Vanity 6 was a short lived American female vocal trio that gained popularity in the early 1980s. They were protégés of musician

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. ...

. Led by singer

Vanity Vanity is the excessive belief in one's own abilities or attractiveness to others. Prior to the 14th century it did not have such narcissistic undertones, and merely meant ''futility''. The related term vainglory is now often seen as an archaic ...

, they are known for their song " Nasty Girl."

History

Formation

In 1981, Prince, himself a rising musical star, suggested that

Susan Moonsie Susan Moonsie-Mohan (born January 21, 1964) is a Trinidadian-born American singer. She is best known as a member of the 1980s musical groups Vanity 6 and Apollonia 6 that were associated with recording artist Prince. Life and career Susan V ...

and her sister Loreen, along with Cavallo, Ruffalo & Fargnoli employee Jamie Shoop form a

girl group A girl group is a music act featuring several female singers who generally harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in the United States to denote the wave of American female pop music singing groups, many of wh ...

that would be called the Hookers. Prince's vision was that the three women would perform in lingerie and sing sensual songs with lyrics about sex, romance, and fantasy. Later, musician

Rick James James Ambrose Johnson Jr. (February 1, 1948 – August 6, 2004), better known by his stage name Rick James, was an American singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. Born and raised in Buffalo, New York, James began his musical career in ...

claimed that Prince had stolen the idea for creating a sexy trio in negligees who sang about love, pain, money, and power from him while Prince was the opening act on James's tour in 1980. Set designer Roy Bennett's wife

Brenda Bennett Brenda Bennett (born January 24, 1962) is a recording artist from Rhode Island and is best known as a member of the American musical groups Vanity 6 and Apollonia 6. Bennett was married to Prince's lighting and set-designer/director Roy Benne ...

, who later joined the group stated that Prince was looking to create a somewhat "1980s version of The Supremes." The original trio recorded a few

demos Demos may refer to: Computing * DEMOS, a Soviet Unix-like operating system * DEMOS (ISP), the first internet service provider in the USSR * Demos Commander, an Orthodox File Manager for Unix-like systems * plural for Demo (computer programming) ...

before Prince met Canadian model and

B movie A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double feature ...

actress Denise Matthews at the

American Music Awards The American Music Awards (AMAs) is an annual American music awards show, generally held in the fall, created by Dick Clark in 1973 for ABC when the network's contract to air the Grammy Awards expired, and currently produced by Dick Clark Pro ...

in January 1982. Prince was so taken by her charisma that he decided she would be the perfect lead vocalist for his group the Hookers. He also suggested that Matthews use the stage name Vagina. She agreed to be part of the act, but insisted that the name of the group be changed from the Hookers, and that she will not be using the stage name Vagina. They settled on her stage name as Vanity and the group's name became Vanity 6. Prince chose the name because he said that looking at her was like looking in a mirror at the female version of himself. Around this time, Prince and Vanity began a romantic relationship. Loreen and Jamie were not in the group, and with Vanity's arrival, that left Vanity 6 as Vanity on lead vocals, and Brenda Bennett and Susan Moonsie on backing vocals. Prince provided the group, now dressed in lingerie and high heels, with provocative songs (although within the album credits, group members were sometimes given writing credits).

Career

Their first single, "He's So Dull", failed to chart on the main US Hot 100 chart and was a minor hit in Australia and the Netherlands; it appeared in the film ''

National Lampoon's Vacation ''National Lampoon's Vacation'', sometimes referred to as simply ''Vacation'', is a 1983 American road trip comedy film directed by Harold Ramis starring Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo, Imogene Coca, Randy Quaid, John Candy, and Christie Brink ...

''. The second single, " Nasty Girl", was also not a hit on the US Hot 100, but did become a hit on the U.S. R&B chart, hitting number 7, and the U.S. Dance chart, hitting number one. The song was a top 10 hit in the Netherlands, and a top 20 hit in the Flanders region of Belgium. "Nasty Girl" was featured in the film ''

Beverly Hills Cop ''Beverly Hills Cop'' is a 1984 American buddy cop action comedy film directed by Martin Brest, screenplay by Daniel Petrie Jr., story by Danilo Bach and Daniel Petrie Jr., and starring Eddie Murphy as Axel Foley, a street-smart Detroit cop ...

'', although it was not included on the soundtrack. It was also featured in the 1983 sex comedy film ''

Private School Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

''. The third single, "Drive Me Wild", was another minor hit.

Music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devic ...

s were shot for all three singles. Their first and only album, '' Vanity 6'', was eventually certified

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...

. Members of the group sometimes provided backing vocals on Prince's albums. Vanity 6 opened up on the Prince 1999 Tour in 1982 and 1983, which also featured The Time. The fact that The Time played behind a curtain during the Vanity 6 performance, caused a rift between the bands and friction within those friendships. The hierarchy in the group caused friction between Vanity and Bennett. Prince often put Bennett in charge of rehearsals and checking Vanity's vocals when Vanity saw herself as the one in charge of the group. Vanity appeared in a

Richard Avedon Richard Avedon (May 15, 1923 – October 1, 2004) was an American fashion and portrait photographer. He worked for ''Harper's Bazaar'', ''Vogue'' and ''Elle'' specializing in capturing movement in still pictures of fashion, theater and danc ...

photoshoot with Prince with one of the photos being used on the cover of the April 28, 1983 issue of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' magazine. The issue also contained a two-page Avedon photo of Vanity 6. In 1983, Vanity recorded demos for a number of new songs, including "Sex Shooter", intended for the ill-fated second Vanity 6 album. During pre-production of the movie '' Purple Rain'' in August 1983, Vanity decided to leave the group and relinquish her role in the film. Many possible reasons were given for her departure, such as disbursement of royalties, Prince being too controlling, and the end of their romantic relationship. Vanity was replaced in the music group and the 1984 film ''Purple Rain'' by Apollonia.

Post-Vanity 6

Apollonia inherited the lead role in Vanity 6, which was renamed

Apollonia 6 Apollonia 6 was a 1980s American female singing trio. Origin Apollonia 6 was created by recording artist Prince, who had also created the group Vanity 6 one year prior in 1982, but the groups did not exist simultaneously. After a number of dis ...

, alongside Bennett and Moonsie. The trio recorded what would be their only album, ''

'' in 1984. Moonsie went on to work as a relator and later became a restaurateur. Former front woman Vanity went on to have a solo music and acting career. In 1994, Vanity overdosed on

crack cocaine Crack cocaine, commonly known simply as crack, and also known as rock, is a free base form of the stimulant cocaine that can be smoked. Crack offers a short, intense high to smokers. The ''Manual of Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment'' calls ...

and suffered from near-fatal

kidney failure Kidney failure, also known as end-stage kidney disease, is a medical condition in which the kidneys can no longer adequately filter waste products from the blood, functioning at less than 15% of normal levels. Kidney failure is classified as eit ...

. Upon recovering, she became a

born again Christian Born again, or to experience the new birth, is a phrase, particularly in evangelicalism, that refers to a "spiritual rebirth", or a regeneration of the human spirit. In contrast to one's physical birth, being "born again" is distinctly and sep ...

and renounced her stage name and her career in show business. She died from kidney disease on February 15, 2016.

Discography

Studio albums

* '' Vanity 6'' (1982)

Singles

Unreleased second Vanity 6 album

A number of songs were intended for the Vanity 6 follow up album, but due to Vanity's departure, these songs ended up performed by others. * " Sex Shooter", which was released by Apollonia 6. Vanity 6 did record at least one version of this song which has been leaked on the internet. * " 17 Days", the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

to Prince's "

When Doves Cry "When Doves Cry" is a song by American musician Prince, and the lead single from his sixth studio album '' Purple Rain''. According to the DVD commentary of the film '' Purple Rain'' (1984), Prince was asked by director Albert Magnoli to write a ...

", ended up being released by Prince, with Bennett's background vocals still on the recording. * "G-Spot", which ended up on

Jill Jones Jill Jones (born July 11, 1962) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress, who performed as a backing vocalist for Teena Marie and Prince in the 1980s. Overview Jones was born in Lebanon, Ohio on July 11, 1962. Her mother, a fashion model ...

debut album. The Vanity 6/Prince with Jill Jones background vocals demo has been leaked on the internet as well. * "Vibrator", which has been leaked online. The song features

in a comedic sketch as well as Jill Jones. It is about Vanity feeling ignored by her lover only to find solace with her " body massager" which midway through the song loses power prompting Vanity to go purchase batteries at two different stores. The song is set in three distinct parts: The verse and chorus portions, then the comedic sketch, and finally, Vanity achieving an orgasm with her vibrator. *"Moral Majority"

References

External links

* {{Authority control American funk musical groups American dance girl groups American synth-pop groups Feminist musicians Musical groups established in 1981 Musical groups disestablished in 1983 American musical trios Musical groups from Minnesota Warner Records artists Vocal trios