Paisley Park Records was an American

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

founded by musician

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 ...

in 1985, which was distributed by and funded in part by

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...

. It was started in 1985, following the success of the film and album '' Purple Rain''. The label shares its name with Prince's recording complex Paisley Park Studios and the song "

Paisley Park Paisley Park Records was an American record label founded by musician Prince in 1985, which was distributed by and funded in part by Warner Bros. Records. It was started in 1985, following the success of the film and album '' Purple Rain''. ...

" on his 1985 ''

Around the World in a Day ''Around the World in a Day'' is the seventh studio album by American recording artist Prince, and the second release where his backing band The Revolution is billed. It was released on April 22, 1985, by Paisley Park Records and Warner Bros. R ...

'' album. Paisley Park was opened to the public as a museum and memorial to Prince following his death. October 28, 2016, is officially known as Paisley Park Day in the city of

Chanhassen Chanhassen is a city about southwest of Minneapolis in Carver County and partially in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States. The southwest edge of the Minneapolis–Saint Paul suburbs, there is a mix of residential neighborhoods and rural ...

to recognize the opening of the museum.

History

While Prince had great chart success in the 1980s, the success generally did not transfer to other acts. With the exception of Sheila E.'s 1985 album ''

Romance 1600 ''Romance 1600'' is the second album by the singer-drummer-percussionist Sheila E. Prince contributed some backing vocals, guitar and bass guitar, and co-wrote/co-produced "A Love Bizarre", a 12-minute epic that became a major hit in its edited ...

'' (the label's debut non-Prince release),

Tevin Campbell Tevin Jermod Campbell (born November 12, 1976) is an American singer and songwriter. He performed gospel in his local church from an early age. Following an audition for jazz musician Bobbi Humphrey in 1988, Campbell was signed to Warner Bros. Re ...

's single "Round and Round" and the Time's 1990 release '' Pandemonium'', the label had very few commercial successes by artists other than Prince. In 1994, amid Prince's feud with Warner Bros., Warner ended its distribution deal with Paisley Park, effectively closing the label. Prince fought for the rights to the master recordings of all artists recorded there. Prince later started

NPG Records NPG Records is a record label that was owned by Prince and run by Trevor Guy. "NPG" is short for New Power Generation. It was founded to release his music after Paisley Park Records was shut down by Warner Bros. Records in 1994. Though the 1994 c ...

, run by Trevor Guy. The vice-president of Operations for the label until 1991 was Alan Leeds. (Leeds won a Grammy for writing the liner notes for a

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the honor ...

album, and at one point served as Prince's tour manager on several tours.) Following Leeds' departure, radio promotion executive Graham Armstrong took over the role until 1991, when Gilbert Davison and Jill Willis, co-managers of Prince and president and executive vice-president of Paisley Park Enterprises, negotiated a joint venture between PPE and Warner Bros. (with the help of Prince attorney Gary Stiffelman). With the joint venture came funding for additional staff to run the label and oversee its artists – including Mavis Staples, George Clinton, Ingrid Chavez and Carmen Electra. Staffers included John Dukakis and Kerry Gordy as co-presidents of the label. The label's office were in a building with the address 1999 Avenue of the Stars.

Paisley Park Studios

The studio was designed by architecture firm BOTO Design Inc, of Santa Monica, California, and officially opened on September 11, 1987. It contains two live music venues used as rehearsal spaces. After the label folded in 1994, Prince continued to live and record at Paisley Park Studios. Prince's intention before his death was to establish Paisley Park as a public venue like

Graceland Graceland is a mansion on a estate in Memphis, Tennessee, United States, which was once owned by rock and roll icon Elvis Presley. His daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, inherited Graceland after his death in 1977. Graceland is located at 3764 Elv ...

. He was found dead in his estate's elevator on April 21, 2016. Norwegian band

A-ha A-ha (usually stylised as ''a-''h''a''; ) is a Norwegian synth-pop band formed in Oslo in 1982. Founded by Paul Waaktaar-Savoy (guitars and vocals), Magne Furuholmen (keyboards, guitars and vocals), and Morten Harket (lead vocals), the band ...

recorded much of their 1993 album ''

Memorial Beach ''Memorial Beach'' is the fifth studio album by the Norwegian band A-ha, released on 14 June 1993 by Warner Bros. Records. Background The album was recorded primarily at Prince's Paisley Park studios outside Minneapolis in the United States. ''M ...

'' at Paisley.

Touring Paisley Park

After Prince's death, Paisley Park, a 65,000-square-foot complex, was turned into a museum open to the public. Tours of the Paisley Park Museum started October 2016. Graceland Holdings, the company that has managed Elvis Presley's Graceland since 1982, organizes the tours. Tours include the studios where Prince recorded, produced, and mixed some of his biggest hits, and the soundstage where he rehearsed for tours and hosted exclusive private concerts. Also featured are thousands of artifacts from his personal archives, including iconic concert wardrobe, awards, musical instruments, artwork, rare music and video recordings, concert memorabilia, automobiles and motorcycles. In 2017, regular tours and punctual shows are organized in Paisley Park. Carver County officials confirmed a story that Prince's ashes are now 'on show' in the main entrance to Paisley Park in an urn in the shape of Paisley Park. In the basement of Paisley Park there was a vault of unreleased material, hundreds of hours of live recordings, experiments and top-secret songs. The urn has since been removed from the atrium on which it was first displayed and placed in the vault. The contents of the vault have been since removed and relocated to a studio in Los Angeles to be restored, remastered, and stored in climate-controlled storage to be used for later release.

Discography

Prince albums

*1985:

and The Revolution: ''

'' *1986: Prince and The Revolution: ''

Parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, float (parade), floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually ce ...

'' *1987: Prince: ''

Sign O' the Times ''Sign o' the Times'' (often stylized as ''Sign "☮︎" the Times'') is the ninth studio album by American singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Prince. It was first released on March 30, 1987 as a double album by Paisley Park ...

'' *1988: Prince: ''

Lovesexy ''Lovesexy'' is the tenth studio album by American recording artist Prince. The album was released on May 10, 1988 by Paisley Park Records and Warner Bros. Records. The album was recorded in just seven weeks, from mid-December 1987 to late Jan ...

'' *1990: Prince: '' Graffiti Bridge'' *1991: Prince and

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 ...

: ''

Diamonds and Pearls ''Diamonds and Pearls'' is the thirteenth studio album by American recording artist Prince, and the first with his new backing band The New Power Generation. It was released on October 1, 1991, by Paisley Park Records and Warner Bros. Record ...

'' *1992: Prince and the New Power Generation: ''

Love Symbol Album ''Love Symbol'' is the fourteenth studio album by American recording artist Prince, and the second of two that featured his backing band the New Power Generation. It was released on October 13, 1992, by Paisley Park Records and Warner Bros. Rec ...

'' *1993: Prince: ''

The Hits/The B-Sides ''The Hits/The B-Sides'' is a box set by American recording artist Prince. It was released on September 10, 1993, by Paisley Park Records and Warner Bros. Records. The album is a comprehensive three- disc set consisting of many of his hit singl ...

Paisley Park albums

*1985: The Family: '' The Family'' *1985:

Sheila E. Sheila Cecilia Escovedo (born December 12, 1957) better known under the stage name Sheila E., is an American percussionist and singer. She began her career in the mid-1970s as a percussionist and singer for The George Duke Band. After leaving t ...

: ''

'' *1986:

Mazarati Mazarati was an American R&B, rock and funk band, formed in the mid-1980s and was active until 1989. The band was seven pieces and included the former Prince and The Revolution bassist Brownmark. Originally hailing from Minneapolis, they beca ...

: ''Mazarati'' *1987: Madhouse: ''8'' *1987:

: ''

'' *1987:

Jill Jones Jill Jones (born July 11, 1962) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress, who performed as a backing vocalist for Teena Marie and Prince in the 1980s. Overview Jones was born in Lebanon, Ohio on July 11, 1962. Her mother, a fashion model ...

: ''

'' *1987:

Taja Sevelle Taja Sevelle (born Nancy Richardson) is an American singer and songwriter, best known for her 1987 single, "Love Is Contagious" and for the non-profit organization Urban Farming, which she founded in 2005. Biography Sevelle signed a recording co ...

: ''Taja Sevelle'' § *1987: Madhouse: ''16'' § *1988:

Dale Bozzio Dale Frances Bozzio (née Consalvi; born March 2, 1955) is an American rock and pop vocalist. She is best known as co-founder and lead singer of the '80s new wave band Missing Persons and for her work with Frank Zappa. While with Zappa, she perf ...

: ''

Riot in English ''Riot in English'' is the debut studio album by American singer Dale Bozzio. It was released on March 4, 1988 by Paisley Park Records. Bozzio began working on the album after her divorce from Terry Bozzio and the break-up of their band Missing Pe ...

'' *1988:

The Three O'Clock The Three O'Clock is an American alternative rock group associated with the Los Angeles 1980s Paisley Underground scene. Lead singer and bassist Michael Quercio is credited with coining the term "Paisley Underground" to describe a subset of the ...

: ''

Vermillion Vermilion (sometimes vermillion) is a color, color family, and pigment most often made, since antiquity until the 19th century, from the powdered mineral cinnabar (a form of mercury sulfide, which is toxic) and its corresponding color. It is ...

'' § *1988:

Good Question Good Question are an contemporary R&B, R&B and dance music vocal duo from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that was composed of brothers Sean and Marc Douglas. Their only chart hit came in 1988, when they hit number one on the Hot Dance Club Play, Hot ...

: ''Good Question'' *1989:

Tony LeMans Tony LeMans was an American singer and songwriter, associated with Prince and signed to Prince's Paisley Park Records. Biography Tony LeMans was born Antony L. Fortier on July 14, 1963, in Santa Monica, California, United States. He attended Wil ...

: ''Tony LeMans'' § *1989: George Clinton: ''

The Cinderella Theory ''The Cinderella Theory'' is the fifth studio album by American funk musician George Clinton, released August 2, 1989, on Paisley Park Records. It was released three years after his previous studio effort, ''R&B Skeletons in the Closet'', which w ...

'' *1989: Kahoru Kohiruimaki: ''Time the Motion'' (Japanese release only) *1989:

Mavis Staples Mavis Staples (born July 10, 1939) is an American rhythm and blues and gospel singer, actress, and civil rights activist. She rose to fame as a member of her family's band The Staple Singers (she is the last surviving member of that band). Durin ...

: ''

Time Waits for No One Time Waits for No One may refer to: * "Time Waits for No One" (Neil Sedaka song), 1970, popularized by the Friends of Distinction * "Time Waits for No One" (Rolling Stones song), 1974 ** '' Time Waits for No One: Anthology 1971–1977'', a compi ...

'' *1990: Kahoru Kohiruimaki: ''Time the Motion Live'' (Japanese release only) *1990: The Time: '' Pandemonium'' § *1991:

Eric Leeds Eric Leeds is an American saxophone player, mostly known for his work with Prince. He has recorded mostly music in the pop and funk genres, but is a studied jazz musician.Cole, George.Eric Leeds: Interviews: The Last Miles: The Music of Miles D ...

: ''Times Squared'' *1991: T.C. Ellis: ''True Confessions'' *1991:

Ingrid Chavez Ingrid Julia Chavez (born 1965) is an American singer-songwriter, poet, actress, and visual artist. Early life Chavez was born on January 21, 1965, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and raised in Marietta, Georgia. She is of Mexican-American descent. ...

: ''May 19, 1992'' *1993:

Carmen Electra Tara Leigh Patrick (born April 20, 1972), known professionally as Carmen Electra, is an American actress, model, singer, and media personality. She began her career as a singer after moving to Minneapolis, where she met Prince, who produced h ...

: ''

'' *1993:

: ''

The Voice The Voice may refer to: Fictional entities * The Voice or Presence, a fictional representation of God in DC Comics * The Voice (''Dune''), a fictional ability in the ''Dune'' universe * The Voice, a character in the American TV series ''Cleo ...

'' *1993: George Clinton: '' Hey, Man, Smell My Finger'' *1993:

: ''Things Left Unsaid'' Note: All titles were distributed by Warner Bros. Records, except for those denoted with §, which were distributed by sister label

Reprise Records Reprise Records is an American record label founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operates through Warner Records, one of its flagship labels. Artists currently signed to Reprise Records include Enya, Michael ...

References

External links

The Inside Story on Designing Prince's Paisley Park: Exclusive
{{Authority control Prince (musician) Defunct record labels of the United States Chanhassen, Minnesota Pop record labels Vanity record labels Warner Records Record labels established in 1985 Record labels disestablished in 1994 1985 establishments in Minnesota 1994 disestablishments in Minnesota Defunct companies based in Minnesota

History

Paisley Park Studios

Touring Paisley Park

Discography

Prince albums

Paisley Park albums

See also

References

External links