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Stone Lover is the first and only track released by Minneapolis-area band MLF (Music, Love and Funk), featuring Prince on guitar.
MLF is an alternate name for the band The Family led by Sonny Thompson in the 1970’s (and which is unrelated to the band produced by Prince in the 1980’s The Family).
Basic tracking took place in late 1976 at Sound 80, Minneapolis, Minnesota (during the same session that produced Got To Be Something Here which was recorded with basically the same musicians and released under another band name, The Lewis Connection on their self-titled album). Prince played on these tracks to raise money for his first New York trip in the autumn of 1976.
Either this track or Got To Be Something Here, released around the same time (it’s not clear which was released first), marks the first time Prince appeared on a track he did not write (although earlier recordings by 94 East were released later). It also marks the first release of a collaboration between Prince and Sonny Thompson (recorded almost 13 years before Diamonds And Pearls, the next released collaboration).
Confusingly though participating musicians have made conflicting statements whether Prince played on the track or not.
In 2013, the full (unedited) version (along with Got To Be Something Here) was included on the Purple Snow: Forecasting the Minneapolis Sound compilation.
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