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Circa 1988-1990 master cassette tape containing the Prince song ‘U.’ The tape, which features Prince on vocals, has an approximate running time of 4 minutes and 33 seconds and bears an affixed B-side label marked in black ballpoint, “‘U,’ Master.” In fine condition.
Prince originally wrote the song ‘You’ as a track for the planned debut album of his then-backing band, The Rebels, which was set to be released circa 1979. Warner Bros. ultimately shelved the project, but Prince, who wrote four songs for the record, would re-record the album in the late 1980s at Paisley Park. The song was nearly resurrected in late fall of 1987, when it was mentioned in an early draft of Graffiti Bridge; as written in the screenplay, ‘You’ was intended to be sung by the character Camille, who was played by Prince.
At some point between 1988 and 1990, the updated version of the song, restyled as dance-pop from its original guitar-driven rock sound, was sent to breakthrough pop star Paula Abdul, who then added her vocals at Studio Masters in Los Angeles, California, circa mid-1990. Now titled as ‘U,’ the song was included as the sixth track on Abdul’s highly anticipated second album, Spellbound, which was released on May 14, 1991, via Virgin Records and Captive Records.
From the collection of Marylou Badeaux, a former executive at Warner Bros. Records, who received this tape directly from Prince, ostensibly not long before or after he sent another to Abdul. Prince shared the tape with Badeaux because he knew he could trust her, but also, seemingly, as a way to express his growing dissatisfaction with the label. Also significant is the presence of Prince’s vocals on the tape, who never officially sang the song for a record; Gayle Chapman sang on the original ‘You’ version by The Rebels, with Paula Abdul singing on the modified ‘U’ track.
Click here to view The Rebels’ version of ‘You.’
