Vanity 6

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Vanity 6 was a female vocal trio assembled by Prince in the early 1980s. They released one album, which blended the sounds of pop, New Wave, dance music, R&B and funk.

In 1981, Prince, Susan Moonsie, his wardrobe mistress and Boston native Brenda Bennett and his personal assistant Jamie Shoop came up with an idea: Prince, himself a rising musical star, suggested that his three female friends form a girl group that would be called “The Hookers.”

Ideally to Prince, the three women would perform in lingerie and sing sensual songs with lyrics about sex and fantasy. Prince had been wanting to mentor a girl singer or group since the late 70's when he saw the film A Star is Born with Barbara Streisand and Kris Kristofferson^{[citation needed]}. However loving to blur fact with fiction to continuously provoke and confuse, this story changed over the years as to how that conception came about and exactly what the women would be like. The original trio recorded a few demos before Prince met Denise Matthews, a nude model and Canadian B-movie actress, in January of 1982. Prince was so taken by Matthews’ charisma that he decided that she would be the perfect front-woman for his “Hookers” project. Around this time, Prince and Matthews began a romantic relationship. With Matthews’ arrival, Jamie Shoop bowed out of the group. Prince suggested that Matthews use the stage name “Vagina" (pronounced "Vageena"); she refused this idea and instead took up the name “Vanity.”

With the new trio finalised, Prince renamed the group Vanity 6 (the 6 represented the group's breast count). Vanity 6, now dressed in lingerie and high heels, were written provocative songs to sing (although within the album credits, group members were sometimes given sole writing credits). Their first single, “He’s So Dull,” did not do much on the charts, but did appear in the film National Lampoon's Vacation.

The second single “Nasty Girl” was a hit on both the U.S. R&B chart and U.S. Dance chart (where it hit number one), and it also made an appearance on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart. The song was featured in the film Beverly Hills Cop, although not included on its soundtrack.

“Nasty Girl” still has lasting significance to this day, having been recently covered in a house music style by Inaya Day. The third single “Drive Me Wild” was another minor hit. Music videos were shot for all three singles. The one and only released Vanity 6 album was eventually certified gold. The group opened up on the Triple Threat Tour, between 1982 and 1983, which also featured The Time and Prince, as the headliner. The fact that The Time played behind a curtain while Vanity 6 performed caused a rift between the bands and fricition within those friendships.^{[citation needed]}

To the other group members’ dismay, Prince chose Vanity to pose with him for a Richard Avedon photograph used on the cover of an issue of Rolling Stone magazine. The magazine issue with Prince and Vanity on the cover also contained a two-page Avedon photo of Vanity 6.

In 1983, Vanity recorded a demo for a new song, “Sex Shooter,” and started training for her lead role in Purple Rain opposite Prince. Prior to the shooting of the movie, Vanity decided to leave the Prince camp later in 1983. Many reasons were given for her sudden split with him, including money, the end of their romantic relationship, and, most importantly, having been offered a lucrative solo offer from Motown Records.

Vanity was replaced in Purple Rain by Patty Kotero, who would later use the stage name Apollonia. She also inherited the lead role in Vanity 6, which was renamed Apollonia 6, alongside Bennett and Moonsie. The new trio recorded one album in 1984 that went on to outsell the Vanity 6 album, mainly on the strength of Apollonia’s newfound fame, thanks to her movie role and its popularity.

In the years since the group’s breakup, Matthews renounced her Vanity persona and music and became a born again Christian. Susan Moonsie married actor David Garfield in the 90’s. Garfield died in the late 1990s.

Contents 1 Discography 1.1 Albums 1.2 Singles 2 Miscellanea 3 See also

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

• 1982 Vanity 6

[edit] Singles

• 1982 "Nasty Girl"
• 1982 "He's So Dull"
• 1982 "Drive Me Wild"

[edit] Miscellanea

• Members of the group (Bennett in particular) also provided backing vocals on Prince albums.
• “17 Days,” the B-side to Prince’s “When Doves Cry,” was originally to be recorded by Vanity 6 for their second album. The demo version of the song ended up being released by Prince, and Bennett’s background vocals are still on the recording.
• “Sex Shooter,” also planned for the second album, was released by Apollonia 6.
• Ironically, in 1982, Vanity 6’s “Nasty Girl” was knocked out of number one on the U.S. Hot Dance Club Play chart by Prince's “1999”.
• "Nasty Girl" was featured in the 1984 box office hit Beverly Hills Cop, starring Eddie Murphy, and can be heard in the scene where Axel, Taggart, and Rosewood are in a strip club when the two suspects enter with shotguns to rob the establishment.
• "Nasty Girl" was used by Beyoncé Knowles on her Dangerously In Love Tour and Ladies First Tour as a dance break after the song "Naughty Girl".

[edit] See also

• List of number-one dance hits (United States)
• List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart