"Take Me with U" is a song by

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 ...

and the Revolution, and the final US single released from their

album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

, '' Purple Rain'' (1984).

Background

The song is sung as a

duet A duet (italian language, Italian: ''duo'') is a musical composition for two Performing arts, performers in which the performers have equal importance to the piece, often a composition involving two singers or two pianists. It differs from a har ...

with

Apollonia Kotero Patricia Apollonia Kotero (born August 2, 1959) is an American actress, songwriter, singer, producer, director, podcast host and former model. She is known for co-starring in Prince's 1984 film '' Purple Rain'' and for having been the lead sing ...

. It was originally intended to be performed by

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 ...

. Shortly before filming began on the movie ''Purple Rain'', Vanity famously chose to quit participation in the film altogether when she was offered what appeared to be a lucrative contract with

Motown Records Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...

exec

Berry Gordy Berry Gordy III (born November 28, 1929), also known as Berry Gordy Jr., is an American retired record executive, record producer, songwriter, film producer and television producer. He is best known as the founder of the Motown record label and i ...

and began filming ''

The Last Dragon ''The Last Dragon'' (sometimes listed as ''Berry Gordy's'' ''The Last Dragon'') is a 1985 American musical Martial arts film directed by Michael Schultz, written by Louis Venosta, and produced by Rupert Hitzig for Berry Gordy. The film star ...

''. (An early demo of the song exists with her vocals and has circulated on bootleg recordings by collectors.) She ceased her romantic relationship with

. The song was then intended for the ''

Apollonia 6 Apollonia 6 was an American female singing trio founded in 1983 by Prince, as a successor to his previous group Vanity 6 following the departure of lead singer Vanity. Singers Brenda Bennett and Susan Moonsie continued from the earlier group, wh ...

'' album to coincide with the film, but was pulled for the ''Purple Rain'' soundtrack. As a result of this addition, Prince made cuts to the suite-like original "

Computer Blue "Computer Blue" is a song by Prince and The Revolution. Released on June 25, 1984, it is the fourth track on Prince's sixth album, '' Purple Rain'', which also served as the soundtrack to the film of the same name. In the film, the song represen ...

", which circulates among collectors in an extended version (a portion of this second section of "Computer Blue" can be heard in the film ''Purple Rain'' as Prince walks in on the men of The Revolution rehearsing). The original version of the song was about a minute longer.

Reception

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' said that the song has "some beautiful melodies and some well-placed string sections which are proof of Prince’s varied talents."

Chart performance

The single was released with an edit of album track " Baby I'm a Star" as its

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 ...

. In the US, it peaked at number 40 on the

Hot Black Singles The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 po ...

chart and number 25 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 the weeks of March 23 and 30, 1985. In the UK, the song was issued as a double A-side single, coupled with "

Let's Go Crazy "Let's Go Crazy" is a 1984 song by Prince and The Revolution, from the album '' Purple Rain''. It is the opening track on both the album and the film '' Purple Rain''. "Let's Go Crazy" was one of Prince's most popular songs, and was a staple fo ...

", reaching number 7 in March 1985.

Track listing

7": Paisley Park / 7-29079 (US)

# "Take Me with U" (edit) – 3:42 # "Baby I'm a Star" (edit) – 2:55

Personnel

Credits sourced from Duane Tudahl, Benoît Clerc, Guitarcloud, Michael Aubrecht, and the album's liner notes *

– lead and backing vocals,

Oberheim OB-8 The Oberheim OB-8 is a subtractive analog synthesizer launched by Oberheim in early 1983 and discontinued in 1985. As the fourth product in the OB-series of polyphonic compact synthesizers, the OB-8 was the successor to the OB-Xa. About 3,000 ...

and

Oberheim OB-Xa The Oberheim OB-Xa was the second of Oberheim's OB-series polyphonic analog subtractive synthesizers, replacing the OB-X with updated features. History The OB-Xa was released in December 1980, replacing the OB-X after only a year on the marke ...

synthesizers, acoustic guitar, bass guitar,

Simmons SDS-V The Simmons SDS 5, SDSV, or Simmons Drum Synthesizer (notated as ''SDS-V'' on the following) was the first viable electronic replacement for acoustic drums. It was developed by Richard James Burgess and Dave Simmons, manufactured initially by M ...

LinnDrum The LinnDrum, often erroneously referred to as the LM-2, is a drum machine manufactured by Linn Electronics between 1982 and 1985. About 5,000 units were sold. Development The LinnDrum was designed by the American engineer Roger Linn. It was ...

, string arrangement * Apollonia – co-lead and backing vocals *

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. She is best known for her various collaborative works with Prince in the 1980s and 1990s ...

– co-lead and backing vocals * Lisa Coleman – co-lead and backing vocals, string arrangement, string conductor *

Wendy Melvoin Wendy Ann Melvoin (born January 26, 1964) is an American guitarist and singer-songwriter, best known for her work with Prince as part of his backing band the Revolution, and for her collaboration with Lisa Coleman as one half of the duo Wendy ...

– string conductor * David Coleman – cello, finger cymbals * Novi Novog – violin

Charts

References

{{Authority control 1984 songs 1985 singles Prince (musician) songs Songs written by Prince (musician) Male–female vocal duets Warner Records singles Song recordings produced by Prince (musician) American psychedelic rock songs Songs written for films