THE RITUALISTIC LIFE and MURDER of PRINCE:
PT. 4 SEGMENT 2 "The "Prince" Album, Tour, and Band"
Released on Patreon 10/10/2017
Run Time: 1 HR 18 MIN
-"The Ritualistic Life and Murder of Prince" series is available to Patrons on the "Sign O' The Times" tier of support and higher on the Spooky Electric XPOSED Films Patreon channel.
In this episode, we pick up after the April 1978 release of "For You", Prince's first album.
The album did not do as well as Prince or Warner Brothers expected, and Prince placed much of the blame on manager Owen Husney and on Warner Brothers Marketing Exec Russ Thyret. As we go through the series, you will see that this will become a common pattern for Prince.
Preparing for Prince's first Tour
We discuss that in the 1970’s Pepe Willie was married to Prince’s cousin Chauntelle, and led a group called “94 East”. Though Prince was a part of bands "Shampayne", and "Grand Central" as a teen, he also played and recorded with Pepe Willie’s group. Many of the recordings of Prince from his “94 East” days were released after Prince’s death in 2016.
Prince and his manager Owen Husney soon parted ways, and Prince began managing himself (another pattern in Prince's career that we will see repeat through the years in the series).
But at this time in 1978, Pepe Willie was acting as a mentor, and co-manager for Prince, filling in any gaps left by Owen Husney. In the summer of 1978, preparations were being made for Prince's first tour, the "For You" Tour, and rehearsals started in Pepe Willie's basement.
In preparation of his first tour, Prince puts together his first touring band: Andre Cymone on bass, Dez Dickerson on guitar, Matt Fink on keyboards, Gayle Chapman on keyboards, and “Bobby Z” Rivkin on drums.
Warner Brothers brings in new Management:
Cavallo, Ruffalo, Fargnoli
A showcase for Warner Brothers label Execs of the label's new artist Prince, was planned at the Capri Theater in North Minneapolis for January 5, 1979.
After Prince's lackluster performance, Warner Brothers decided that Prince and the band were not ready for a tour.
Warner Brothers then brought in Cavallo and Ruffalo, a Los Angeles based management firm to oversee Prince and the band.
The "Prince" album
Then, Prince goes to Los Angeles to record his second album, "Prince". Prince approached this record differently seeking a black, soul hit record; and he accomplished that with the #1 Black and #11 Pop hit, "I Wanna Be Your Lover". The "Prince" album, went platinum and was the hit and success Prince was seeking.
Cavallo and Fargnoli influenced Prince's stage show and performance, and this was when Prince began wearing bikini briefs onstage.
After this, a 2nd showcase for Warner Brothers Execs was held, and this one was a success for Prince and the band.
Apparently, Cavallo and Ruffalo’s “management” was molding Prince into the kind of artist and performer Warner Brothers wanted to support and promote.
We go through the Gematria coding of Prince's new managers (and handlers) Bob Cavallo, Joe Ruffalo, and Steve Fargnoli; and discuss the role of handlers in the music business for "difficult" artists. It is important to note the Gematria coding of Cavallo and Ruffalo (and soon Fargnoli), and how as we go through the series; you will see that they definitely played out their handling, and evil controlling role with Prince for the 10 years or so that they managed Prince.
In this episode, we also decode the "For You" and "Prince" albums and see more of the important "Prince numbers" emerge in the coding.
The "Prince" Tour, and Prince's first Televised Live Performances and Interviews
Later that year, Prince then embarks upon the "Prince" Tour of 1979-1980 and makes his first national TV appearances, performing on “The Midnight Special” and “American Bandstand”.
Prince also goes on tour with Rick James, as the opening act on the "Fire it Up" Tour. But more on the drama from that tour in the next episode, SEGMENT 3: “Dirty Mind”
*8 Unreleased Prince tracks from the episode posted for Patrons of the “Lovesexy” Tier of support and higher.
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