was shocked when he made it, but didn’t let Prince know:

“I was taught by my dad not to look excited at the point Prince said my name. I played the bass guitar in my audition like Prince meant absolutely nothing to me,” [said Saadiq]. It worked, even if Prince’s non-standard take on masculinity would later come as a surprise.

Embed from Getty Images

What Prince Made Raphael Saadiq Do

The hilarious part is that Saadiq says in order to be in the band, he really had to become one of “The Blouses” that the late Charlie Murphy once spoke about in his infamous “Chappelle Show” skit. Check out what Saadiq said below…

Raphael Saadiq: “To be in the band you had to wear a ton of make-up, it was mandatory. You had to almost sign a contract to wear eyeliner, blusher and basically look like a girl. That Dave Chappelle skit was no joke, we literally were The Blouses!” After the shows with Prince, Saadiq would transform his appearance getting dressed back into a bomber jacket, Detroit Titans baseball cap and white T-shirt while rocking some 501s and Nike Quartet sneakers. “Prince liked that I dressed differently cos’ he could see I was my own person. I knew when I was playing ‘Erotic City’ in Yokohama, Japan, that my life had sort of changed.”

HILARIOUS! So that Charlie Murphy skit was exactly on point! Gotta love Prince..I tell, ya.’ Saadiq had more to say though…

Saadiq Not Fond Of Grammys, Nor Losing To Jennifer Hudson

Saadiq also discussed the #GrammysSoWhite backlash the Grammy Awards received a few years back, and why he chose to skip them. Not only did the talented musician and singer seemingly feel disrespected by losing to Jennifer Hudson in 2016, but he also agrees that the Grammy’s are out of touch with Black music.

“They’ve [The Grammy Awards] 100% lost their way and are out of touch. I remember The Way I See It lost to J-Hud at the Grammys! I wasn’t even surprised. If you have a day job and work in a corporate building then that’s who that show is for. Britney Spears won a Grammy before Steely Dan, that’s crazy!” Rather than ‘fix the Grammys’ as the likes of Kanye West have suggested, Saadiq says we should just let them die: “There’s no point sitting down and talking about it. All awards shows needs to get off TV and just die. Music would be much better if people didn’t make it for an award.”

Also when randomly asked about Donald Trump, Saadiq kept it real: “He is a comedian and a waste of time.”

These days, Raphael Saadiq is scoring several cable television series, including the hit HBO series, “Insecure,” starring Issa Rae. He’s also been in the studio working on FIRE music for true R&B music lovers to vibe to.

The post Raphael Saadiq Details Odd Demands Prince ‘Forced’ Him To Do When He Was In Prince’s Band appeared first on I Love Old School Music.

Back when R&B legend, Alexander O’Neal, was the lead singer for The Time (formerly named Flyte Time) – the band Prince formulated – he says he was kicked to the curb for a very biased reason. The “If You Were Here Tonight” crooner also made no qualms about his disdain for the way he claims Prince handled the situation. O’Neal also revealed who else reportedly betrayed him and the hurt he felt as a result of their actions. Scroll down to check out the details he gave in his interview with Blues And Soul, years prior to Prince’s passing.

CLAIMS: ‘TOO DARK SKINNED’ AND ‘TOO COMPLICATED’???

According to O’Neal, he was presumably kicked outta the group for being too opinionated, while others around him believe it was because Prince felt that he was too dark skinned to be the lead singer. Thus, replacing him with a lighter-hued brotha, Morris Day.

Alexander’ O’Neal: “Flyte Tyme was a wonderful band, and I felt we were on our way to getting a national deal. You know, I’d been picked to be the lead singer in a group owned by Prince; we’d started recording at Prince’s house… But then I got kicked out the band before I got kicked IN! Some people said it was because I was too black in skin pigmentation. But I still think it was because I was opinionated. I’d started showing I could think and started asking questions about the financial arrangements. But, you know, to be kicked out was heart-breaking.

WHY O’NEAL FELT BETRAYED AND DIDN’T RESPECT PRINCE’S DECISION

O’Neal explained how hurt and betrayed he felt after learning that the other members — including legendary producer duo, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis — were rehearsing presumably with the new lead singer, Morris Day, without telling him he was fired.

AO: “And the main thing I couldn’t respect about it was that Prince hadn’t been man enough to tell me. Because, all of a sudden, Flyte Tyme started rehearsing behind my back so they could become `The Time` without me! And all this time we were still doing gigs together! You know, they’d suddenly start mixing these new songs into the set and I’d be like ‘Where’s THIS coming from?’!”

Terry Lewis eventually came clean with O’Neal:

AO:”And the only one out of all of them with the balls to tell me what was happening was Terry Lewis! But, though when I got the news I was really hurt, a lotta times good things come out of a bad situation. And that was just fuel for the fire for me!”

HOW JIMMY JAM & TERRY LEWIS SAVED O’NEAL’S CAREER…AFTER PRINCE FIRED THEM TOO

According to O’Neal, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis were responsible for saving his career and staying true to a promise they’d made him after they had also gotten fired by Prince.

AO: “Because I felt that, if I was good enough to even be CONSIDERED for a group by Prince, then I must be good enough for the music industry! And, when Jimmy (Jam) and Terry (Lewis) came home from LA one summer night – after THEY’D got kicked outta The Time by Prince – they came into this club I was performing at in downtown Minneapolis and were like ‘Alex, when we get our plans off the ground we’re gonna get you a record deal’. And that’s exactly what they DID!”

Wow…if Alexander O’Neal’s story is accurate, then the way he was reportedly fired was unfair, to say the last. But you never know, Prince may have had a different recollection of the way things went down. For example, O’Neal never made it a secret that he’s battled with drug addiction -on and off- for several decades. So, could that have been a contributing factor in this scenario? Who knows? We certainly don’t, but it is worth mentioning.

However, if Prince simply fired O’Neal for being a dark-skinned brotha, then that was incredibly foul on so many levels.

We appreciate Alexander O’Neal for being so transparent about this; and  may Prince continue to rest in peace and power.

-ILoveOldSchoolMusic, old School news with a new point of view

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