Vanity 6 (album)

Vanity 6
Studio album by Vanity 6
Released August 11, 1982
Recorded March–April, 1982
Genre R&B, dance-pop, funk
Length 31:12
Label Warner Bros.
Producer Prince (as The Starr ★ Company)
Singles from Vanity 6
  1. "He's So Dull"
    Released: June 16, 1982
  2. "Nasty Girl"
    Released: September 24, 1982[1]
  3. "Drive Me Wild"
    Released: December 2, 1982
  4. "Bite the Beat"
    Released: February 10, 1983
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Robert ChristgauB+[3]
The Daily VaultA−[4]

Vanity 6 is the 1982 self-titled debut studio album by American R&B/Pop vocal girl group Vanity 6 released on Warner Bros. Records. The group had been created by Prince as an outlet for his prolific song writing. All three women in the group (Vanity, Brenda Bennett, Susan Moonsie) shared lead and background vocals. As was typical for Prince's side projects, he obscured his virtually complete responsibility for the production, songwriting, and instrumental performances by arbitrarily attributing the credits to other members of his musical stable or the fictional "The Starr Company". "If a Girl Answers (Don't Hang Up)" was co-written with The Time member Terry Lewis and "Bite the Beat" was co-written with Jesse Johnson.

"He's So Dull" was written by Dez Dickerson and can be heard briefly in the 1983 film National Lampoon's Vacation.[5] The "other woman" rap on the song "If a Girl Answers (Don't Hang Up)" is performed by Prince in an affected voice whose resemblance to that of The Time's lead singer Morris Day has sometimes led to Day being misidentified as the performer.[5]

The album was originally released on August 11, 1982[6] by Warner Bros. Records on LP and cassette. A compact disc was issued in September 1988. All three formats are now out of print. Vinyl copies of the album were pressed with "Side 1" and "Side 6" on the label. Reviewing the album in The Village Voice, Robert Christgau wrote, "All eight of these dumb, dancy little synth tunes get me off when I let my guard down, and most of them are funny, hooky, and raunchy at the same time."[7] The album was later certified gold by the RIAA in 1983 a year after its release due in large part to the smash success of Prince's 1999. This would be the only album released by Vanity 6.

Track listing

All tracks written by Prince, except where noted.

Side 1
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Nasty Girl"   5:10
2."Wet Dream"   4:12
3."Drive Me Wild"   2:31
4."He's So Dull"  Dez Dickerson2:32
Side 2[8]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
5."If a Girl Answers (Don't Hang Up)"  Prince, Terry Lewis5:34
6."Make-Up"   2:40
7."Bite the Beat"  Prince, Jesse Johnson3:12
8."3 x 2 = 6"   5:24

Charts

Chart 1982 Peak position
Billboard 200 45[9]
Billboard R&B Chart 6[9]

Cover versions

References

  1. ↑ Single: Nasty Girl
  2. ↑ Allmusic review
  3. ↑ Robert Christgau review
  4. ↑ The Daily Vault review
  5. 1 2 Dance Music Sex Romance - Prince: The First Decade, Per Nilsen - pg. 127
  6. ↑ Dance Music Sex Romance - Prince: The First Decade, Per Nilsen - pg. 124
  7. ↑ RobertChristgau.com
  8. ↑ "Images for Vanity 6 - Vanity 6". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2014-06-05.
  9. 1 2 "Vanity". AllMusic. 1959-01-04. Retrieved 2011-10-26.
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