"Take Me with U" is a song 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. T ...

and the Revolution, and the final US single released from their

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records co ...

, '' Purple Rain'' (1984).

Background

The song is sung as a duet with

Apollonia Kotero Patricia Apollonia Kotero (born August 2, 1959) is an American singer, actress, former model and talent manager. She is known for co-starring in Prince's 1984 film '' Purple Rain'' and for having been the lead singer of the girl group Apolloni ...

, and was originally intended to be performed by

Vanity Vanity is the excessive belief in one's own abilities or attractiveness to others. Prior to the 14th century it did not have such narcissistic undertones, and merely meant ''futility''. The related term vainglory is now often seen as an archaic ...

but shortly before filming began on the movie ''Purple Rain'', Vanity famously chose to quit participation in the film altogether when she was offered what appeared to be a lucrative contract with Motown Records exec

Berry Gordy Berry Gordy III (born November 28, 1929), known professionally as Berry Gordy Jr., is a retired American record executive, record producer, songwriter, film producer and television producer. He is best known as the founder of the Motown record l ...

and began filming ''

The Last Dragon ''The Last Dragon'' (sometimes listed as Berry Gordy's ''The Last Dragon'') is a 1985 American martial arts comedy film produced by Rupert Hitzig for Berry Gordy and directed by Michael Schultz. The film stars Taimak, Vanity, Julius Carry, C ...

'' (An early demo of the song exists with her vocals and has circulated on bootleg recordings by collectors.) and ceased her romantic relationship with

. The song was then intended for the ''

Apollonia 6 Apollonia 6 was a 1980s American female singing trio. Origin Apollonia 6 was created by recording artist Prince, who had also created the group Vanity 6 one year prior in 1982, but the groups did not exist simultaneously. After a number of dis ...

'' album to coincide with the film, but was pulled for the ''Purple Rain'' soundtrack. A result of this addition, Prince made cuts to the suite-like original "

Computer Blue "Computer Blue" is a song by Prince and The Revolution. Released on June 25, 1984, it is the fourth track on Prince's sixth album, '' Purple Rain'', which also served as the soundtrack to the film of the same name. In the film, the song represen ...

", which circulates among collectors in an extended version (a portion of this second section of "Computer Blue" can be heard in the film ''Purple Rain'' as Prince walks in on the men of The Revolution rehearsing). The original version of the song was about a minute longer.

Reception

'' Cash Box'' said that the song has "some beautiful melodies and some well-placed string sections which are proof of Prince’s varied talents."

Chart performance

The single was released with an edit of album track "

Baby I'm a Star "Baby I'm a Star" is a song written and recorded by American musician Prince from his album '' Purple Rain''. It is also the B-side on the "Take Me with U" single. Release "Baby I'm a Star" has been played live many times since its inception an ...

" as its B-side. In the US, it reached number 40 on the

Hot Black Singles The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...

chart and reached number 25 on the

top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or "cont ...

chart. In the UK, the song was issued as a double A-side single, coupled with "

Let's Go Crazy "Let's Go Crazy" is a 1984 song by Prince and The Revolution, from the album '' Purple Rain''. It was the opening track on both the album and the film '' Purple Rain''. "Let's Go Crazy" was one of Prince's most popular songs, and was a staple f ...

", reaching number 7 in February 1985.

Personnel

Credits are adapted from Prince Vault and the album’s Liner Notes *

– lead vocals, guitars, overdubbed tom-toms, string arrangement * Apollonia – co-lead vocals *

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 ...

– string conductor, guitars, background vocals * Lisa Coleman – string arrangement, string conductor, keyboards, background vocals * Matt Fink – keyboards, background vocals * Brown Mark – bass guitar, background vocals * Bobby Z. – drums, percussion * David Coleman – cello * Suzie Katayama – cello *

Novi Novog Novi Novog is an American viola player. She is sometimes simply credited as "Novi" and is a cousin of Lauren Wood (also known as "Chunky"). In 1973, Novi became one of three members of her cousin's band Chunky, Novi and Ernie with the bassist Ern ...

– violin and viola

Track listing

7": Paisley Park / 7-29079 (US)

# "Take Me with U" (edit) – 3:42 # "Baby I'm a Star" (edit) – 2:55

References

{{Authority control 1984 songs 1985 singles Prince (musician) songs Songs written by Prince (musician) Male–female vocal duets Warner Records singles Song recordings produced by Prince (musician) American psychedelic rock songs Songs written for films