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You’re My Love is the third track on American country music singer-songwriter Kenny Rogers’ fourteenth studio album They Don’t Make Them Like They Used To, written by Prince under the pseudonym Joey Coco (the first time this pseudonym had been used officially). The song is the only track from the album with any Prince input. The released version was produced by Jay Graydon.
In June 1987, You’re My Love was included as the b-side of Ronnie Misap and Kenny Rogers’ single Make No Mistake, She’s Mine. The single reached number 1 on the Billboard Country charts, and number 42 on the Adult Contemporary chart.
Although exact recording dates are not known, basic tracking for Prince’s original version took place in March 1982 at Prince’s Kiowa Trail Home Studio (around the same time as You Should Be Mine). In 1984, the song was considered for The Family, but no new recording was done on the track at the time. A mix was done the following year on 25 September 1985 at Sunset Sound in Hollywood, California.
Clare Fischer added orchestral overdubs in May 1986, by which time it was attributed to Prince and the Revolution, but Kenny Rogers and his band re-recorded the song in the Spring or Summer of 1986 (at one of several studios - Garden Rakes, Sherman Oaks, CA, USA; Conway, Hollywood, California; Can/Am, Tarzana, CA, USA; House Of Gold, Nashville, TN, USA or The Garage, Nashville, TN, USA), and the released version contains no musical input by Prince. The released version contains background vocals by El DeBarge, who would later record and release another track by Prince, Tip O’ My Tongue. In 2021, DeBarge revealed that he contributed to Kenny Rogers’ version at Prince's request:
"The backstory on my work with him is that Kenny Rogers was a fan of a certain very talented artist and asked this artist for a song. And so this particular artist sent him a song titled “You’re My Love” and suggested to him that El DeBarge should sing ad libs on it. Well I was on tour & got the call from producer Jay Graydon that Kenny Rogers sang the song but would not release it unless I sang on it with him. I was very honored to be part of this project with these two legends. So I flew in right away without ever hearing the song in advance & the rest is history. I wonder if anyone can guess or perhaps might know the name of this certain very talented artist that wrote the song for Kenny Rogers and myself to sing? Here's one clue for you. The pseudonym this artist used for the songwriting credit is Joey Coco."
In 2019, Prince’s own version was released as the seventh track on the posthumous album Originals.
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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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| March 1982
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Kiowa Trail Home Studio,
Chanhassen, MN, USA
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Tracking
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| 25 September 1985
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Sunset Sound - Studio 3,
Hollywood, CA, USA
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Mix (Susan Rogers & Coke Johnson, Prince not present)
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| 9 May 1986
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Ocean Way Recording,
Hollywood, CA, USA
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Orchestra overdubs
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| 1986
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Unknown studio(s) (Garden Rakes,Sherman Oaks, CA, USA; Conway,Hollywood, CA, USA; Can/Am, Tarzana, CA, USA; House Of Gold, Nashville, TN, USA or The Garage, Nashville, TN, USA)
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Kenny Rogers re-recording (no Prince input)
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| 1986
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Unknown studio (Garden Rakes,Sherman Oaks, CA, USA; Conway,Hollywood, CA, USA; Can/Am, Tarzana, CA, USA; House Of Gold, Nashville, TN, USA or The Garage, Nashville, TN, USA)
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Additional recording with El DeBarge (no Prince input)
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Recording Personnel
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Kenny Rogers version
Prince version (on Originals)
- Prince - all vocals and instruments
Unreleased version
- Prince - all vocals and instruments
- Orchestral players on overdub of Prince version (assumed):
- 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
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Versions
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Released 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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| You’re My Love
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Studio
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Prince’s 1982 version, with 1986 orchestral overdubs
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