Family and The Family

The Family is a band formed by Prince, and one of the first signed to his record label, Paisley Park Records. The band reformed as fDeluxe in 2009.

Members

(St. Paul)

Susannah Melvoin

Miko Weaver

Jellybean Johnson

Eric Leeds

Jerome Benton

History

The band's origins started with the disintegration of The Time in 1984. Lead singer Morris Day had left the band to pursue a solo career and guitarist Jesse Johnson became the de facto band leader. Prince suggested restructuring the band with new member Paul Peterson to head the group, but Johnson opposed. However, like Day, Johnson soon left the band to pursue his own solo career.

A few of The Time's newer members followed Johnson to join his backing band (called Jesse Johnson's Revue).

As the band had served as an outlet for Prince to release more music, he wanted to continue this avenue, inviting the remaining members of The Time, Jellybean Johnson, Jerome Benton, and Paul Peterson, to his home and presented them with his new project. 

They agreed to become a new band called The Family, with Peterson renamed "St. Paul" as the new frontman and bassist. Johnson and Benton reprised their familiar roles from The Time. To the mix, Prince added Susannah Melvoin, the twin sister of Revolution guitarist Wendy Melvoin, as a backing singer and keyboardist. The fifth member was Eric Leeds, the brother of Prince's tour manager Alan Leeds, who provided saxophone and flute. Guitarist Miko Weaver is credited in the album's booklet because he was to be a session player and tour musician band supporter, but was never officially part of the band.

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. On several tracks Prince's vocals can be clearly heard. Some of the original demos have surfaced as bootlegs and circulate among fans with Prince's original lead vocals, as well as two outtakes: the instrumental "Feline" and the pop song "Miss Understood". 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". 

The tracks were all recorded in a few weeks' span at the end of the year 1984 after Prince had finished sessions for Around the World in a Day, and just before he started to record music for Sheila E.'s album Romance 1600 and his own album Parade.

"You need me, Michael. 

I want to take care of you now."

―Connie Corleone

Gangster Glam

{b-side of gett off}
Boy, we gettin' ready to get funkier than a sack 'o grandaddies

1,2,1,2,3

Roll it ((gett off))

Gangster ((gett off))
(gangster) ((gett off))
Yeah, summertime
Gangster ((gett off))
(get on up and jam)

Well as I g-e-double t-o-f-f
Ganster glam in the house
And I must confess, see
That this is the shit p serve
And a new power soul for those who would ever try to rock the
Npg, for those who are wondering, a family is born
And God bless us cause we're funky
Everything we do is on a positive tip
And got a message for a sucker with lip
Tell 'em rosie

(let a woman be a woman and man be a man)

Yeah, you tell 'em, baby
And as I put the mmm in man
I'm kickin' the gangster glam

Gangster
Gangster
Gangster glam
(gangster)
Kickin' the gangster glam
Gangster
Gangster
Gangster glam
(get on up and jam)

Well as I g-e-double t-o-f-f
Ganster glam in the house (house) (gangster)
The style we're sportin'
The ladies and the fellas, hmmm
Godfather iii meets barbarella (barbarella, barbarella, ...)
Hmmm, you can believe, a gangster never thinks twice

((gangster))
((gangster glam))
What ya say fellas?
((gangster))
((get on up and jam))
Roll it

Gangster
Gangster
Gangster glam
(summertime and I'm rollin')
(get on up and jam)
(send the shout out)

((power 2 the people of mpls))
(send the shout out) ((power 2 the people of mpls))
((power 2 the people of mpls))
((power 2 the people of mpls))

What's my bmw definition:
The black man's wish
All the heads of the family
Would fall and would drop this
And the fact that we're funky
Will keep the jeeps boomin' for the hip-hop junkies

((everybody grab a body, pump it like you want somebody))

(get-get-get-get-get-get on up and jam)

I'm kickin' the gangster glam

((everybody grab a body, pump it like you want somebody))

And see you lipsyncher suckers
Listen, we don't go for that
And you can believe
We're bringin' the live performance back gangster
So don't you come to the concert tonite
Cause was in your home wishin' you had came right
Hmmm clockin' the jizz
Gettin' bizz
Playin strip pool with vanessa
Sweatin' in my typhoon (get-get-get-get-get-get on up and jam)
Gangster
Yeah, that's my 'do, fool

(get-get-get-get-get-get on up and jam) ((get off)) gangster
Glam
Summertime and (unroll it)
(get-get-get-get-get-get on up and jam) gangster ((gett off))
Yeah
(get-get-get-get-get-get on up and jam) ((gett off)) gangster
Glam

Groovin' to the gangster glam
With the fellas (gangster)
The dream of tequila yella
Clockin' all the jizz (get on up and jam)

Gangster
I love you
Gangster
I love you too (I love you too)

Gangster glam
Yeah
((get on up and jam))

(if you think u're funky)
Are you funky?
(then come on and ride the donkey)
Then ride it

Gangster
((gangster glam))

((everybody grab a body, pump it like you want somebody))

(get-get-get-get-get-get on up and jam)

(how much money u got? )
Gangster grands

Gangster
Groovin' to the gangster glam

Gangster
Gangster glam
Groovin' to the gangster glam
(gangster)

I like 'em proud

Groovin' to the gangster
Groove-groove-groovin' to the
Groovin' to the gangster
Groove-groove-groovin' to the
Groovin' to the gangster
Groove-groove-groovin' to the
(get on up and jam)

Gangster
Groovin' to the gangster glam

(get on up and jam)

N ((n))
P ((p))
G ((g))
Who turn the mother out? ((who turn the mother out? ))

N (gangster) ((n))
P ((p))
G ((g))
Who turn the mother out? ((who turn the mother out? ))

Gangster
(jam)

What we gonna do when we wanna get funky?
Call me crazy
What we gonna do when we wanna get funky?
Call me crazy
What we gonna do when we wanna get funky? (jam) gangster (jam)
Call me crazy
What we gonna do when we wanna get funky? (jam)
(get on up and jam)

What we gonna do when we wanna get funky?
What we gonna do when we wanna get funky?

((gangster))
((gangster glam))
((gangster))
((get on up and jam))
Groovin' to the gangster glam

((gangster glam))
((gangster))
((get on up and jam))
Groovin' to the gangster glam
Gangster
Gett off
G-g-gett off

2016 Recording of #NothingCompares2U, featuring fDeluxe (aka The Family). 
The Family, aka fDeluxe, was the first to release this Prince penned song in 1985, ahead of Sinead O'Connor's popular version.
In this re-recording, the original string arrangement by the late Clare Fischer is at the forefront, featuring members of Mpls' STRINGenius (who have recorded on Prince's last 3 records).
www.fdeluxe.com