Desmond D'andrea Dickerson (born August 7, 1955) is an American guitarist and singer who was a member of Prince's band,

the Revolution A revolution is a drastic political change that usually occurs relatively quickly. For revolutions which affect society, culture, and technology more than political systems, see social revolution. Revolution may also refer to: Aviation *Warner ...

Life and career

Dickerson was born in 1955 as Desmond D'andrea Dickerson, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. A veteran of numerous

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

rock bands, Dickerson answered Prince's call for a touring musician in the ''Twin Cities Reader'', a local entertainment paper, in 1979.Nilsen, Per (2003). ''Dance Music Sex Romance: Prince: The First Decade''. SAF Publishing, p. 315 After a 15-minute audition in the back of Del's Tire Mart, Dickerson was picked as guitarist. In 1980 when off the road for Christmas break, Dickerson had a profound conversion experience and became a

born-again Born again, or to experience the new birth, is a phrase, particularly in evangelicalism, that refers to a "spiritual rebirth", or a regeneration of the human spirit. In contrast to one's physical birth, being "born again" is distinctly and se ...

Christian. Afterwards, performing songs with sexual themes began to trouble his conscience. Even though Dickerson's and Prince's popularity were growing, he desired more and more to quit the band. He contributed songs for Prince's side projects, writing "He's So Dull" for

Vanity 6 Vanity 6 was a short lived American female vocal trio that gained popularity in the early 1980s. They were protégés of musician Prince. Led by singer Vanity, they are known for their song " Nasty Girl." History Formation In 1981, Prince, hi ...

, and co-writing "Wild and Loose", "After Hi School", and "Cool" for the Time. Dickerson contributed vocals to " Little Red Corvette" and "

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school s ...

" on the ''

'' album, as well as the guitar solo for "Little Red Corvette" that ranked number 64 on ''

Guitar World ''Guitar World'' is a monthly music magazine for guitarists – and fans of guitar-based music and trends – that has been published since July 1980. ''Guitar World'', the best-selling guitar magazine in the United States, contains original arti ...

's list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Solos.Kitts, Jeff & Tolinski, Brad (2002). ''Guitar World Presents the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time''.

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, p. 164 Following the ''1999'' tour, Dickerson left the band to pursue other options. He was replaced by

Wendy Melvoin Wendy Ann Melvoin (born January 26, 1964) is an American guitarist and singer-songwriter, best known for her work with Prince as part of his backing band The Revolution, and for her collaboration with Lisa Coleman as one half of the duo Wendy ...

. After leaving the Revolution, Dickerson formed his own short-lived band, the Modernaires, and toured in support of

Billy Idol William Michael Albert Broad (born 30 November 1955), known professionally as Billy Idol, is a British-American singer, songwriter, and musician. He first achieved fame in the 1970s emerging from the London punk rock scene as the lead singer o ...

on his 1984 '' Rebel Yell'' tour, frequently joining Idol onstage. Dickerson appeared in the movie '' Purple Rain'' with the Modernaires, but their song was not released as a single nor on the ''Purple Rain'' soundtrack. A solo recording deal failed to materialize, and in 1987 Dickerson relocated to

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and t ...

to back singer Judson Spence. He also kept busy with session work and producing other artists. In 1990, Dickerson was named vice president of A&R with the

CCM CCM may refer to: * Cubic centimetre (''ccm''), metric unit of volume * Climate change mitigation (''CCM''), climate change topic Biology and medicine * Calcium concentration microdomains, part of a cell's cytoplasm * Photosynthesis#Carbon ...

(Contemporary Christian music) label

Starsong Star Song Communications is a Christian record label that was started in 1976 by Wayne Donowho, who recruited his friend Darrell Harris. It gained notoriety when it issued Resurrection Band's ground-breaking debut album, Awaiting Your Reply in 197 ...

Communications. Four years later he founded his own label, Absolute Records, a

Christian rock Christian rock is a form of rock music that features lyrics focusing on matters of Christian faith, often with an emphasis on Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, typically performed by self-proclaimed Christians, Christian individuals. The extent to w ...

record company. Artists on his label included Squirt, These 5 Down and Metropolis aka Metropolis America. He released a solo album in the late 1990s entitled ''Oneman'', and then a book, ''My Time with Prince: Confessions of a Former Revolutionary'', which spans from his audition in 1978 until leaving Prince in 1983. In 2005, Dickerson released a double CD retrospective collection of his work from 1982 to 1987, including the complete version of the "classic" Modernaire. Taken from the film '' Purple Rain'' and featuring Prince on guitars, keyboards and backing vocals, this track was released on vinyl in 2008 by the UK label, Citinite. Also in 2005, a three-CD set was released, ''Rock of Ages – Where Classic Hymns Meet Classic Rock!''. This was produced, arranged, recorded and mixed by Dickerson and features powerful guitar riffs. It presented 32 well-known hymns in a rock format, with Dickerson playing many of the instruments. Joining Dickerson on this project was his son, Jordan Dickerson, who contributed drums to many of the tracks and bass guitar on some. Jordan also arranged "Agnus Dei". Currently, Dickerson manages record label and branding companies Pavilion Entertainment and Pavilion Synergies in Nashville. In 2012 he joined his former bandmates at a full-scale Revolution reunion which was set up by drummer Robert " Bobby Z." Rivkin to raise money and awareness for heart disease; Prince attended the performances but did not participate.

Discography

Albums

*''Oneman'' (1999), Absolute *''Rock of Ages – Where Classic Hymns Meet Classic Rock!'' (2005), Madacy *''A Retrospective 1982–1987'' (2006)

Singles

*"Modernaire" (2008), Citinite

References

External links

*
Pavilion Group
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dickerson, Dez 1955 births American funk guitarists American male singers Musicians from Minneapolis The Revolution (band) members Living people American rhythm and blues guitarists American soul guitarists American male guitarists American funk singers Rhythm guitarists American rock guitarists Singers from Minnesota Guitarists from Minnesota 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians