Apollonia 6 - Apollonia 6 (1984)

"Apollonia 6" is the only studio album released by R&B vocal trio and Prince-protégés Apollonia 6. The album was initially to be the second release by the Prince-formed group Vanity 6, but when lead singer Vanity departed Prince's camp, the musician hired Patricia Kotero and named her "Apollonia", thus changing the group's name and album. "Apollonia 6", the album, primarily features the vocals of Kotero, with backing vocals by Wendy & Lisa and Jill Jones (although billed members were Susan Moonsie and Brenda Bennett).  Shortly before this album was released Kotero was Prince's duet partner on one of Purple Rain's most enduring and identifiable tracks, "Take Me With You." Nothing on this effort matches that greatness. The album's first track, "Happy Birthday Mr. Christian" is Apollonia's self-penned sex ditty that tells the tale of a "teenaged" Apollonia having an affair with her principal. If anything, the track is a little too PG compared to Vanity 6's escapades. The horny synth-laden "Sex Shooter" is a little better and has Kotero singing guilty pleasure gems like "I need you to be my main thang, play thang/Pillar of stone." Although Apollonia 6 had everyone from the Revolution and Sheila E contributing musical ideas on the tracks "Blue Limousine" and "A Million Miles (I Love You), the lyrics are derivative. The album's last track "In a Spanish Villa" is nothing but ocean sounds, Wendy Melovin's guitars, and Apollonia speaking in one of her native tongues. Clocking in at 2:12, it's much too brief. While Prince's production company produced this effort, this effort caught him at a time when he was becoming a more "serious" artist and he offered none of his A tracks. Apollonia 6 had a disappointing chart run but further inspection has made this a viable part of the Minneapolis sound.  The album spawned only one hit, "Sex Shooter", which was performed by the group in the film "Purple Rain".

Track listing

01.  "Happy Birthday, Mr. Christian"  (Kotero, The Revolution, Bennett, Moonsie)  - 7:06

02.  "Sex Shooter"  (Kotero)  - 3:39

03.  "Blue Limousine"  (Brenda Bennett)  - 6:19

04.  "A Million Miles (I Love You)"  (Brenda Bennett)  - 5:51

05.  "Ooo She She Wa Wa"  (Susan Moonsie)  - 4:10

06.  "Some Kind of Lover"  (Brenda Bennett)  - 4:48

07.  "In a Spanish Villa"  (Kotero, Wendy Melvoin)  - 2:12

Released:  October 1, 1984

Genre:  R&B, Minneapolis sound

Length:  34:05

Label:  Warner Bros.

Producer:  Prince (as The Starr ★ Company)

All the songs on this album were actually written by Prince, but the songwriting credits were given to the group's members.

Personnel

Apollonia Kotero, Susan Moonsie, Brenda Bennett - Vocals

Prince & The Revolution - Multi-Instruments

Wendy Melvoin - Guitars

Lisa Coleman - Keyboards

Mark Brown - Bass

Sheila E. - Drums, Percussion

Jill Jones - Additional Backing Vocals