F.U.N.K.

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F.U.N.K. (a.k.a. PFUnk)

single art for F.U.N.K. Song details Performer: Prince First Released: 8 November 2007 - Princefansunited.com audio stream (as PFUnk) 20 November 2007 - F.U.N.K. download single Album(s): None Writer(s): Prince (assumed) Producer(s): Prince (assumed) Live Appearances First and last live appearance: 24 April 2013: DNA Lounge, San Francisco, CA, USA (Show 1) 8 March 2014: Hollywood Palladium, Los Angeles, California Performed regularly on tour: none Performed occasionally in shows: 2013, 2014

F.U.N.K. is a track originally believed to be recorded in 2003. Initial recording dates are unknown, but engineer Jesse Sutcliffe says this song was recorded around the time the Musicology album was conceived, which places its initial recording around late 2003. Also, both this song and an early version of Life ‘O’ The Party use the same Camille-like voice, which would seem to indicate they're from the same era. The song originally went into the vault, but in November 2007 Prince saw it fit to debut it online. Earlier that month, a group of fans had started an initiative called Prince Fans United (the acronym of which, not entirely incidentally, could also be read as P, f.u.!). This was in response to Prince wanting to have control over the content of fan-sites. Thus the website PrinceFansUnited.com was born. But in an unexpected turn of events, within two days of the site’s opening, Prince sent them the song F.U.N.K., cleverly renamed by him as PFUnk to stream on the site. Prince updated the songs lyrics to address the fans grievances, but in hindsight it seems possible that the lyrics weren't changed that much, and simply seem to the point in the context of the PFU situation. Two days after offering the song to stream on the fan-collective’s website, it was also featured on PrinceFamsUnited.com, a url the Prince camp had hastily registered. Within a week after that the song was featured as the Jam Of The Week on 3121.com — where the PrinceFamsUnited.com url now also redirected to, now under its original title F.U.N.K.. And within a few days, F.U.N.K. was available as a stand-alone download single on iTunes. Shelby J. also streamed the track on her MySpace page, along with a brief spoken intro by her (without any known Prince input). Recording Information Recording Sessions Date Studio Additional info 2003 (assumed) Paisley Park Studios, Chanhassen, MN, USA (assumed) Tracking 7 November 2007 Paisley Park Studios, Chanhassen, MN, USA Re-recording Recording Personnel Prince - all vocals and instruments, except where noted (assumed) Unidentified horn players, possibly Candy Dulfer or Maceo Parker (in 2003) or Mike Phillips, Greg Boyer - trombone and/or Lee Hogans (in 2007) Unidentified female vocalist, possibly Shelby J. (in 2007) Unreleased version Prince - all vocals and instruments, except horns if any (assumed) Versions Released Versions Title Length Released Version Additional info F.U.N.K. 7:35 F.U.N.K. single Studio Originally streamed as PFUnk Broadcasts/streaming (only) Title Length Released Version Additional info F.U.N.K. 3:13 3rdEye TV Show # 10 performance audio stream Rehearsal Recorded early July 2013, Paisley Park Studios in Chanhassen, Minnesota (assumed); instrumental version F.U.N.K. 3:11 3rdEye TV Show # 15 live concert video stream Live 6 July 2013, Paisley Park Studios, Chanhassen, MN, USA Unreleased Versions Title Version Additional Info F.U.N.K. Studio Original 2003 recording

Additional Information See also Trivia F.U.N.K. single Prince mentions a well-known unreleased song, The Grand Progression, in the lyrics, referring to the music behind him by saying "Well, it might not be The Grand Progression, but it sure is funky." The lyric likely refers to the concept of "the grand progression", meaning the ultimate achievement, rather than the song named after it, however. References

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