André Cymone

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

André Cymone
Birth name	Andre Simon Anderson
Born	Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.
Genre(s)	R&B, urban
Instrument(s)	Bass, guitar
Label(s)	Columbia
Associated acts	Prince, The Revolution, Jody Watley

André Cymone (born Andre Simon Anderson) is an American bassist, songwriter and record producer. After playing bass for Prince's Revolution, Cymone began a solo career in 1981. His song, "The Dance Electric", reached number ten on the R&B charts. Cymone later co-wrote and produced the hits "Looking for a New Love" and "Real Love" for singer Jody Watley.

Contents 1 Biography 1.1 Early years 1.2 Career 2 Discography 2.1 Albums 2.2 Singles 3 External links

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early years

Cymone was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the son of Fred Anderson, a musician, and Bernadette, a social worker. Cymone was the youngest of six children. The Anderson home soon had an additional member — a young Prince who left his own home due to conflicts with his stepfather. Prince and Cymone started a cover band in high school called Grand Central (later renamed Champagne) which also included Cymone's sister Linda and schoolmate Morris Day. Cymone's stage name comes from a variation of his middle name, Simon.

[edit] Career

In the late 1970s, after Prince released his debut album, For You, Prince recruited Cymone as bassist for his touring band. Cymone stayed with Prince until 1981 when he quit the band over tensions with Prince.

The two later resolved their issues and Cymone went on to release 3 solo albums — Livin' in the New Wave (1982), Survivin' in the 80's (1983), and AC (1985). All are long out of print. His most successful single was "The Dance Electric", a song penned by Prince from the album AC.

Cymone went on to become a record producer and is better known for producing Jody Watley (to whom he was married and shares a son) than for the music he released as a solo artist. He has produced and written songs for several other artists, including Pebbles, Lalah Hathaway, Jermaine Stewart and Adam Ant.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

• Livin' in the New Wave (1982), Columbia
• Survivin' in the 80's (1983), Columbia
• AC (1985), Columbia

[edit] Singles

• "Livin' in the New Wave" (1982)
• "Survivin' in the 80's" (1983)
• "Make Me Wanna Dance" (1983)
• "The Dance Electric" (1985)
• "Satisfaction" (1985)
• "Lipstick Lover" (1985)

[edit] External links

• André Cymone and the Minneapolis scene