Mia Bocca is the first track on Jill Jones’s first and only Paisley Park Records album Jill Jones. Shortly before the album’s release, Mia Bocca was released as the album’s first single, containing two remixes of the track. Although Jill Jones shared official writing credits, the song was written solely by Prince. For the Italian part of the song, Prince and Jones called an Italian restaurant and asked random people to translate sentences: "We called a lot of Italian restaurants to work on our Italian. We found out that in Minneapolis it was broken Spanglish they were giving us. All their verbs were wrong! And all my friends in Europe are like, ‘You aren’t dealing with people that are Italian!’ The busboy who gave us the translation probably gave us half Italian and half Spanish. I learned all about that song when I finally went to Italy: ‘You’ve gotta the verba backwards!"
Basic tracking for Prince’s original version probably took place in Spring 1983, most likely at Prince’s Kiowa Trail Home Studio in Chanhassen, MN, USA. It was the only song title mentioned in the earliest incarnation of the script for Purple Rain (then titled 'Dreams'), but was omitted once Albert Magnoli rewrote the script into Purple Rain. Jill Jones recorded her vocals for it in late July 1983, in the first sessions of Susan Rogers recording something for Prince.
In early November 1983 the song was possibly worked on further. Clare Fischer’s horn and string arrangement was added sometime in December 1985 or January 1986. Prince mixed then mixed the song on 30 January 1986 at Sunset Sound in Hollywood.
While David Z. and Jill Jones are listed as producers of the song, the only musicians known to have contributed to the track beyond Prince and Jill Jones are Clare Fischer’s orchestra, commissioned by Prince. The full album version of the track opens with a version of Baby, You’re A Trip (as "Intro (Baby, You’re A Trip)") - see the entry for that song for recording details.
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Recording Information
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Recording Sessions
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Date
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Studio
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Additional info
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Mid-1983 (estimate)
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Kiowa Trail Home Studio, Chanhassen, MN, USA (assumed)
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Tracking
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Late July 1983
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Kiowa Trail Home Studio, Chanhassen, MN, USA
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Jill Jones vocal overdub
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6 November 1983 (estimate)
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Kiowa Trail Home Studio, Chanhassen, MN, USA
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Overdubs, mix (assumed)
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December 1985 or January 1986 (assumed)
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Monterey Sound Studios, Glendale, CA, USA (assumed)
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Orchestra overdubs
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7 January 1986
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Sunset Sound - Studio 3, Hollywood, CA, USA (assumed)
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Mix Under The Cherry Moon film version
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28 January 1986
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Sunset Sound - Studio 3, Hollywood, CA, USA
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Mix, crossfades, adding Baby, You’re A Trip intro
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22 February 1986
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Sunset Sound - Studio 3, Hollywood, CA, USA
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Remix
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Recording Personnel
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Jill Jones version
- Orchestral Players:
- Cello - Fred Seykora, James Arkatov, Mary Louise Zeyen, Raphael Kramer
- Double Bass - Arni Egilson, David Stone
- French Horn - David Duke, James Thatcher, Joseph Meyer, Marny Johnson
- Trombone - Charles Loper, Garnett Brown, Morris Repass
- Trumpet - Bob Bryant, Robert Findley, Hal Espinosa, Ray Brown
- Tuba - Tommy Johnson
- Viola - Alan DeVreitch, Jorge Moraga, Margot MacLaine, Myer Bello, Norm Forrest, Pam Goldsmith
- Violin - Betty Moor, Bill Hybel, Don Palmer, Edward Green, Francine Walsh, Henry Ferber, Irma Neumann, Isabelle Daskoff, Janice Gover, Karen Jones, Pam Gates, Pat Johnson, Robert Sushel, Ron Folsom, Terry Schoenburn, William Hymanson
- Woodwind - Arni Egilson, Bob Tricarico, David Edwards, Dick Mitchell, Gary Foster, Joe Soldo, John Lowe
Unreleased version
- Prince - all vocals and instruments (assumed)
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Versions
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Released Versions
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Video Versions
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Unreleased Versions
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Title
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Version
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Additional Info
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Mia Bocca
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Studio
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1983 version
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Mia Bocca
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Studio
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version with Jill Jones vocals, but not orchestra overdubs
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