Back to Black was a band formed in

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

around 1970. They changed their name to The Family, a name later adopted by

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

for

The Family A family is a domestic or social group. Family or The Family may also refer to: Mathematics *Family of curves, a set of curves resulting from a function with variable parameters *Family of sets, a collection of sets *Indexed family, a family wh ...

. They were the house band at The Way community center, and performed at the

Phyllis Wheatley Community Center The Phyllis Wheatley Settlement House in Minneapolis, Minnesota was founded in 1924 by the Council on Social Agencies (CSA) and the Women's Cooperative Alliance (WCA). Its original function was to provide a recreational facility that could be used ...

(both now demolished). Prince considered them a lifelong influence. Their bassist,

Sonny Thompson Sonny Thompson (probably August 23, 1916 – August 11, 1989), born Alfonso Thompson or Hezzie Tompson, was an American Rhythm and blues, R&B bandleader and pianist, popular in the 1940s and 1950s. Biography There is some uncertainty over Thomps ...

, worked with Prince in the

New Power Generation The New Power Generation, also known as The NPG, was the backing band of musician Prince from 1990 to 2013. They were replaced by 3rdeyegirl as his backing band in 2013. In 2015, the New Power Generation reunited as Prince's backing band for ...

from 1991 to 1996.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Back to Black American funk musical groups