#Prince4ever #RIPVanity #PurpleRain
Vanity was the Prince protégé that set the prototype and broke the mold. Denise Matthews (Vanity) was an exotic woman with exquisite beauty and ambition. Vanity like many of Prince
s future woman protege's had questionable talent as a singer.
But like most of the Prince gang, they were asked only to pose for the album covers and do the songs on tour. Prince was the architect of their backstory and the sound of their music.
Vanity was also in a relationship with Prince. Prince's relationship with Vanity, along with the dynamic of Prince's relationship with Morris Day, Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis, Jesse Johnson, Jellybean and Monte Moir all of the Band "The Time" while on the "Triple Threat tour" (1999 tour) was the the backdrop for the 1984 film "Purple Rain".
Unfortunately for Prince Vanity's ambition was huge and Prince's patience was tiny. Vanity was offered a small sum of money to be the female lead in the film (and the band Vanity 6). According to subsequent interviews, Vanity was broke.
While the bands were in rehearsal she left the set and broke off the relationship with Prince. Vanity also cited that Prince was "playing in several playpens". Prince, a young severely talented and possibly broken musician was on his ascent and was probably not amenable to compromise in any area of his life.
Vanity would leave the Minneapolis camp for Motown and her own star turn in Berry Gordy's the Last Dragon, which while dated and filled with racist tropes remains a cult classic.
Patty "Apollonia" Kotero was cast as the female lead and Purple Rain went on to outsized success.
Vanity and Prince were briefly united at the American Music Awards in 1985, when Prince would dominate the Grammy awards and win an Oscar for his soundtrack to Purple Rain. Vanity continued to make films and had a successful career marred by drug use and health concerns.
Ironically, Vanity arguably had a more successful film career than Prince.
27 апр 2021
