The Family (album)

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The Family chronology
The Family

Studio album by The Family
Released	1985
Recorded	1984
Genre	Pop, R&B, Funk, Jazz
Length	36 min.
Label	Paisley Park Records
Producer(s)	Prince
—	The Family (1985)	—

The Family is a 1985 album released on Prince's Paisley Park Records label by the band of the same name. The album consists of eight tracks 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 and catapulted to worldwide fame by Sinéad O'Connor.

Much like The Time, the band's material was composed nearly entirely by Prince, with the exception of "River Run Dry", which was written by Revolution drummer, Bobby Z. Prince wrote and performed all the other tracks and simply overdubbed Peterson's and Melvoin'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.

It was anounced in February 2007 that the Family is going to release a new album and go on tour.