Difference between revisions of "The Cocoa Boys"

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{{song-3|
+
{{song-2|
 
|song name                = The Cocoa Boys
 
|song name                = The Cocoa Boys
|single image              = [[File:Unreleasedsong.jpg|link=Unreleased Songs]]
+
|single image              = [[File:sottDeluxe.jpg|100px|link=Album: Sign O’ The Times Deluxe|Sign O’ The Times ''Super Deluxe Edition'']]<br><small> from the album <br>[[Album: Sign O’ The Times Deluxe|Sign O’ The Times ''Super Deluxe Edition'']]
 +
|first released            = [[Prince_Vault:Selected_anniversaries/September 25|25 September 2020]] – [[Album: Sign O’ The Times Deluxe|Sign O’ The Times ''Super Deluxe Edition'']]
 +
|album(s)                  = [[Album: Sign O’ The Times Deluxe|Sign O’ The Times ''Super Deluxe Edition'']]
 
|performer                = [[Prince]]
 
|performer                = [[Prince]]
|writer(s)                = [[Prince]] (assumed)
+
|writer(s)                = [[Prince]]  
|producer(s)              = [[Prince]] (assumed)
+
|producer(s)              = [[Prince]]  
 
|previous song            = [[Coca-Cola]]
 
|previous song            = [[Coca-Cola]]
 
|next song                = [[Coincidence Or Fate?]]
 
|next song                = [[Coincidence Or Fate?]]
|introduction              = '''Cocoa Boys''' is an unreleased track initially recorded during a soundcheck session on [[25 August 1986]] at Le Zénith, Paris, France, hours before the [[Parade Tour]] show there (along with recordings of [[Susannah's Blues]], [[Strange Relationship]], [[Last Heart]], a cover version of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Temptations The Temptations]' [[I Can't Get Next To You]] and a first run-through of [[It's Gonna Be A Beautiful Night]], which was then recorded live at the show).  
+
|introduction              = '''The Cocoa Boys''' (initially listed as '''The Coco Boys''') is a track recorded by [[Prince]] alone on [[Prince_Vault:Selected_anniversaries/September 14|14 September 1986]] at his [[Galpin Blvd Home Studio]] in Chanhassen, Minnesota. Overdubs, including background vocals, horns and a bed of looped audiences, presumed to be from the [[25 August 1986]] show at Le Zénith, Paris, France, where [[It’s Gonna Be A Beautiful Night]] was recorded, were added at a later session.
  
It is likely that this version was instrumental, but this is unconfirmed.  
+
Along with [[When The Dawn Of The Morning Comes]] and [[Crucial]], the song was written specifically for the planned musical [[Musical: The Dawn|The Dawn]]. Other songs recorded earlier ([[Heaven]], [[God Is Everywhere]], [[Others Here With Us]] and [[All My Dreams]]) were also considered for the film, but the project was ultimately abandoned, and the song was never intended for any of [[Prince]]’s many late-1986 album projects.
 +
 +
The song also has the lines ''‘All the boys and all the girls, you are the new kings of the world’'', later reused in [[Positivity]], as well as a chant of ''‘We are beautiful, it’s gonna be beautiful night’'' from [[It’s Gonna Be A Beautiful Night]].  
  
[[Prince]] recorded a studio version of the track (with lyrics) on [[Prince_Vault:Selected_anniversaries/September 14|14 September 1986]] at his [[Galpin Blvd Home Studio]] in Chanhassen, Minnesota (the day after [[Crucial]], two days before [[Shockadelica]]).  
+
The '''Cocoa Boys''' was the name of a band of fictional brothers Joey and Frankie Coco, included as characters in the musical. The Cocoa in the band name is supposedly a play on words in the fictional story of the song. While the band names changed, the idea of rival bands was reused in the initial 1987 draft of the [[Film: Graffiti Bridge|Graffiti Bridge]] movie.
  
The song was written specifically for the planned musical [[Musical: The Dawn|The Dawn]] (along with [[Crucial]] and [[When The Dawn Of The Morning Comes]]), but the musical was ultimately abandoned, and the song was never intended for any of [[Prince]]'s many late-1986 album projects.  
+
In September 2020 the song was released as the eleventh track of ''Vault Tracks part 2'', one of the discs with previously unreleased tracks included with the [[Album: Sign O’ The Times Deluxe|Sign O’ The Times ''Super Deluxe Edition'']].
  
'''The Cocoa Boys''' was the name of a band included as characters in the musical; while the band names changed, the idea of rival bands was reused in the [[Film: Graffiti Bridge|Graffiti Bridge]] movie.
 
 
The pseudonym [[Joey Coco]] was used by [[Prince]] as the writer of of at least eight songs for other artists: [[101]], [[Baby Go-Go]], [[Cool Love]], [[Neon Telephone]]), [[Telepathy]] and [[You're My Love]], with [[Jill Jones]]' [[My Man]] and [[Violet Blue]] listed as [[Prince]] compositions on her [[Album: Jill Jones| album]], but registered to [[Joey Coco]] at the Library of Congress.
 
 
|recording info            =
 
|recording info            =
 
{{RecordingLine|
 
{{RecordingLine|
 
|date                      = [[25 August 1986]]
 
|date                      = [[25 August 1986]]
 
|studio                    = [[25 August 1986|Le Zénith,<br>Paris, France]]
 
|studio                    = [[25 August 1986|Le Zénith,<br>Paris, France]]
|additional info          = Soundcheck recording
+
|additional info          = looped ‘audience ambiance’ of main show (assumed)
 
}}
 
}}
 
{{RecordingLine|
 
{{RecordingLine|
 
|date                      = [[Prince_Vault:Selected_anniversaries/September 14|14 September 1986]]
 
|date                      = [[Prince_Vault:Selected_anniversaries/September 14|14 September 1986]]
 
|studio                    = [[Galpin Blvd Home Studio]],<br>Chanhassen, MN, USA
 
|studio                    = [[Galpin Blvd Home Studio]],<br>Chanhassen, MN, USA
|additional info          = Basic tracking
+
|additional info          = Tracking (Version 1; live drums), overdubs  unfinished
 +
}}
 +
{{RecordingLine|
 +
|date                      = [[Prince_Vault:Selected_anniversaries/September 14|14 September 1986]]
 +
|studio                    = [[Galpin Blvd Home Studio]],<br>Chanhassen, MN, USA
 +
|additional info          = Tracking (Version 2; Linn drums) overdubs,  mix)
 +
}}
 +
{{RecordingLine|
 +
|date                      = [[Prince_Vault:Selected_anniversaries/September 14|14 September 1986]]
 +
|studio                    = [[Galpin Blvd Home Studio]],<br>Chanhassen, MN, USA
 +
|additional info          = Overdubs, including horn, mix
 +
}}
 +
{{RecordingLine|
 +
|date                      = [[Prince_Vault:Selected_anniversaries/November 22|22 November 1986]]
 +
|studio                    = [[Sunset Sound]] - Studio 3,<br>Hollywood, CA, USA
 +
|additional info          = Overdubs
 
}}
 
}}
 
|recording personnel      =  
 
|recording personnel      =  
'''Soundcheck version'''
+
*[[Prince]] - all vocals and instruments
*[[Prince]] - all vocals and instruments, except where noted
+
*[[Eric Leeds]] - saxophone  
*[[Bobby Z.]] - drums
+
*[[Atlanta Bliss]] - trumpet
*[[Brown Mark]] - bass guitar
+
*[[Susannah Melvoin]] - background vocals
*[[Wendy Melvoin]] - guitar and vocals (assumed)
+
|released versions        =
*[[Lisa Coleman]] - keyboards and vocals (assumed)
+
{{Songchart|
*[[Dr. Fink]] - keyboards
+
|line =
*[[Miko Weaver]] - guitar
+
{{Songline|
*[[Eric Leeds]] - saxophone (unknown participation)
+
|1= '''The Cocoa Boys'''
*[[Atlanta Bliss]] - trumpet (unknown participation)
+
|2= 6:06
*[[Jerome Benton]] - background vocals (unknown participation)
+
|3= [[Album: Sign O’ The Times Deluxe|Sign O’ The Times ''Super Deluxe Edition'']]
*[[Wally Safford]] - background vocals (unknown participation)
+
|4= Studio
*[[Greg Brooks]] - background vocals (unknown participation)
+
|5=
<br>
+
}}
'''Studio version'''
+
}}
*[[Prince]] - all vocals and instruments (assumed)
+
|unreleased versions      =
 +
{{SongUnreleased|
 
|unreleased versions      =  
 
|unreleased versions      =  
 
{{Unreleased|
 
{{Unreleased|
 
|line=
 
|line=
 
{{Unreleasedline|
 
{{Unreleasedline|
|1= '''Coco Boys'''
+
|1= '''The Cocoa Boys'''
|2= Soundcheck
+
|2= Studio
|3= Recorded [[25 August 1986]]; most likely instrumental
+
|3= unfinished live drums version.
 
}}
 
}}
 
{{Unreleasedline|
 
{{Unreleasedline|
|1= '''Coco Boys'''
+
|1= '''The Cocoa Boys'''
 
|2= Studio
 
|2= Studio
|3= Recorded [[Prince_Vault:Selected_anniversaries/September 14|14 September 1986]]
+
|3= Version before background vocals, horns and other overdubs
 +
}}
 
}}
 
}}
 
}}
 
}}
Line 66: Line 84:
 
|performed regularly on    = none
 
|performed regularly on    = none
 
|performed occasionally in = none
 
|performed occasionally in = none
|trivia                    = *  the intro of [[Coco Boys]] open with the same SCI Prophet VS, Film Music pre-set synth opening heard in [[U Got The Look]] and [[Nine]].
+
|trivia                    = The intro of [[The Cocoa Boys]] opens with the same Sequential Circuits Prophet VS, FILMUSIC (patch 69) preset synth opening heard in [[U Got The Look]], [[Make Your Mama Happy]], [[Eight]] and [[Nine]].
|see also                  = [[Unreleased Songs]]
+
*The pseudonym [[Joey Coco]] was used by [[Prince]] as the writer of of at least eight songs for other artists: [[101]], [[Baby Go-Go]], [[Cool Love]], [[Neon Telephone]]), [[Telepathy]] and [[You’re My Love]], with [[Jill Jones]]' [[My Man]] and [[Violet Blue]] listed as [[Prince]] compositions on her [[Album: Jill Jones|album]], but registered to [[Joey Coco]] at the Library of Congress.
 +
*It is unclear why the character in the song and planned musical [[Musical: The Dawn|The Dawn]] was Joey Cocoa but used as a writing synonym as [[Joey Coco]].
 +
*It has long been alleged that the song was played as an instrumental jam during a soundcheck session on [[25 August 1986]] at Le Zénith, Paris, France, hours before the [[Parade Tour]] show (along with recordings of [[Susannah’s Blues]], [[Strange Relationship]], [[Last Heart]], a cover version of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Temptations The Temptations]’ [[I Can’t Get Next To You]] and a first run-through of [[It’s Gonna Be A Beautiful Night]], which was then recorded live at the show), but this is now considered to have been misinformation.
 +
*The lyrics refer to three different dances that Prince (often together with other band members) would sometimes incorporate in live shows during 1986-7: the 'Detroit Crawl', the 'Wooden Leg' and the 'Kangaroo'.
 +
|see also                  = [[Album: Sign O’ The Times Deluxe|Sign O’ The Times ''Super Deluxe Edition'']] album
 +
* ''[https://www.duanetudahl.com/prince-book Prince and the Parade/Sign O’ The Times Era Studio Sessions 1985 and 1986, Duane Tudahl (2021)]''
 
* [[Musical: The Dawn|The Dawn]] musical
 
* [[Musical: The Dawn|The Dawn]] musical
|references                = ''[[Book:_The_Vault|The Vault: The Definitive Guide to the Musical World of Prince (2004)]] ''
+
|references                = ''[[Book:_The_Vault|The Vault: The Definitive Guide to the Musical World of Prince (2004)]]''
|categories                = [[Category:1986]][[Category:Songs (Prince)]][[Category:Unreleased Songs]][[Category:Recorded 1986]]
+
* ''[https://www.duanetudahl.com/prince-book Prince and the Parade/Sign O’ The Times Era Studio Sessions 1985 and 1986, Duane Tudahl (2021)]''
 +
|categories                = [[Category:2020]][[Category:Recorded 1986]][[Category:Songs (Prince)]][[Category:Released Songs (Prince)]][[Category:Posthumously-released Songs]]
 
}}
 
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT: Cocoa Boys (The)}}
 

Latest revision as of 08:49, 14 September 2022

Coca-Cola   < < < Non-Prince Songs All Prince Songs Unreleased Songs > > >   Coincidence Or Fate?
The Cocoa Boys

Sign O’ The Times Super Deluxe Edition
from the album
Sign O’ The Times Super Deluxe Edition
Song details
Performer: Prince
First Released: 25 September 2020Sign O’ The Times Super Deluxe Edition
Album(s): Sign O’ The Times Super Deluxe Edition
Writer(s): Prince
Producer(s): Prince
Live Appearances
First and last live appearance:
  • This track is not believed to have been performed live by Prince
Performed regularly on tour:
  • none
Performed occasionally in shows:
  • none

The Cocoa Boys (initially listed as The Coco Boys) is a track recorded by Prince alone on 14 September 1986 at his Galpin Blvd Home Studio in Chanhassen, Minnesota. Overdubs, including background vocals, horns and a bed of looped audiences, presumed to be from the 25 August 1986 show at Le Zénith, Paris, France, where It’s Gonna Be A Beautiful Night was recorded, were added at a later session.

Along with When The Dawn Of The Morning Comes and Crucial, the song was written specifically for the planned musical The Dawn. Other songs recorded earlier (Heaven, God Is Everywhere, Others Here With Us and All My Dreams) were also considered for the film, but the project was ultimately abandoned, and the song was never intended for any of Prince’s many late-1986 album projects.

The song also has the lines ‘All the boys and all the girls, you are the new kings of the world’, later reused in Positivity, as well as a chant of ‘We are beautiful, it’s gonna be beautiful night’ from It’s Gonna Be A Beautiful Night.

The Cocoa Boys was the name of a band of fictional brothers Joey and Frankie Coco, included as characters in the musical. The Cocoa in the band name is supposedly a play on words in the fictional story of the song. While the band names changed, the idea of rival bands was reused in the initial 1987 draft of the Graffiti Bridge movie.

In September 2020 the song was released as the eleventh track of Vault Tracks part 2, one of the discs with previously unreleased tracks included with the Sign O’ The Times Super Deluxe Edition.


Recording Information
Recording Sessions
Date Studio Additional info
25 August 1986 Le Zénith,
Paris, France
looped ‘audience ambiance’ of main show (assumed)
14 September 1986 Galpin Blvd Home Studio,
Chanhassen, MN, USA
Tracking (Version 1; live drums), overdubs unfinished
14 September 1986 Galpin Blvd Home Studio,
Chanhassen, MN, USA
Tracking (Version 2; Linn drums) overdubs, mix)
14 September 1986 Galpin Blvd Home Studio,
Chanhassen, MN, USA
Overdubs, including horn, mix
22 November 1986 Sunset Sound - Studio 3,
Hollywood, CA, USA
Overdubs
Recording Personnel

Versions
Released Versions
Title Length Released Version Additional info
The Cocoa Boys 6:06 Sign O’ The Times Super Deluxe Edition Studio


Unreleased Versions
Title Version Additional Info
The Cocoa Boys Studio unfinished live drums version.
The Cocoa Boys Studio Version before background vocals, horns and other overdubs
 
Additional Information

See also Trivia


References
Coca-Cola   < < < All Songs Unreleased Songs > > >   Coincidence Or Fate?