The Revolution (band) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Revolution was an American rock

Rock music

Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...

band formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...

in 1979 by Prince

Prince (musician)

Prince Rogers Nelson , often known simply as Prince, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Prince has produced ten platinum albums and thirty Top 40 singles during his career. Prince founded his own recording studio and label; writing, self-producing and playing most, or all, of...

. Although widely associated with rock music, the band's sound incorporated heavy metal

Heavy metal music

Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...

, pop

Pop music

Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...

, funk

Funk

Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...

, R&B

Rhythm and blues

Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...

and hard rock

Hard rock

Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...

elements. Before their official break-up, The Revolution had released one studio album, two soundtracks, and two videos. The band is known for its many members, varied in race and gender.

The Revolution rose to international fame in the mid 1980s with Purple Rain

Purple Rain (album)

Purple Rain is the sixth studio album by Prince, the first to officially be credited to Prince and The Revolution, and is the soundtrack album to the 1984 film Purple Rain.Purple Rain is regularly ranked among the best albums in pop music history...

, selling over 16 million albums in the United States alone. The band achieved two number-one Billboard 200

Billboard 200

The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...

albums (Purple Rain

Purple Rain (album)

and Around the World in a Day

Around the World in a Day

Around the World in a Day is the seventh studio album by Prince and the second by The Revolution, released on April 22, 1985 on Warner Bros. In compliance with Prince's wishes, the record company released the album with minimal publicity, not even releasing an accompanying single until almost a...

), six top ten singles on the Billboard Hot 100

Billboard Hot 100

The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...

chart, and won three Grammy Award

Grammy Award

A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...

s. The band officially disbanded in 1986 after the Hit n Run – Parade Tour, which supported Parade, the soundtrack for Under the Cherry Moon

Under the Cherry Moon

Under the Cherry Moon is a 1986 film directed by and starring Prince as a gigolo named Christopher Tracy and Time member Jerome Benton as his partner, Tricky. Together, the pair swindle wealthy French women...

Early years

When Prince formed his backing band after the release of his first album, he followed in the footsteps of one of his idols, Sly Stone

Sly Stone

Sly Stone is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer, most famous for his role as frontman for Sly & the Family Stone, a band which played a critical role in the development of soul, funk and psychedelia in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1993, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of...

by creating a multi-racial, multi-gendered musical ensemble

Musical ensemble

A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...

. The band initially consisted of:

Prince
Prince (musician)
Prince Rogers Nelson , often known simply as Prince, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Prince has produced ten platinum albums and thirty Top 40 singles during his career. Prince founded his own recording studio and label; writing, self-producing and playing most, or all, of...

on lead vocals
Lead vocalist
The lead vocalist is the member of a band who sings the main vocal portions of a song. They may also play one or more instruments. Lead vocalists are sometimes referred to as the frontman or frontwoman, and as such, are usually considered to be the "leader" of the groups they perform in, often the...

, guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...

, and piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
Dez Dickerson
Dez Dickerson
Dez Dickerson is an American guitarist and singer who was a member of Prince's former band, The Revolution.-Biography:...

on guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
André Cymone
André Cymone
André Cymone is an American bassist, songwriter and record producer. Cymone was a bass guitarist for recording artist Prince's touring band, pre-Revolution. Cymone began a solo career in 1981. His song, "The Dance Electric" , reached number ten on the R&B charts...

on bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
Bobby Z.
Bobby Z.
Robert B. Rivkin , better known by the stage name Bobby Z., is an American musician and record producer, most known as being a member of Prince's band from 1978–1986, and as a member of The Revolution.-Biography:...

on drums
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....

& percussion
Percussion instrument
A percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
Gayle Chapman on keyboards
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
Matt Fink
Doctor Fink
Matthew Robert "Matt" Fink, better known by the stage name Doctor Fink, is an American keyboardist, record producer, and songwriter. He is most known as a member of The Revolution, the backing band for pop musician Prince. Fink won a Grammy Award...

on keyboards
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...

Though officially unnamed, Prince experimented with the band acting as a side project known as The Rebels, recording material in 1979 in Colorado

Colorado

Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...

, just as a side project to get more music out. The recordings were a group effort with lead vocals by Cymone, Dickerson or Chapman. The project was shelved for unknown reasons, however two of the tracks would later be re-recorded and given away by Prince. "You", became "U", and was released on Paula Abdul

Paula Abdul

Paula Julie Abdul is an American singer-songwriter, dancer, choreographer, actress and television personality.In the 1980s, Abdul rose from cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers to highly sought-after choreographer at the height of the music video era before scoring a string of pop music-R&B hits...

's Spellbound album while "If I Love U 2nite

If I Love U 2nite

"If I Love U 2nite" is Mayte's solo debut, and the first single from her album, Child of the Sun. Mayte's narration of her love story, in which she and her lover's first date was "in bed", and she asks him if he'll love her forever. The song was suggested to be about Prince, whom she was dating at...

" was released by both Mica Paris

Mica Paris

Mica Paris is an English soul singer, radio and television presenter, and occasional actress. Her forename is pronounced Misha.-Beginnings:Paris' roots are in soul and gospel music...

and Prince's later wife, Mayte Garcia. Paris rerecorded the song from scratch. Garcia's version was rerecorded by Prince.

The Pre-Revolution

On the next two tours following the Prince Tour, the band underwent two line-up changes. Gayle Chapman, who had strong religious beliefs as a member of The Way

The Way International

The Way International is a non denominational Christian ministry based in New Knoxville, Ohio, with home fellowships located in the United States and in over 30 other countries. It was founded by Victor Paul Wierwille in 1942 as a radio program, and became The Chimes Hour Youth Caravan in 1947, and...

, quit the band in 1980 due to performing the sexually explicit lyrics of Prince's music, furthermore she disliked having to kiss her bandleader rather suggestively during the song "Head". The end came when she told Prince she planned to go on a trip with her Way group, but Prince wanted her to commit to some short-noticed rehearsals instead. After a long argument, Chapman quit the group to be replaced by Lisa Coleman

Lisa Coleman (musician)

Lisa Coleman is an American Emmy® Award winning musician and composer. Coleman plays piano and keyboards. She was a member of Prince's backing band The Revolution from 1980-1986. She is currently one half of the musical duo Wendy & Lisa, formed with Wendy Melvoin in 1986.-Early life:Coleman's...

. Coleman was usually only identified by her first name, while Fink started wearing surgical scrubs

Scrubs (clothing)

Scrubs are the shirts and trousers or gowns worn by nurses , surgeons, and other operating room personnel when "scrubbing in" for surgery. In the United Kingdom, they are sometimes known as Theatre Blues. They are designed to be simple with minimal places for dirt to hide, easy to launder, and...

on stage and became known as "Doctor" Fink. Fink originally wore a black and white striped prison jumpsuit. However, a member of Rick James' band was doing the same thing and not wanting to copy that, Prince asked Fink, "Do you have any other ideas?" Fink said, "What about a doctor's outfit?" Prince loved the idea, and thus was born Doctor Fink.

The following year, after the Dirty Mind Tour

Dirty Mind Tour

The Dirty Mind Tour was the second concert tour by Prince, and supported his third album Dirty Mind. The tour lasted from late December 1980 through April 1981.-History:...

, bass guitarist André Cymone would leave the band. Cymone, whose family gave Prince a home after he left his father's house, left over a number of grievances with Prince - little input in the studio, he wasn't getting credit for his contributions to Prince's music, and in general his desire to start his own career- and would have bitter feelings toward Prince as he later claimed that Prince stole many of his ideas that were used for The Time

The Time (band)

The Time is a funk and dance-pop ensemble formed in 1981. They are close Prince associates and arguably the most successful artists who have worked with him.-Prince, Formation and Success:...

and that he created the bassline for Controversys "Do Me, Baby

Do Me, Baby

"Do Me, Baby" is a Prince ballad, the third and final U.S. single from his 1981 album, Controversy. With a running time of almost eight minutes, it is the longest track on the album. The song was written by André Cymone, but credited to Prince....

". Ultimately, Cymone was replaced by Mark Brown, renamed Brownmark

Brownmark

Mark Brown , better known by the stage name Brown Mark, also styled Brownmark and BrownMark, is an American musician and record producer.-Biography:...

by Prince.

From 1982-1983, when the band was almost identified as The Revolution, it consisted of:

Prince
Prince (musician)
Prince Rogers Nelson , often known simply as Prince, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Prince has produced ten platinum albums and thirty Top 40 singles during his career. Prince founded his own recording studio and label; writing, self-producing and playing most, or all, of...

on lead vocals, guitar, and piano
Dez Dickerson
Dez Dickerson
Dez Dickerson is an American guitarist and singer who was a member of Prince's former band, The Revolution.-Biography:...

on guitar
Brown Mark
Brownmark
Mark Brown , better known by the stage name Brown Mark, also styled Brownmark and BrownMark, is an American musician and record producer.-Biography:...

on bass
Bobby Z.
Bobby Z.
Robert B. Rivkin , better known by the stage name Bobby Z., is an American musician and record producer, most known as being a member of Prince's band from 1978–1986, and as a member of The Revolution.-Biography:...

on drums & percussion
Lisa Coleman
Lisa Coleman (musician)
Lisa Coleman is an American Emmy® Award winning musician and composer. Coleman plays piano and keyboards. She was a member of Prince's backing band The Revolution from 1980-1986. She is currently one half of the musical duo Wendy & Lisa, formed with Wendy Melvoin in 1986.-Early life:Coleman's...

on keyboards and piano
Matt Fink
Doctor Fink
Matthew Robert "Matt" Fink, better known by the stage name Doctor Fink, is an American keyboardist, record producer, and songwriter. He is most known as a member of The Revolution, the backing band for pop musician Prince. Fink won a Grammy Award...

on keyboards

The words "and the Revolution" can be seen printed backwards on the cover of his fourth album 1999

1999 (album)

1999 is the fifth studio album by Prince, released on October 27, 1982. It was his first top ten album on the Billboard 200 chart in the United States 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...

. The band members were curious as to if they were getting a real name, but Prince had held back from fully calling the group The Revolution partly because of Dez Dickerson's

Dez Dickerson

Dez Dickerson is an American guitarist and singer who was a member of Prince's former band, The Revolution.-Biography:...

wishes to leave the band. When the 1999 Tour

1999 Tour

The 1999 Tour, was up till then, Prince's longest tour of the U.S. in support of his fifth studio album 1999. In addition, to Prince and his band, his latest all girl group Vanity 6 made their first live act tour along with the returning Time....

ended, Dez Dickerson

Dez Dickerson

Dez Dickerson is an American guitarist and singer who was a member of Prince's former band, The Revolution.-Biography:...

finally left the band for religious reasons and was replaced by Lisa's childhood friend Wendy Melvoin

Wendy Melvoin

Wendy Melvoin is an American guitarist and singer-songwriter, best known for her work with Prince as part of his backing band The Revolution, and for her collaboration with Lisa Coleman as one half of the duo Wendy & Lisa....

. Prince told Dickerson that he needed three years from him, and Dickerson wasn't willing to commit. Prince told Dickerson he'd leave him on payroll and honor his contract, which Prince did. Dickerson went on to eventually work for independent Christian record label Star Song. The Melvoin-Coleman

Wendy & Lisa

Wendy & Lisa are a music duo consisting of Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman. They began working with Prince in the early 1980s and were part of his band The Revolution, before branching out on their own and releasing their debut album in 1987...

tandem shortly thereafter formed a special bond with Prince and greatly influenced his output during the rest of their tenure in the band. Prince's former mostly R&B/funk offerings would be more diversified with rock, pop and classical music elements.

Debut album: Purple Rain

Prince and The Revolution's best-selling album, Purple Rain

Purple Rain (album)

produced by Prince and The Revolution themselves, peaked at number one on the Billboard 200

Billboard 200

knocking the Bruce Springsteen

Bruce Springsteen

Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...

's Born in the U.S.A.

Born in the U.S.A.

Born in the U.S.A. is the seventh studio album by American rock singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen, released on June 4, 1984. A critical and commercial triumph, it found Springsteen marking a departure in his sound...

from the number one spot. The album was released in the end of June 1984 and featured the singles "When Doves Cry

When Doves Cry

A hit cover version by R&B singer Ginuwine was produced by Timbaland in 1996 for Ginuwine's The Bachelor album, Ginuwine's cover uses actual dove sound effects as texture for its jungle music-inspired instrumental track.-Charts:-Other cover versions:...

", "Let's Go Crazy

Let's Go Crazy

"Let's Go Crazy" is a 1984 song by Prince and The Revolution, from the album, Purple Rain. It was the opening track on both the album, and the film Purple Rain. "Let's Go Crazy" is one of Prince's most popular songs, and is almost always a staple for concert performances, often segueing into other...

", "Purple Rain

Purple Rain (song)

"Purple Rain" is a power ballad by Prince and The Revolution. It is the title track from the 1984 album of the same name, which in turn is the soundtrack album for the 1984 film of the same name, and was released as the third single from that album. The song is a combination of rock, pop, gospel,...

", "I Would Die 4 U

I Would Die 4 U

"I Would Die 4 U" is a song by Prince and The Revolution, and the fourth single in the U.S. from their 1984 album, Purple Rain. The up-tempo dance song was a top 10 hit in the U.S., reaching number 8 on the Hot 100....

", and "Take Me with U

Take Me with U

"Take Me With U" is a song by Prince and The Revolution, and the final U.S. single released from their album, Purple Rain. It is a pop song notable for the drum solo and finger cymbals that open the song and repeat again toward the end....

". All the singles had accompanying music video

Music video

A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...

s and all charted on the Billboard Hot 100 but only the first four peaked within the top 10 while "When Doves Cry" and "Let's Go Crazy" topped the chart. "When Doves Cry

When Doves Cry

" would become the most successful single from Purple Rain at the time of its release on the pop charts, reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100 as well as the Dance and R&B chart.

The song "Purple Rain" won two Grammy Award

Grammy Award

A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...

s for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal and Best Instrumental Composition Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or for Television. The album spent 24 weeks at number one and would eventually be certified thirteen times platinum in the United States, six times platinum in Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

and two times platinum in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

. Purple Rain would become the first official appearance of The Revolution. At the time of the release the band contained:

Prince
Prince (musician)
Prince Rogers Nelson , often known simply as Prince, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Prince has produced ten platinum albums and thirty Top 40 singles during his career. Prince founded his own recording studio and label; writing, self-producing and playing most, or all, of...

on lead vocals, guitar, and piano
Wendy Melvoin
Wendy Melvoin
Wendy Melvoin is an American guitarist and singer-songwriter, best known for her work with Prince as part of his backing band The Revolution, and for her collaboration with Lisa Coleman as one half of the duo Wendy & Lisa....

on guitar and vocals
Brown Mark
Brownmark
Mark Brown , better known by the stage name Brown Mark, also styled Brownmark and BrownMark, is an American musician and record producer.-Biography:...

on bass guitar and vocals
Lisa Coleman
Lisa Coleman (musician)
Lisa Coleman is an American Emmy® Award winning musician and composer. Coleman plays piano and keyboards. She was a member of Prince's backing band The Revolution from 1980-1986. She is currently one half of the musical duo Wendy & Lisa, formed with Wendy Melvoin in 1986.-Early life:Coleman's...

on keyboards, piano and vocals
Matt "Doctor" Fink
Doctor Fink
Matthew Robert "Matt" Fink, better known by the stage name Doctor Fink, is an American keyboardist, record producer, and songwriter. He is most known as a member of The Revolution, the backing band for pop musician Prince. Fink won a Grammy Award...

on keyboards and vocals
Bobby Z.
Bobby Z.
Robert B. Rivkin , better known by the stage name Bobby Z., is an American musician and record producer, most known as being a member of Prince's band from 1978–1986, and as a member of The Revolution.-Biography:...

on drums

Expansion: 1985-1986

They lasted as such through 1986's Hit n Run – Parade Tour. In 1985, members of the then soon-to-be-defunct R&B/pop group The Family

The Family (band)

The Family is a band formed by Prince, and one of the first signed to his record label, Paisley Park Records. The band renamed themselves Fdeluxe in 2009.-History:...

(which, in turn, included former members of another disbanded Prince-associated group, The Time

The Time (band)

The Time is a funk and dance-pop ensemble formed in 1981. They are close Prince associates and arguably the most successful artists who have worked with him.-Prince, Formation and Success:...

) joined The Revolution, along with people from Sheila E.

Sheila E.

Sheila Escovedo , known by her stage name Sheila E., is an American drummer and percussionist, perhaps best known for her work with Prince, George Duke and Ringo Starr.-Early life and Prince period:...

's band. The "Counter-Revolution" line-up:

Prince
Prince (musician)
Prince Rogers Nelson , often known simply as Prince, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Prince has produced ten platinum albums and thirty Top 40 singles during his career. Prince founded his own recording studio and label; writing, self-producing and playing most, or all, of...

on lead vocals, guitar, and piano
Wendy Melvoin
Wendy Melvoin
Wendy Melvoin is an American guitarist and singer-songwriter, best known for her work with Prince as part of his backing band The Revolution, and for her collaboration with Lisa Coleman as one half of the duo Wendy & Lisa....

on guitar and vocals
Brown Mark
Brownmark
Mark Brown , better known by the stage name Brown Mark, also styled Brownmark and BrownMark, is an American musician and record producer.-Biography:...

on bass guitar and vocals
Bobby Z.
Bobby Z.
Robert B. Rivkin , better known by the stage name Bobby Z., is an American musician and record producer, most known as being a member of Prince's band from 1978–1986, and as a member of The Revolution.-Biography:...

on drums
Lisa Coleman
Lisa Coleman (musician)
Lisa Coleman is an American Emmy® Award winning musician and composer. Coleman plays piano and keyboards. She was a member of Prince's backing band The Revolution from 1980-1986. She is currently one half of the musical duo Wendy & Lisa, formed with Wendy Melvoin in 1986.-Early life:Coleman's...

on keyboards, piano and vocals
Matt Fink
Doctor Fink
Matthew Robert "Matt" Fink, better known by the stage name Doctor Fink, is an American keyboardist, record producer, and songwriter. He is most known as a member of The Revolution, the backing band for pop musician Prince. Fink won a Grammy Award...

on keyboards and vocals
Miko Weaver
Miko Weaver
Miko Weaver is an American guitarist best known for his work with Prince.Weaver came to Prince's attention when he was a member of Sheila E.'s band. He and some other members of the band joined The Revolution in the studio to record a jam of "I Would Die 4 U" that would later become the song's...

on guitar¹
Susannah Melvoin
Susannah Melvoin
Susannah Melvoin is an American vocalist and songwriter, best known for her association with Prince in the mid-1980s. Coming from a musical family, Melvoin is the twin sister of musician Wendy Melvoin, sister to the late Jonathan Melvoin , and daughter of jazz pianist Michael...

on backing vocals²
Eric Leeds
Eric Leeds
Eric Leeds is an American jazz and funk musician who plays the saxophone and other woodwind and brass instruments. He is best known for his work with Prince.- Biography :Leeds was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the son of a retailer...

on saxophone
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...

³
Matt "Atlanta Bliss" Blistan
Atlanta Bliss
Atlanta Bliss is the stage name of Matthew Blistan, an American jazz musician who specializes in the trumpet. He is most well known for his work with Prince from 1986–1989. He came to Prince's attention through his association with Eric Leeds. The duo had been in a jazz group prior to working...

on trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...

⁴
Jerome Benton
Jerome Benton
Jerome Benton is an American musical performer, backup dancer and comedic actor. He can be seen in music videos by Janet Jackson and Prince, but he is best known for his association with The Time....

, Wally Safford and Greg Brooks as dancers/vocalists/comic foils (known as The Bodyguards)⁵

For the Hit n Run – Parade Tour, the augmented Revolution with its several new members began to perform the jazz

Jazz

Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

y arrangements from the album, including the horn section

Horn section

In music, a horn section can refer to several groups of musicians. It can refer to the musicians in a symphony orchestra who play the horn . In a British-style brass band it refers to the tenor horn players. In popular music, it can also refer to a small group of wind instrumentalists who augment a...

Mico Weaver joined via association with Sheila E.

Sheila E.

and as session guitarist for The Family

The Family (band)

The Family is a band formed by Prince, and one of the first signed to his record label, Paisley Park Records. The band renamed themselves Fdeluxe in 2009.-History:...

Susannah Melvoin is a former member of The Family; she was Prince's then-lover and is the twin sister of Wendy Melvoin.

Eric Leeds is a former member of The Family; brother Alan served as Prince's then-tour manager.

Atlanta Bliss joined via association with friend and former bandmate Leeds. He was never a member of the Family.

Jerome Benton is the sole member of The Time
The Time (band)
The Time is a funk and dance-pop ensemble formed in 1981. They are close Prince associates and arguably the most successful artists who have worked with him.-Prince, Formation and Success:...

to join The Revolution through The Family due to the departures of St. Paul
Paul Peterson
Paul Peterson, also known as St. Paul, is a musician best known for his memberships in the bands The Family and The Time and the single "Intimacy."...

and Jellybean Johnson
Jellybean Johnson
Jellybean Johnson is an American drummer, guitarist, songwriter, producer and musician based out of Minneapolis, Minnesota...

.

Band members

Prince

Prince (musician)

Active: 1979–1986

Instruments: Lead vocals, lead guitar

Lead guitar

Lead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...

, piano

Dez Dickerson

Dez Dickerson is an American guitarist and singer who was a member of Prince's former band, The Revolution.-Biography:...

Active: 1979–1983

Instruments: lead guitar

Lead guitar

Lead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...

, vocals

André Cymone

André Cymone is an American bassist, songwriter and record producer. Cymone was a bass guitarist for recording artist Prince's touring band, pre-Revolution. Cymone began a solo career in 1981. His song, "The Dance Electric" , reached number ten on the R&B charts...

Active: 1979–1981

Instruments: bass guitar

Bass guitar

The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....

Gayle Chapman

Active: 1979–1980

Instruments: keyboards

Keyboard instrument

A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...

Bobby Z.

Robert B. Rivkin , better known by the stage name Bobby Z., is an American musician and record producer, most known as being a member of Prince's band from 1978–1986, and as a member of The Revolution.-Biography:...

Active: 1979–1986

Instruments: Drum

Drum kit

A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....

, percussion

Matt Fink

Doctor Fink

Matthew Robert "Matt" Fink, better known by the stage name Doctor Fink, is an American keyboardist, record producer, and songwriter. He is most known as a member of The Revolution, the backing band for pop musician Prince. Fink won a Grammy Award...

Active: 1979–1991 [continued thru the SOTT & Lovesexy era, Batman(is in the Partyman video] & the Nude tour for Graffiti Bridge

Instruments: keyboards

Lisa Coleman

Lisa Coleman (musician)

Active: 1980–1986

Instruments: keyboards

Brown Mark

Active: 1982–1986

Instruments: bass guitar

Wendy Melvoin

Active: 1983–1986

Instruments: lead guitar

Miko Weaver

Miko Weaver is an American guitarist best known for his work with Prince.Weaver came to Prince's attention when he was a member of Sheila E.'s band. He and some other members of the band joined The Revolution in the studio to record a jam of "I Would Die 4 U" that would later become the song's...

Active: 1985–1991 [continued thru the SOTT & Lovesexy era, Batman(is in the Partyman video] & the Nude tour for Graffiti Bridge

Instruments: lead guitar

Eric Leeds

Eric Leeds is an American jazz and funk musician who plays the saxophone and other woodwind and brass instruments. He is best known for his work with Prince.- Biography :Leeds was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the son of a retailer...

Active: 1985–1988 [continued thru the SOTT & Lovesexy era, some songs on the Graffiti Bridge album

Instruments: saxphone

Matt "Atlanta Bliss" Blistan

Atlanta Bliss

Atlanta Bliss is the stage name of Matthew Blistan, an American jazz musician who specializes in the trumpet. He is most well known for his work with Prince from 1986–1989. He came to Prince's attention through his association with Eric Leeds. The duo had been in a jazz group prior to working...

Active: 1985–1988 some songs on the Graffiti Bridge album

Instruments: trumpet

Trumpet

The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...

Susannah Melvoin

Susannah Melvoin is an American vocalist and songwriter, best known for her association with Prince in the mid-1980s. Coming from a musical family, Melvoin is the twin sister of musician Wendy Melvoin, sister to the late Jonathan Melvoin , and daughter of jazz pianist Michael...

Active: 1985–1986

Instruments: backing vocals

Jerome Benton

Jerome Benton is an American musical performer, backup dancer and comedic actor. He can be seen in music videos by Janet Jackson and Prince, but he is best known for his association with The Time....

Active: 1985–1986

Instruments: dancer, vocals

Wally Safford

Active: 1985–1987 [continued thru the SOTT era]

Instruments: dancer, vocals

Greg Brooks

Active: 1985–1987 [continued thru the SOTT era]

Instruments: dancer, vocals

Unreleased Revolution Album

Dream Factory

Dream Factory (album)

Dream Factory was an unreleased double LP project recorded by Prince and The Revolution from 1986.-History:Unlike the three previous Prince and The Revolution albums, the entire band was invited to the studio to contribute to a majority of the album's material, with the notable exceptions of "The...

was an unreleased double LP project recorded by Prince and The Revolution in 1986. Unlike the three previous The Revolution albums, the entire band contributed to most of the original tracks. The album was shelved by Prince following the dissolution of The Revolution.

Dissolution

Despite the stellar performance of the band on tour, discontent in The Revolution had been brewing and was about to reach a boiling point. Some of the original members were unhappy with all of the new additions to the band; Wendy was even bothered with the fact that Susannah, her twin, was in the band, saying "I shared a womb with this person, do I have to share a stage?" Coleman and Wendy Melvoin were also unhappy about the slapstick type antics that Prince had with the bodyguards on stage, feeling it was dismissive of the music and the band. Right before the Hit N Run - Parade Tour

Hit N Run - Parade Tour

The Hit N Run and Parade Tours were concert tours in support of Prince and The Revolution's latest album, Parade. The Hit N' Run Tour wasn't a full scale U.S. tour, but a string of concerts that was dubbed "Hit N' Run" by Prince's manager. Most of those shows were announced days or hours before the...

was scheduled to start, Brownmark

Brownmark

Mark Brown , better known by the stage name Brown Mark, also styled Brownmark and BrownMark, is an American musician and record producer.-Biography:...

and Wendy & Lisa

Wendy & Lisa

threatened to quit. Prince dispatched Bobby Z.

Bobby Z.

to the airport and literally caught Wendy Melvoin and Coleman before they boarded. Eventually all three were convinced to ride it out. Prince promised Brownmark a lot of money, but Brownmark settled for $3000 a week, a paltry sum based on other touring bands. He turned down a much more lucrative gig as bassist for Stevie Nicks, who was going on tour at that time. Brown has said that Prince never followed through on "all that money". But as the tour ended, on the final night in Yokohama, Japan, Prince smashed up all of his guitars after a final encore of "Sometimes It Snows In April".

Shortly after the Parade tour in October 1986, after all the tension between Prince, Wendy Melvoin, and Coleman due to his relationship with Susannah, Prince invited Wendy Melvoin and Coleman to dinner at his rented Beverly Hills home and fired them both. Unhappy with their lack of credit and creativity, Wendy & Lisa went on to perform as a duo. Susannah ended up leaving the Revolution too, following a hurtful breakup with Prince, and performed for a time with Wendy & Lisa as a backup singer in their band.

He then called Bobby Z. to tell him that he was being replaced by the more versatile Sheila E, although he was kept on payroll for quite a few years after the fact, honoring Z's contract. Bobby Z would release a solo album in 1989.

Brownmark was asked to stay but quit. Although he said it was "partly out of loyalty to the others" and also because he was "unhappy with the direction of Prince's music at the time", it was probably so he could concentrate on his burgeoning career as a solo artist and as a record producer for himself and other artists.

Matt Fink

Doctor Fink

remained with Prince until 1991, when similar to the exit of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis from The Time, Matt Fink told Prince he wasn't available for two dates at the Rock in Rio festival as he was busy producing for another band at the time and found himself replaced by Tommy Barbarella

Tommy Barbarella

Tommy Barbarella is an American keyboardist. He was a member of The New Power Generation, Prince's recording and stage band, from 1991–1996.In 2010, Barbarella became a member of Nick Jonas and the Administration along with other former members of The New Power Generation, drummer Michael Bland...

. However, Fink also stated in a 2001 interview that he was tired of being in the band. When Prince filmed Graffiti Bridge, Prince wanted Fink to "rehearse the band" and was told that "there wasn't really anywhere in the movie for him." After the ensuing Nude Tour

Nude Tour

The Nude Tour was a greatest hits concert tour by Prince. While the previous tour drew critical praise, the high cost of the concert tour production made it a financial disappointment, thus Prince eliminated much of the excessiveness of the previous tour to be more financially viable...

, essentially a greatest hits-type tour, Fink left for a career writing music for video games, and working at K-Tel Records, based out of Minneapolis. Unlike his fellow bandmates Fink did not immediately release any solo material, an album not being released until 2001.

In 2000 there was rumor of a reunion and a new album called Roadhouse Garden, but Prince scrapped the plans after Wendy & Lisa backed out of the project. Prince asked Wendy & Lisa to come to Minneapolis to finish Roadhouse Garden. Wendy & Lisa asked that Prince pay for their hotel and expenses while in Minneapolis. Prince refused, and not wanting to spend all their own money on a Prince project, they declined to work on the album. Prince would later tell people to "ask Wendy & Lisa", when asked about the status of Roadhouse Garden.

Legacy

Mini-reunions of The Revolution have taken place in several forms over the past decade.

In 2000, Prince had a celebration concert in his hometown of Minneapolis, Minnesota

Minnesota

Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...

and asked if any former bandmates wished to perform. Dr. Fink, Bobby Z. and Brown Mark appeared and joined Prince on stage to perform the song "America

America (Prince song)

"America" is a song by Prince and The Revolution. It was the final U.S. single from the group's 1985 album, Around the World in a Day and is a sardonic attack on the mid-1980s United States, referencing Communism, and worrying about nuclear war, a common theme in Prince's lyrics in the 1980s.The...

".

On December 13, 2003, Sheila E. organized a concert for charity known as the 1st Annual Family Jamm which featured several of Prince's protégés, including the entire Revolution, without Prince. They played six songs including "Mountains", "Purple Rain

Purple Rain (song)

", and "Baby I'm a Star

Baby I'm a Star

"Baby I'm a Star" is a song written and recorded by Prince from his album Purple Rain. It is also the B-side on the "Take Me with U" single.-Background and recording:...

". That next year, Wendy Melvoin performed a live rendition of Musicology

Musicology (album)

Musicology is the thirtieth studio album by Prince, released on April 20, 2004, which proved to be his most successful in years, reaching the Top 5 of the album charts in the U.S, UK, Germany, and many other countries....

track "Reflection" with Prince on Tavis Smiley

Tavis Smiley

Tavis Smiley is a talk show host, author, liberal political commentator, entrepreneur, advocate and philanthropist. Smiley was born in Gulfport, Mississippi and grew up in Kokomo, Indiana. After attending Indiana University, he worked during the late 1980s as an aide to Tom Bradley, the mayor of...

's PBS

Public Broadcasting Service

The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....

television program.

At the 2006 BRIT Awards

2006 Brit Awards

The 2006 BRIT Awards were the 26th edition of the biggest annual pop music awards in the United Kingdom. They are run by the British Phonographic Industry and took place on 15 February 2006 in Earls Court Exhibition Centre im London. It attracted 4.70 million viewers, one of the lowest viewed...

, a somewhat reformed Revolution once again backed Prince, as he reunited with Wendy, Lisa and Sheila E., while also featuring former New Power Generation member Morris Hayes and played "Te Amo Corazón

Te Amo Corazón

"Te Amo Corazón" is a song by Prince, released as the first single from his 2006 album, 3121. It was officially released by the NPG Music Club on December 13, 2005...

" (from Prince's 3121

3121 (album)

3121 is the thirty-first studio album by Prince. The album, released March 21, 2006 in the U.S., is distributed through Universal Records.-Album information:...

album), "Fury

Fury (song)

"Fury" is a song by Prince, from his 2006 album 3121. The single was debuted live on Saturday Night Live on February 4, 2006. It was also part of Prince's four song set at the 2006 BRIT Awards....

" (also from 3121), "Purple Rain

Purple Rain (song)

", and "Let's Go Crazy

Let's Go Crazy

". Sheila E. played drums only on "Purple Rain", playing percussion for the rest of the songs.

Studio albums

Year	Album details	Peak chart positions										Certifications Music recording sales certification Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
Year	Album details	US Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...	AUS ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...	AUT Austria Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...	CAN Canada Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...	GER Germany Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...	NLD Netherlands The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...	NOR Norway Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...	SWE Sweden Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....	SWI Swiss Music Charts The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75...	UK UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...	CAN Cria A cria is the name for a baby camelid such as a llama, alpaca, vicuña, or guanaco. It comes from the Spanish word cría, meaning "baby". Its false cognate in English, crya , was coined by British sailors who explored Chile in the 18th century and were quick to describe the camelids onomatopoeically...	UK British Phonographic Industry The British Phonographic Industry is the British record industry's trade association.-Structure:Its membership comprises hundreds of music companies including all four "major" record companies , associate members such as manufacturers and distributors, and hundreds of independent music companies...	US RIAA certification In the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America awards certification based on the number of albums and singles sold through retail and other ancillary markets. Other countries have similar awards...
1985

}

Released: April 22, 1985
Label: Warner Bros. Records

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|align="left"|Gold
|align="left"|2x Platinum
|-
|}

Soundtrack albums

Year	Album details	Peak chart positions										Certifications Music recording sales certification Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
Year	Album details	US Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...	AUS ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...	AUT Austria Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...	CAN Canada Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...	GER Germany Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...	NLD Netherlands The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...	NOR Norway Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...	SWE Sweden Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....	SWI Swiss Music Charts The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75...	UK UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...	CAN Cria A cria is the name for a baby camelid such as a llama, alpaca, vicuña, or guanaco. It comes from the Spanish word cría, meaning "baby". Its false cognate in English, crya , was coined by British sailors who explored Chile in the 18th century and were quick to describe the camelids onomatopoeically...	UK British Phonographic Industry The British Phonographic Industry is the British record industry's trade association.-Structure:Its membership comprises hundreds of music companies including all four "major" record companies , associate members such as manufacturers and distributors, and hundreds of independent music companies...	US RIAA certification In the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America awards certification based on the number of albums and singles sold through retail and other ancillary markets. Other countries have similar awards...
1984

}

Released: June 25, 1984
Label: Warner Bros. Records

Released: March 31, 1986
Label: Warner Bros. Records

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|align="left"|Platinum
|align="left"|Platinum
|-
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Singles

Year	Song	Peak chart positions											Album
Year	Song	US Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...	US R&B	US Dance Hot Dance Club Play The Hot Dance Club Songs chart is a weekly national survey of the songs that are most popular in U.S. dance clubs...	AUS ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...	AUT Austria Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...	GER Germany Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...	NLD Netherlands The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...	NOR Norway Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...	SWE Sweden Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....	SWI Swiss Music Charts The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75...	UK UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...	Album
1984	"When Doves Cry When Doves Cry A hit cover version by R&B singer Ginuwine was produced by Timbaland in 1996 for Ginuwine's The Bachelor album, Ginuwine's cover uses actual dove sound effects as texture for its jungle music-inspired instrumental track.-Charts:-Other cover versions:... "	1	1	1	1	19	16	—	10	18	17	4	Purple Rain

}
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|-
|"Purple Rain

Purple Rain (song)

"
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|"I Would Die 4 U

I Would Die 4 U

"
|align="center"|8
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|-
|"Take Me with U

Take Me with U

" (with Apollonia

Apollonia Kotero

Apollonia Kotero, born Patricia Kotero on August 2, 1959, is an actress, singer, former model and talent manager. Kotero, born in Santa Monica, California, is of Mexican descent...

)
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|-
|rowspan="4"|1985
|"Paisley Park

Paisley Park (song)

"Paisley Park" is a song by Prince and The Revolution. It was the first single in both the UK and Australia to be released from their 1985 album, Around the World in a Day. The song has a psychedelic feel, similar to some of The Beatles' later work with echoed guitar and finger cymbals...

"
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|rowspan="4"|Around the World in a Day
|-
|"Raspberry Beret

Raspberry Beret

"Raspberry Beret" is a song by Prince and The Revolution. It was the first U.S. single from their 1985 album, Around the World in a Day. The sound was different from any previous Prince track, incorporating Middle Eastern finger cymbals, stringed instruments, and even a harmonica on the extended...

"
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|-
|"Pop Life"
|align="center"|7
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|-
|"America

America (Prince song)

"
|align="center"|46
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|-
|rowspan="4"|1986
|"Kiss

Kiss (song)

In 1988 Art of Noise released a cover of the song, featuring Tom Jones on vocals. The song became the band's biggest hit to that point, reaching number eighteen on the U.S. dance charts and number five on the UK Singles Chart, higher than the original in that country...

"
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|rowspan="4"|Parade
|-
|"Mountains"
|align="center"|23
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|-
|"Anotherloverholenyohead

Anotherloverholenyohead

"Anotherloverholenyohead" is a 1986 song by Prince and The Revolution, from the album Parade, the soundtrack to the film Under the Cherry Moon. The song is essentially a solo performance by Prince, but with backing vocals from Susannah Melvoin, and the horn section of Eric Leeds and Atlanta Bliss....

"
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|-
|"Girls & Boys

Girls & Boys (Prince song)

"Girls & Boys" is a 1986 song by Prince and The Revolution, from the album Parade, the soundtrack to the film Under the Cherry Moon. The song was released as a single in the U.K., and as the B-side to "Anotherloverholenyohead" in the U.S.....

"
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|-
|}

Video albums

Year	Album details	Peak chart positions										Certifications Music recording sales certification Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
Year	Album details	US Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...	AUS ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...	AUT Austria Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...	CAN Canada Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...	GER Germany Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...	NLD Netherlands The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...	NOR Norway Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...	SWE Sweden Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....	SWI Swiss Music Charts The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75...	UK UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...	CAN Cria A cria is the name for a baby camelid such as a llama, alpaca, vicuña, or guanaco. It comes from the Spanish word cría, meaning "baby". Its false cognate in English, crya , was coined by British sailors who explored Chile in the 18th century and were quick to describe the camelids onomatopoeically...	UK British Phonographic Industry The British Phonographic Industry is the British record industry's trade association.-Structure:Its membership comprises hundreds of music companies including all four "major" record companies , associate members such as manufacturers and distributors, and hundreds of independent music companies...	US RIAA certification In the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America awards certification based on the number of albums and singles sold through retail and other ancillary markets. Other countries have similar awards...
1984

}

Released: December 14, 1984
Label: Warner Bros. Records

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| 1985
| align="left"| Prince & The Revolution: Live

Released: March 6, 1985
Label: Warner Bros. Records

Early years

The Pre-Revolution

Debut album: Purple Rain

Expansion: 1985-1986

Band members

Unreleased Revolution Album

Dissolution

Legacy

Studio albums

Soundtrack albums

Singles

Video albums

See also