The Family was a R&B band formed by Prince and one of the first signed to his record label, Paisley Park Records. Rhythm and blues (or R & B) is a musical marketing term introduced in the United States in the late 1940s by Billboard magazine. ... Due to technical limitations, some web browsers may not display some special characters in this article. ... Paisley Park Records was Princes record label, associated with and funded by Warner Bros. ...

The band's origins started with the disintigration of The Time in 1984. Lead singer Morris Day and guitarist Jesse Johnson left the band to persue solo careers. A few of The Time's newer member followed Johnson to join his backing band (called The Review). The Time had served as an outlet for Prince to release more music and wanted to fill that void with a new band. The remaining members of The Time, Jellybean Johnson, Jerome Benton and St. Paul Peterson agreed to participate in the new project, with Peterson as the new frontman and bassist. To the mix, Prince added his girlfriend Susannah Melvoin, the twin sister of Revolution guitarist Wendy Melvoin, as a backing singer and keyboardist. The fifth member was, Eric Leeds, the brother of Prince's tour manager Alan Leeds, who provided saxophone and flute. Prince named the new group "The Family", perhaps due to family members of associates being in the band. The Time were a funk and dance-pop ensemble of the early- and mid-80s. ... Morris Day, born on December 13, 1957 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, is an American musician and composer. ... Jesse Johnson is a musician best known as the guitarist in the original lineup of The Time. ... The Revolution was Princes backing band in the late 1970s through the mid-80s. ... Wendy and Lisa are a musical duo comprised of musicians Lisa Coleman and Wendy Melvoin that formed in the mid 1980s. ...

Much like The Time, the band's material was composed entirely by Prince, with the exception of "River Run Dry", which was written by Bobby "Z" Rivkin. Prince wrote and performed all the other tracks and simply overdubbed Paul and Susannah's vocals and added saxophone and flute by Leeds. Indeed, on several tracks, Prince's vocals can be clearly heard. Some of the original demos are circulating amongst fans with Prince's lead vocals. As on other associates' albums, Prince falsely gave credit to the various band members for writing credits, though he kept his name on "Nothing Compares 2 U", perhaps sensing the song's hit potential. Bobby Z Rivkin is a Jewish American musician and producer who was a member of Princes former band, The Revolution. ... Les Paul, a pioneer of multi-track recording. ... Outspoken and controversial Irish singer Sinead OConnor will always be most remembered for her version of Princes Nothing Compares 2 U. The song was originally recorded in the early 1980s by Minneapolis group The Family. However, it was Sinead who brought the song to worldwide prominence. ...

Band members

• St. Paul Peterson (vocals, keyboards and bass)
• Susannah Melvoin (vocals and keyboards)
• Jerome Benton (vocals,comic foil and percussion)
• Jellybean Johnson (drums)
• Eric Leeds (saxophone and flute)
• Mico Weaver (guitar, not credited on album)

Although the band performed a single concert and released a self-titled album, the project turned out to be short-lived. Peterson felt constricted by Prince's control and opted to pursue his own career. Without a lead singer, Prince lost interest and absorbed most of the remaining members into the expanded Revolution (with the exception of Johnson, who went on to join the Flyte Time music production team of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis). Susannah Melvoin is a vocalist, songwriter and actress who got her start working with Prince in the mid-eighties during twin sister Wendy Melvoins stint with Prince & The Revolution. ... Jerome Benton is a musical performer, mostly as a backup dancer and comedic antics to various musical acts. ... Jellybean Johnson is a guitarist, songwriter, producer and musician from Minneapolis, Minnesota. ... Eric Leeds is an American jazz musician who specializes in the saxophone and other woodwind and brass instruments. ... A classical music concert in the Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne. ... 33â…“ LP vinyl record for The Beatles Magical Mystery Tour album from the 1960s. ... Jimmy Jam (born James Harris III in Minneapolis, Minnesota on June 6, 1959) and Terry Lewis (born November 21, 1956 in Omaha, Nebraska) are an R&B and pop songwriting and record production team who enjoyed great success in the 1980s with various artists, most notably Janet Jackson. ... Jam and Lewis (Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis) are R & B writer/producers who enjoyed great success in the 1980s with various artists, most notably Janet Jackson. ... Terence Lewis (born December 29, 1935) is a politician in the United Kingdom. ...

Album

The Family
Album by The Family
Released	1985
Recorded	1984
Genre	Pop, R&B, Funk, Jazz
Length	???
Label	Paisley Park Records
Producer(s)	Prince
The Family chronology
N/A	The Family (1985)	N/A

The Family contains of eight tracks consisting of funk-jazz with two instrumentals and three ballads. A single was released for "The Screams of Passion", a modest hit which was re-released in 1996 on the Girl 6 soundtrack. The album's crowning achievement, however was "Nothing Compares 2 U", an emotional ballad covered five years later by Sinéad O'Connor. Image File history File links The_Family_LP.jpg‎ Summary Album cover for The Family (1985) Licensing This image is of a music album or single cover, and the copyright for it is most likely owned by either the publisher of the album or the artist(s) which produced the music or... 33â…“ LP vinyl record for The Beatles Magical Mystery Tour album from the 1960s. ... This article is about the year. ... A music genre is a category (or genre) of pieces of music that share a certain style or basic musical language (van der Merwe 1989, p. ... For Popular music (music that is popular, rather than being of a specific genre or style), see Popular music. ... Rhythm and blues (or R & B) is a musical marketing term introduced in the United States in the late 1940s by Billboard magazine. ... Funk is a distinct style of music originated by African Americans, e. ... Jazz is an original American musical art form originating around the start of the 20th century in New Orleans. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Paisley Park Records was Princes record label, associated with and funded by Warner Bros. ... In the music industry, a record producer (or music producer) has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the performers, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes. ... Due to technical limitations, some web browsers may not display some special characters in this article. ... Funk is a distinct style of music originated by African Americans, e. ... Jazz is an original American musical art form originating around the start of the 20th century in New Orleans. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... A ballad is a story in a song, usually a narrative song or poem. ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... DVD cover Girl 6 is a 1996 film by American director Spike Lee about a phone sex operator. ... Soundtrack refers to the recorded sound accompanying a visual medium such as a motion picture, television show, or video game. ... Outspoken and controversial Irish singer Sinead OConnor will always be most remembered for her version of Princes Nothing Compares 2 U. The song was originally recorded in the early 1980s by Minneapolis group The Family. However, it was Sinead who brought the song to worldwide prominence. ... Sinéad Marie Bernadette OConnor (born December 8, 1966) is an Irish singer and songwriter. ...

Tracklist

1. "High Fashion"
2. "Mutiny"
3. "The Screams of Passion"
4. "Yes"
5. "Nothing Compares 2 U"
6. "River Run Dry"
7. "Susannah's Pajamas"
8. "Desire"

Outspoken and controversial Irish singer Sinead OConnor will always be most remembered for her version of Princes Nothing Compares 2 U. The song was originally recorded in the early 1980s by Minneapolis group The Family. However, it was Sinead who brought the song to worldwide prominence. ...

External link

• Video for "The Screams of Passion" at YouTube