The Stick

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The Stick

from the album The Time Song details Performer: The Time First Released: 29 July 1981 - The Time album Album(s): The Time Writer(s): Lisa Coleman and Prince (uncredited) Producer(s): Morris Day and Prince (as Jamie Starr) Live Appearances First and last live appearance: 20 November 1981: The Stanley Theatre, Pittsburgh, PA (during The Time opening act - possibly played at The Time shows earlier in 1981); 8 March 1982: First Avenue, Minneapolis, Minnesota (first Prince performance, albeit technically with Prince absent from the stage during the song) 18 February 2014 (show 1): Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club, London, England Performed regularly on tour: none Performed occasionally in shows: 1982, 2002, 2010

The Stick is the sixth and final track on The Time’s first album The Time, and, in late 1981, it was included as the b-side of Girl, the album’s third and final single. The song was written by Lisa Coleman, although the Library Of Congress lists the song as being written by Prince, so both are given credit here, although the album does not contain any writing credits. While specific recording dates are not known, basic tracking took place in April 1981 at Prince’s Kiowa Trail Home Studio in Chanhassen, Minnesota (along with the rest of the album). As with much of the rest of the album, the recording mostly features only Prince and Morris Day, although Dr. Fink provides a synth solo, and Terry Lewis and Lisa Coleman appears on background vocals. Lisa Coleman commented on its origin in a July 2024 post on Facebook: One day at Kiowa Trail [...] Prince came up to me with a piece of paper that had a couple lines of lyrics on it. Something about being ‘smooth like my Cadillac’ or something like that. And he said, “Can you write some lyrics to go with this and in the same rhythm”, like whatever meter he was hearing in his head. I know it was in his head because I read the lyrics and had no idea what the rhythm was supposed to be. [...] So I started writing and I came up with my own rhythm. I wrote this one line, “You’re so automatic, I’d rather work my stick.” And with that hook in mind, there’s your song! He wrote the rest that day. We worked in his basement studio. Recording Information Recording Sessions Date Studio Additional info April 1981 Kiowa Trail Home Studio, Chanhassen, MN, USA Tracking Recording Personnel Morris Day - vocals and drums Prince - background vocals and all instruments, except where noted (uncredited) Terry Lewis - background vocals Dr. Fink - synth solo Lisa Coleman - background vocals (listed as "various girlfriends") Jellybean Johnson - credited for drums, but did not participate Terry Lewis - credited for bass guitar and vocals, but only sang back up vocals Jesse Johnson - credited for guitar and vocals, but did not participate Jimmy Jam - credited for keyboards and vocals, but did not participate Monte Moir - credited for keyboards and vocals, but did not participate Versions Released Versions Title Length Released Version Additional info The Stick 8:23 The Time Studio The Stick (Edit) 3:06 Girl single Edit The Stick 3:59 NPG Ahdio Show # 9 mp3 (not available as a separate track) Studio Contains an additional keyboard line borrowed from (Not Just) Knee Deep The Stick 8:22 The Time Expanded Edition (2021 Remaster) Studio Remastered in 2021 The Stick (Edit) 3:06 The Time Expanded Edition (2021 Remaster) Edit Remastered in 2021 Sampled, Referred to, Quoted in... Title Length Released Version Additional info The Walk 9:30 What Time Is It? The Walk single Studio Mentions lyrics from The Stick’s chorus during spoken segment

Additional Information See also Trivia The Time album The Time References The Vault: The Definitive Guide to the Musical World of Prince (2004) https://www.facebook.com/JesseJohnsonfan/posts/10152293702581224

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