The Family

Warner Bros. Records

The Family is an ensemble put together by Prince in 1984 following the dissolution of The Time shortly after the release of the band’s third LP Ice Cream Castle. The Time’s three Prince loyalists were absorbed into a newly created band named The Family: “St” Paul Peterson appointed its lead singer and keyboardist, was joined by “Jellybean” Johnson (drums) and Jerome Benton (percussion). Eric Leeds who was hired to played saxophone on Purple Rain Tour was also incorporated into the new band, as was vocalist Susannah Melvoin – twin sister of The Revolution’s Wendy. The remaining instruments were performed by Prince himself.

The Family was written by Prince, under the pseudonym of Jamie Starr, during the Purple Rain Tour, and was the inaugural side-project he released under the newly formed Paisley Park Records. Recording took place throughout the summer of 1984 at Prince’s warehouse studio at Flying Cloud Drive in Minneapolis. The project was comprised of people Prince considered as family. In the aftermath of the disbanding of The Time, Prince desired to maintain a side project. Its creation coincided with his blossoming relationship with Susannah Melvoin who had just then become Prince’s fiancee. His love for Susannah provided inspiration to the songs Nothing Compares 2 U, Empty Room, Condition Of The Heart, Forever In My Life, and If I Was Your Girlfriend. The formation of The Family was thereby Prince’s way to keeping her close in the studio. Prince even had designs to give Susannah the lead female part in his forthcoming movie Under The Cherry Moon but abandoned the idea once it became apparent she harboured no acting talent. Benton, close friend of Prince, would too receive a key role in the movie. Johnson and Benton were incorporated into The Family in reward of their loyalty following the breakup of The Time in 1984. Paul Peterson, joining The Time in 1983 in replacement of Monte Moir, became the face of the new band. In the short time of working with Prince, Eric Leeds had become a key influence on Prince’s artistic direction having introduced Prince to jazz and would go on co-found his next side project Madhouse.

A promotional tour to support The Family was planned but even before the album’s release the group disbanded after Paul Peterson suddenly quit to embark on a solo career. Peterson’s departure was a bitter slight to Prince, which is noted in his lyrics for Dream Factory “So I’m quittin’ my friends much to their surprise”, in 1986. When that song was released in 1998 on Crystal Ball the liner notes expanded: “Written for a turncoat, who after a quick brush with success, lost themselves in a haze of wine, women and pills… or so the fiction goes?” The Family was thusly the band’s first and only record. The Family is notable for two reasons in Prince lore for containing the original 1984 recording of Nothing Compares 2 U which he later passed to Sinead O’Connor to rerecord in 1990, garnering Prince a Grammy nomination for Song Of The Year. The second is the only studio release of the much loved The Revolution outtake Mutiny, which was also performed in Parade Tour.

I guess I’m just a sucker in the dream factory

Susannah Melvoin was the inspiration behind Nothing Compares 2 U as well as other key tracks of the period, such as Wally, Forever In My Life and If I Was Your Girlfriend – created in the studio sessions for Sign O The Times. She and Prince separated in December 1986. Prince later worked with Paul Peterson’s pianist bother and producer Ricky in the sessions that produced The Gold Experience and Emancipation. The Family reunited (sans Prince) in 2011 renamed fDeluxe and produced two studio albums, Gaslight in 2011 and AM Static 2014, neither receiving Prince input. Also notably, River Runs Dry, which Prince co-wrote with The Revolution’s Bobby Z, produced Prince’s first collaboration with Clare Fischer who composed the orchestral arrangement. Fischer would play an integral part in the creation of Prince’s next LP Parade and worked with Prince until Fischer’s death in 2012. Prince’s production on the album is credited to Bobby Z’s brother and recording engineer David Rivkin as well as The Family. The cover shot is by fashion photographer Horst Paul Albert Bohrmann famed for his style of black and white old Hollywood glamour.

Photography by Horst Paul Albert Bohrmann

The Family

All instruments: Prince
Vocals/Bass: "St." Paul Peterson
Drums: Jellybean Johnson
Keyboards: Susannah Melvoin
Saxophone: Eric Leeds
Percussion: Jerome Benton
Guitar: Wendy Melvoin ^Yes
Orchestration: Clare Fischer ^{River Run Dry and The Screams Of Passion}

Data

Production

Prince (as The Family)

Label

Paisley Park Records

Distribution

Warner Bros. Records

Cover/Design

Horst Paul Albert Bohrmann and Laura LiPuma

Released

38 years ago on 12 August 1985

Running Time

36:01

US Chart Peak

UK Chart Peak

Did not chart

Orig. Formats

Tracklist

High Fashion [feat. Susannah Melvoin] (5:06)
Mutiny (3:57)
The Screams Of Passion [feat. Susannah Melvoin] (5:26)
Yes (4:27)
River Run Dry [feat. Susannah Melvoin] (3:31) ¹
Nothing Compares 2 U [feat. Susannah Melvoin] (4:31)
Susannah's Pyjamas (3:58)
Desire [feat. Susannah Melvoin] (4:58)

Released as a single

¹ Written by Bobby Z.

Singles from The Family

The Screams Of Passion

Paisley Park Records

Released: 19 July 1985
Distribution: Warner Bros. Records
US Chart Peak: -
UK Chart Peak: -

The Screams Of Passion [Edit] (3:10)
Yes (4:27)

High Fashion

Paisley Park Records

Released: 6 December 1985
Distribution: Warner Bros. Records
US Chart Peak: -
UK Chart Peak: -

High Fashion [Edit] (3:45)
Susannah's Pajamas (3:58)

The Family – review

In truth, Prince created The Family to keep fiancée Susannah Melvion involved in the studio. But the legacy of their debut album (there have been others since but none close to ‘the real thing’) is writ large in Prince’s story. Two of the songs became the stuff of legend: Mutiny, a Prince track showcased in the Purple Rain tour but never included as one of his B-sides, it was instead given to The Family to record. The other is Nothing Compares 2 U, the original version of the song he gave famously to Sinead O’Connor who rerecorded in in 1990 and turned it into her one hit record (they fell out over it and didn’t speak again since). The song, however, was written about Susannah and Prince’s fears about their faltering engagement. Yet, dare I say these are not its best tracks, that distinction belongs to Desire, a charming, soaring score that’s got a soothing heartbeat it would be wonderful to hear Prince’s vocals, but St Paul Peterson does a terrific job. There are also two instrumentals, Yes and Susannah’s Pyjamas, sowing the seed for the subsequent Madhouse project. Although it was until only recently was I bought into the Madhouse vibe – feeling the project a distraction from Prince’s direction of travel and more something that he just needed to get out of his system in order to move on – the tracks are nonetheless better than the two album’s worth of material created under the Madhouse project. So crucial was The Family, when Prince created his own label Paisley Park Records this was the second record issued under it, following his own Around The World In A Day.

The Family is rated 4.5 out of 5 by Goldies Parade.