Album: The Hookers (1982)

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1979: Unreleased project.png Untitled The Rebels album Unreleased Albums
(Prince)
Unreleased Albums
(Related Artists)
1984: Unreleased project.png Untitled second Vanity 6 album
Untitled The Hookers album

Unreleased project.png

Album details


Intended Release Date: 1982
Label(s): Warner Bros.
Studio(s): Kiowa Trail Home Studio, Chanhassen, MN, USA

See also


Vanity 6
(Album)
 
Vanity6 album.jpg
This entry details a planned (debut) album by The Hookers, recorded between Summer and Autumn 1981, during the recording of most of the Controversy album and between the Dirty Mind Tour and the Controversy Tour. Much like the case with The Time (whose first album was recorded in Spring 1981 and would be released that summer), Prince came up with an overall concept of a sexy girl group singing in lingerie, and began recording songs in his home studio before the group had even been completely assembled. The group initially consisted of his personal assistant, Jamie Shoop (the main singer) and the sisters Loreen and Susan Moonsie. None of them had any previous singing experience or formal musical training. Two of the earliest songs he recorded for the Hookers album were Make-Up and Wet Dream. As with his material for The Time, Prince recorded his own scratch vocals and had (intended that) the girls replace his voice.

At least nine songs were recorded by Prince for this project: I Need A Man, Make-Up, Wet Dream, Drive Me Wild, Jealous Girl, Mink Kitty Cat, Pizza and Gym Class although it is not clear if all of them were re-recorded with The Hookers' vocals before he embarked on tour. Money Don’t Grow On Trees may have been intended for this project as well. Jamie Shoop sang lead vocals on I Need A Man, Wet Dream and Jealous Girl while Susan Moonsie sang on Drive Me Wild, Make-Up. It is not known, but unlikely Loreen Moonsie sang lead on any tracks.

The Hookers recordings were suspended when Prince embarked on the Controversy Tour in November of 1981. While on tour, Jamie Shoop and Loreen Moonsie let Prince know that they were not interested to be in his group. Around the same time, Prince met Denise Matthews and caught his head of his ward-robe, Brenda Bennett singing while working at the dressing room. He offered them to replace Jamie Shoop and Loreen Moonsie and the band evolved into Vanity 6 after Denise Matthews rejected “The Hookers” as the name of the group and the name “Vagina” Prince suggested for her as well. Denise Matthews became Vanity and the band Vanity 6.

Of the songs recorded for The Hookers, only three songs were kept for the Vanity 6 album: Drive Me Wild, Make-Up and Wet Dream (the latter being re-recorded with Vanity on vocals).

Jealous Girl was offered to The Bangles in 1985 but they rejected it (and choosing to keep Manic Monday, another song Prince gave to them). The track was later given to Bonnie Raitt along with another Hookers song, I Need A Man, during a short-lived collaboration between Prince and Bonnie Raitt.

Prince’s versions of Make-Up and Money Don’t Grow On Trees were released in 2019 on Originals and the Deluxe Edition edition of the 1999 album respectively. Jealous Girl and I Need A Man were released in 2020 on Vault Tracks part 3, one of the discs with previously unreleased tracks included with the Sign O’ The Times Super Deluxe Edition.

Mink Kitty Cat (possibly reworked later as Velvet Kitty Cat but this has not been verified), Pizza, Gym Class remain unreleased .



Track listing
LP

The following songs were intended for the album (never completed):

All tracks written by Prince (assumed)



Personnel
Musicians


Production


 
Additional Information

Trivia


References
Unreleased project.png 1979
Untitled The Rebels album
Unreleased Albums
(Prince)
Unreleased Albums
(Related Artists)
1984
Untitled second Vanity 6 album
Unreleased project.png