Brenda Bennett (born January 24, 1962) is a recording artist from

Warwick, Rhode Island Warwick ( or ) is a city in Kent County, Rhode Island, United States, and is the third-largest city in the state, with a population of 82,823 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Warwick is located approximately south of downtown Pr ...

and is best known as a member of the American musical groups

Vanity 6 Vanity 6 was an American female vocal trio that gained popularity in the early 1980s. They were protégées of musician Prince. Led by singer Vanity, they are known for their song " Nasty Girl". Vanity left in 1983 and the band was reformed as ...

and Apollonia 6. Bennett was married to Prince's lighting and set-designer/director Roy Bennett, and she had worked as Prince's "wardrobe mistress." Bennett started off as a member of a Columbia Records band called Ken Lyon and Tombstone, which toured with Mott the Hoople and

Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

Career

Vanity 6 was formed by recording artist

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. The ...

in 1982. Lead vocalist

Vanity Vanity is the excessive belief in one's own abilities or attractiveness compared 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 ...

left Vanity 6 in 1983 after continuous disagreements with Prince. Group members Bennett and Susan Moonsie were joined by Vanity's replacement, vocalist Apollonia, and Prince renamed the group Apollonia 6. In both groups, Prince wanted to give Bennett the image of a bad girl—she smoked and had an attitude. Bennett and group member Susan Moonsie had small parts in the 1984 film '' Purple Rain'', which starred Prince. Apollonia co-starred in the film. Bennett can be heard on lead vocals on the songs "Bite the Beat" on the Vanity 6 album, and on "Some Kind of Lover", "A Million Miles (I Love You)," and "Blue Limousine" on the Apollonia 6 album. She can also be heard on the background vocals of the song " 17 Days" that Prince withdrew from their album. The song became a

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

of his single "

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 ...

". In April 2007, YouTube displayed the Apollonia film ''Happy B.Day Mr. Christian''. In this film, Brenda features her solo song "Blue Limousine" from the Apollonia 6 LP. She runs through cars and sings outside a gas station about her missed lover who treats her unkindly, and features Susan and Apollonia in black leather working on cars. Brenda released several music videos on YouTube in 2011. It took her a long time to recover from the death of her brother and mother before she was able to make any music again. In 2013, Bennett released "Guiltier" (written by Charlie Mason, Rob Curti, and Måns Ek) and Jemmima, "Guiltier" is a song about how it feels like to know your loved one is doing the wrong things behind your back. Bennett appeared on Ken Reid's ''TV Guidance Counselor'' podcast on February 24, 2016. Bennett lives in Jamestown, Rhode Island and is an inductee of the Rhode Island Music Hall of Fame.

References

1962 births Living people American women singers Singers from Boston Apollonia 6 members Vanity 6 members American feminist musicians American women new wave singers {{US-singer-stub