André Cymone: "Dance Electric"

[Videoskooter]

Wasn't this a superfunkycalifragilistic floorkiller?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVaxz...elated&search=

[K-Bee]

Classic Minneapolis funk!! It should have been bigger really. Cymone is underrated imo.

[SandraDee]

A Prince clone.

[DiscoDiva]

Hahahahaha! My exact sentiment! Thought Prince was pulling off a fast one.

[Videoskooter]

André was his buddy. They grew up together, they both headed for fame and unfortunately for AC, Prince hit the stars.

This is in fact a 100% Prince adventure and was followed by an album. It's in my collection but it seldom leaves the shelfs. Other albums by him are not bad at all but certainly don't have the impact of Prince's oeuvre.

Speaking of a Prince clone: mmmh, not André. The real jealous guy was The Time's Jesse Johnson, who tried to imitate Prince's looks and music but never really charted.

[Najee]

I have no idea what the music scene was like for soul music in the 1980s in Belgium, but in the United States Jesse Johnson was a far more successful recording artist than André Cymone. Cymone's only hit song was the Prince-penned "The Dance Electric," which barely made it into the top 10 of the Billboard R&B charts in 1985. Johnson, meanwhile, racked up about half a dozen top 10 singles during his career.

Cymone's albums have long been out of print, in no small part because of their lack of sales success. Meanwhile, all of Johnson's albums are still available to be purchased -- especially his debut album, "Jesse Johnson's Revue," which went gold and generated three top five singles on the Billboard R&B charts ("Be Your Man," "Can You Help Me" and "I Want My Girl").

Virtually all of Cymone's success has been a producer, most notably for Jody Watley's first three solo albums. If you're including that aspect, then the matchup is a lot closer -- but as recording artists go, Johnson easily outstripped Cymone.

And finally, both Cymone and Johnson were commonly known as having the same look and musical style and philosophies of Prince -- but that's to be expected, because each played solid roles in the definition of The Minneapolis Sound (Cymone as a childhood friend and later bass player for Prince's band; Johnson as the guitarist for The Time). However, I don't think it's fair to slap one with a label of "Prince clone" and not the other.

[paul]

:icon_razz:
Once Prince left the disco scene and these clones showed up, I knew for sure then that disco as I loved it was done :icon_rolleyes: :icon_sad:

[QUINNY]

Andre Cymone's Dance Electric was and always will be, a certified A1 floorfilling funkalicious grooveathon in my books!! Fawkin' ace record!!!!!!!!

[ol'skinflint]

I have no idea what the music scene was like for soul music in the 1980s in Belgium, but in the United States Jesse Johnson was a far more successful recording artist than André Cymone. Cymone's only hit song was the Prince-penned "The Dance Electric," which barely made it into the top 10 of the Billboard R&B charts in 1985. Johnson, meanwhile, racked up about half a dozen top 10 singles during his career.

Cymone's albums have long been out of print, in no small part because of their lack of sales success. Meanwhile, all of Johnson's albums are still available to be purchased - -especially his debut album, "Jesse Johnson's Revue," which went gold and generated three top five singles on the Billboard R&B charts ("Be Your Man," "Can You Help Me" and "I Want My Girl").

Virtually all of Cymone's success has been a producer, most notably for Jody Watley's first three solo albums. If you're including that aspect, then the matchup is a lot closer -- but as recording artists go, Johnson easily outstripped Cymone.

And finally, both Cymone and Johnson were commonly known as having the same look and musical style and philosophies of Prince -- but that's to be expected, because each played solid roles in the definition of The Minneapolis Sound (Cymone as a childhood friend and later bass player for Prince's band; Johnson as the guitarist for The Time). However, I don't think it's fair to slap one with a label of "Prince clone" and not the other.

ALWAYS loved "Can You Help Me?" That song clearly showed how much Jesse Johnson contributed to the Time. And Johnson also had success as a producer...he contributed to the smash album (now pretty much forgotten) by Paula Abdul: "Forever Your Girl". He also produced a big hit for Tamara and the Scene (probably misspelled that) called "Everybody Dance." And not many artists were able to coax Sly Stone out to play, but Jesse Johnson did (can't remember the song, though), long after Sly became a recluse....

[Najee]

Yeah, Jesse Johnson discovered and produced a group called Ta Mara and The Seen in the mid-1980s. They scored a couple of top 10 R&B hits, "Everybody Dance" and "Affection." Also, Johnson wrote and produced one of After 7's best songs, "Nights Like This" for the "Five Heartbeats" soundtrack.

Per the Sly Stone song to which you're referring, it was "Crazay" which was one of Johnson's biggest hits (it reached No. 2 on the Billboard R&B charts). And don't forget "Lovestruck," my favorite song by Johnson that had a monstrous, grooving bassline coupled with a searing guitar solo at the end.

I wasn't discounting Johnson as a producer outside of his songs, it's just that I feel André Cymone had more success in this category, per his work on Jody Watley's albums. However, even with that you would have to say Johnson had the more successful post-Prince entourage career. It says something when Cymone's best work came when someone else either gave it to him (Prince with "The Dance Electric") or interpreted better than he likely would have done it (Watley).

[Najee]

"Speaking of a Prince clone: mmmh, not André. The real jealous guy was The Time's Jesse Johnson, who tried to imitate Prince's looks and music but never really charted."

Now that the "Jesse Johnson never charted" comment has been challenged, how do you figure that André Cymone is NOT trying to be a Prince clone here? That photo shot for the 12" of "The Dance Electric" is proof enough, not to mention his one hit was a song Prince gave to him (it sounds totally like Prince and so little of Cymone's identity was in it that Prince may have well performed it). Even in the video for "The Dance Electric" Cymone looks like some visual cross between Prince and Morris Day (the outfits he wore in the video definitely reminded you of early Prince gear).

[dvdjamm]

I always heard that The Dance Electric was all Prince except for the vocals...Prince even sang it in concert....

[Najee]

"I always heard that The Dance Electric was all Prince except for the vocals...Prince even sang it in concert...."

Even the vocal arrangement in "The Dance Electric" is to the point that you halfway wonder if Prince is actually singing the song, instead of André Cymone. It's not like someone took a Prince song and totally remade it (see Chaka Khan's "I Feel for You"), interpreted it in another fashion (see Meli'sa Morgan's "Do Me" and Stephanie Mills' "How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore?") or even added some twist to the pre-established sound (see Sheena Easton's "Sugar Walls") -- if you were hearing that song for the first time and you had to guess who performed it you would have thought Prince was singing it.

[Videoskooter]

There's some confusion entering this old thread. I never said that Cymone wasn't a Prince-look-a-like. I only stated that it was a "Fawkin'Ace Record" (wow my English gets a boost here).

Indeed, I was speaking for our region. Cymone was a floorkiller and a charter. Jesse Johnson never had an impact here although I do know that he was much more successful in the US. So that's cleared up.

I have the Ta Mara And The Seen album, in fact I have all the albums that came out of the Twin Cities BITD (94 East, Tyka Nelson, Mazarati, Good Question, Tony Lemans etc) Only The Time, Vanity and Appolonia 6 really charted here. I played "Crazay" many times during gigs and on radio and it flopped (although I like the record very much).

What I was really trying to say was that, and listen, I have worldwide contacts with the Prince-posse (entourage and artists) since the mid-eighties and I know, I KNOW that Jesse was very jealous on Prince's success and litterally said: "I can do that too! In a few years they'll speak about me and not him".

Now it didn't happen, didn't it? Jesse is a talented guy, a sweet guy (I spoke with him in 1988) but he made one mistake and that was blatantly copying Prince's looks and ideas . Prince changed his haircut, Jesse did the same. Prince shaved of his moustache, Jesse did the same. Prince put on glasses, Jesse did the same. Prince used this or that new sound, Jesse did the same.

He should have followed his own taste and then he would have been a bigger star than he is now.

And on the technical side: JJ is a superb guitarist but he doesn't reach the 0+> level!

And for "The Dance Electric", it's Prince singing with André. Don't forget that all the records during the purple wave, be it The Time, Vanity, Appolonia: it's all Prince you know, he almost plays every note on those albums. When in Concert, during the first act, Prince was playing bass and guitar backstage, as a sort of warming up for his own show.

Hope I cleared something up here!

BTW, please check the links in my signature, there you have all the new protegées.

Andre Cymone




Good morning children
Take a look out your window
Our world is falling
It's almost time 2 go

Dance the Dance Electric
The rhythm is love and love is blind
Love your enemies
There isn't much time, there isn't much time

[Najee]

"There's some confusion entering this old thread. I never said that Cymone wasn't a Prince-look-a-like. I only stated that it was a 'Fawkin'Ace Record' (wow my English gets a boost here)."

No, you called Jesse Johnson a Prince clone and said André Cymone wasn't. I find that baffling to say the least, considering that Cymone not only performed a Prince song sounding exactly like His Royal Badness he literally looked like he could pass for Prince's brother during the so-called peak of his forgettable solo career.

Cymone actually favored Prince more than any other Minneapolis-era act (IMO, during his "The Dance Electric" days he looked like some visual cross between Prince and Morris Day). That YouTube link of Cymone performing "Lipstick Lover" on "Solid Gold" not only shows him looking like some Prince/Morris Day composite but moving on stage and dancing like some combination of them.

"Indeed, I was speaking for our region. Cymone was a floorkiller and a charter. Jesse Johnson never had an impact here although I do know that he was much more successful in the US. So that's cleared up."

I'm curious to find out what kind of chart success Cymone had in Belgium, since outside of "The Dance Electric" he never came remotely close to having a hit song in the United States. Personally, an artist having a more solid foothold in his home country's music scene (Johnson's primary market) is more important than one who is practically forgotten in his home market (Cymone) who may have had one song played in another country.

"I have the Ta Mara And The Seen album, in fact I have all the albums that came out of the Twin Cities BITD (94 East, Tyka Nelson, Mazarati, Good Question, Tony Lemans etc) Only The Time, Vanity and Appolonia 6 really charted here. I played "Crazay" many times during gigs and on radio and it flopped (although I like the record very much)."

Well, since you now that Johnson was a more significant recording artist than Cymone in the United States it still begs the question about Cymone's musical track record in Belgium. I would be interested in how some of his rather marginal songs such as "Make Me Wanna Dance," "Surviving in the '80s" and "Lipstick Lover" did in another market, where the musical tastes apparently are different.

"What I was really trying to say was that, and listen, I have worldwide contacts with the Prince-posse (entourage and artists) since the mid-eighties and I know, I KNOW that Jesse was very jealous on Prince's success and litterally said: "I can do that too! In a few years they'll speak about me and not him".

Since that can't be substantiated by any other source -- such as media clips -- I can't take that to be more than some rumor, particularly from someone in Belgium so far removed from the principals' base of operations.

"Now it didn't happen, didn't it? Jesse is a talented guy, a sweet guy (I spoke with him in 1988) but he made one mistake and that was blatantly copying Prince's looks and ideas. Prince changed his haircut, Jesse did the same. Prince shaved of his moustache, Jesse did the same. Prince put on glasses, Jesse did the same. Prince used this or that new sound, Jesse did the same."

I don't know what pictures you're referring to, but Johnson always had a lot of hair on his head during the prominent days of his recording career (even when he reunited with The Time in 1990). I even saw a later picture of Johnson in the mid-1990s and he still had a lot of hair, so when did this haircut come into play?

Quite frankly, I'm trying to remember when Johnson tried blatently to make himself resemble Prince, musically or physically. When Prince cut his hair short in the mid-1980s, Johnson still wore his hair long (and in some stages even longer). Like most Minneapolis-era acts, Johnson had a very basic similarity along with Prince but if anyone was the blatant Prince look-alike and sound-alike it was Cymone (especially during "The Dance Electric" period).

"He should have followed his own taste and then he would have been a bigger star than he is now."

Let's see, Prince gives Cymone a song in which Cymone supplies practically no creative input in order to save a sinking recording career. In fact, the Prince imprint is so prevalent that you wonder if it is even Cymone singing the song.

On the other hand, Johnson's music had some of the typical Minneapolis influences (namely, the strong accent on synthesizers on "Jesse Johnson's Revue") but other than that it wasn't like you were confused on whether it was a Prince song or a Jesse Johnson song. "Be Your Man," "Can You Help Me," "Crazay" and "Lovestruck" certainly weren't songs aping Prince on every level. So tell me what songs are you describing?

"And for 'The Dance Electric,' it's Prince singing with André."

I hear one male voice in the initial verse and chorus, and then later that male voice is joined by a female voice (if I'm not mistaken, it's Lisa Griffin of The Revolution). Even if it is Cymone, it's Cymone singing a song like Prince in every fashion -- from certain vocal phrasings and inflections to the shout before the start of the guitar solo (which evidently was done by Prince).

That's the reason why when a lot of people in 1985 heard "The Dance Electric" for the first time, the typical response was along the lines of "That's Prince, isn't it?" Has it not occurred to you that maybe "The Dance Electric" was as successful as it was because not only did it obviously sound like a Prince song but people may have thought Prince was performing the song (at the very least, people acknowledged that Cymone was channeling Prince in every manner possible)? People didn't like the song for Cymone's contributions (because he practically contributed nothing), but because they basically were envisioning Prince singing it.

It's more than just a song that Prince wrote for an artist -- it's a song that sounds like a Prince song with no type of clue that Cymone had anything to do with it. We can presume Cymone was the lead vocal, but it sounds like it was only after Prince erased his vocal on it and gave Cymone his peace offering for their split a few years earlier.

[Videoskooter]

Now, where did I say that Cymone was a genius or a tremendous talent? The thread started with a clip of an awesome piece of dancemusic.

"Dance Electric" and "Lipstick Lover" charted here BIG, on the official Top 40. Both records are still played in clubs over here. Johnson never had 1 hit in our country. Some people know his name but just as a member of The Time! So that's the first answer.

Now, the 2nd coming, if you read my posts clearly then you notice that I rate JJ high as a musician and that I do like much of his work. I have the Jesse Johnson Revue and the later albums. I also have the 1st AC album. I never said that it was a milestone in music history.

I don't know who you are (the Najee that played with Prince on the Hit 'n Run Tour?) but I'm pretty well known in purple space. I met Jesse Johnson personally and I spoke to a lot of Prince employees and musicians (Sheila E., Dr. Fink, Candy Dulfer, Brown Mark, Levi Seacer, Greg Boyer, Monte Moir) I met the master himself in a club but didn't have the honour to speak with him, so the fact that I live in Belgium is no obstacle to meet stars you know. I travel, they travel.

It's a well known fact that BITD when Johnson went solo he was not very much on speaking terms with his former boss/friend and that he was not very friendly in his comments on him. A lot and I mean a LOT of people saw JJ as a would-be Prince. Cymone was already long forgotten (there I gave you credit). I tried to promote JJ but people only said: well, it's not Prince, it's like The Time but we heard better ones.

So no, he didn't make an impact in the lowlands.

In fact the only reason why I opened the topic initially was to say: hey, that was a floorkiller and it still is over here. Put on the "Dance Electric" and even young kids go with that vibe. It's incredibly powerful and people really don't give a damn who's behind it!

BTW, who wrote what and who did what during the puple wave? Remember The Time's excellent "Pandemonium" album? Well I adore it, only the songs weren't new, coz' I had them in slight different takes on Prince-bootlegs, where he sang 'em. We'll probably never know who came up with the ideas initially.

Those people were constantly jammin' and tapin' and then it's awfully difficult to give the right credits to the right person. "We can funk" was rather weak on "Graffiti Bridge", I have the original take on the "Chocolate Box" album! Listen to it and you will ask: damn, why didn't he choose that version! Just to comment on the vocal stuff of DE and AC! But then again....it's about the music and nothing but the music!

[Najee]

Now, where did I say that Cymone was a genius or a tremendous talent? The thread started with a clip of an awesome piece of dancemusic.

My issue is with your confounding statement of calling Jesse Johnson a Prince clone while somehow coming to the conclusion that André Cymone wasn't, despite Cymone not only singing a song given to him by Prince but he actually resembled Prince. The comment about Johnson was unwarranted.

"Dance Electric" and "Lipstick Lover" charted here BIG, on the official Top 40. Both records are still played in clubs over here."

Charting in the Top 40 of a chart suggests to me that Cymone had a couple of marginal hit songs. It's certainly not going to get you inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame.

It's obviously an example of how certain parts of the world have different musical appetites than what's going on in the United States. Both "The Dance Electric" and "Lipstick Lover" have been out of print here for nearly two decades, and "Lipstick Lover" wasn't even remotely a hit song in the United States.

Johnson never had 1 hit in our country. Some people know his name but just as a member of The Time! So that's the first answer.

Like I said, I don't know how musical tastes run in Belgium but I would like to know what makes Cymone's songs more appealing than Johnson's. Johnson's music was far more accessible and mainstream than what Cymone produced, and I can't imagine a rather trite song like "Lipstick Lover" being considered superior to stuff like "Be Your Man," "Can You Help Me" or "Lovestruck."

Now, the 2nd coming, if you read my posts clearly then you notice that I rate JJ high as a musician and that I do like much of his work. I have the Jesse Johnson Revue and the later albums. I also have the 1st AC album. I never said that it was a milestone in music history.

So that must be why you introduced Johnson into thread by making a backhanded personal comment about him in some effort to defend Cymone. With "complements" like those, I'm sure Johnson is singing The O'Jays' "Backstabbers."

I don't know who you are (the Najee that played with Prince on the Hit 'n Run Tour?) but I'm pretty well known in purple space."

Oh, really? Should I be impressed, that you proclaimed yourself as some herald to Prince? :icon_lol: :icon_lol: :icon_lol:

I met Jesse Johnson personally and I spoke to a lot of Prince employees and musicians (Sheila E., Dr. Fink, Candy Dulfer, Brown Mark, Levi Seacer, Greg Boyer, Monte Moir) I met the master himself in a club but didn't have the honour to speak with him, so the fact that I live in Belgium is no obstacle to meet stars you know. I travel, they travel.

Again, should I be impressed? Really, how relevant is this to the conversation?

It's a well known fact that BITD when Johnson went solo he was not very much on speaking terms with his former boss/friend and that he was not very friendly in his comments on him.

So what? Neither were Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis for awhile. Neither was Morris Day. Neither was Cymone, all for various reasons.

A lot and I mean a LOT of people saw JJ as a would-be Prince."

Of course, because Johnson was a part of Prince's most popular discovery at the time. That alone gave reason to make comparisons. Factor in that Johnson also was a guitarist and some of the other superficial, physical comparison between Prince and his other discoveries, of course there would be some inevitable comparisons. Name some other principal in the Prince camp who WASN'T compared with him. Hell, Cymone acted and tried to look like Prince!

Cymone was already long forgotten (there I gave you credit). I tried to promote JJ but people only said: well, it's not Prince, it's like The Time but we heard better ones.

Again, I can't account for people's taste in a country about which I know nothing. But it also seems that people like "The Dance Electric" in no small part because it's unequivocably a Prince song with someone else doing an imitation of His Royal Badness.

In fact the only reason why I opened the topic initially was to say: hey, that was a floorkiller and it still is over here. Put on the "Dance Electric" and even young kids go with that vibe. It's incredibly powerful and people really don't give a damn who's behind it!

Good, because in the United States most people don't even remember "The Dance Electric" because it's been out of print for so long and it wasn't exactly a "floorkiller" here. In fact, if played to someone never heard it the reaction is almost invariably, "Prince has a new record out?" Like I said, I can't account for taste but Johnson's records IMO were superior to and far more successful than Cymone's stuff here.

[Videoskooter]

You know what, I just think you're a die-hard Johnson lover and YOU WIN!

OKAY! Why should I have to explain why a Cymone-record was more popular in Belgium than one by Johnson?

Are you Jesse Johnson? Great, nice to meet you again! Have a great life! :icon_lol: :icon_lol: :icon_mrgreen:

You win! You win! You win! Johnson is great!

But they are all Prince-clones! Nothing compares 2 him!

[neonlights]

Regardless of who copied who, and how much etc... I just have to say that Andre's "Living In The New Wave" LP is one of my favourites, and totally underrated to boot... (just my two cents )

[Najee]

You know what, I just think you're a die-hard Johnson lover and YOU WIN!

OKAY! Why should I have to explain why a Cymone-record was more popular in Belgium than one by Johnson?

Are you Jesse Johnson? Great, nice to meet you again! Have a great life! :icon_lol: :icon_lol: :icon_mrgreen:

No, the reality is that you can't defend your unfounded comments and have run out of things to say. So instead you try to be dismissive.

[Videoskooter]

Charting in the Top 40 of a chart suggests to me that Cymone had a couple of marginal hit songs. It's certainly not going to get you inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame.

Your question was if Cymone's record was popular over here. Yes it was! Johnson never made any impact whatsoever. Sorry to confront you with our "bad taste"! I repeat, JJ is NOT KNOWN over here. That means he didn't even had marginal hits here! And coming up with the Rock 'n' Roll Hall Of Fame is childish. I never said Cymone was a legend.

It's obviously an example of how certain parts of the world have different musical appetites than what's going on in the United States. Both "The Dance Electric" and "Lipstick Lover" have been out of print here for nearly two decades, and "Lipstick Lover" wasn't even remotely a hit song in the United States.

You don't rate DE high, we all have understood that by now. For your concern: go into a shop here and ask for DE, they'll know the song and they will try to get it for ya. Ask for Johnson and they will ask you: Jesse Who? Sorry again, those are the facts! For Belgium that is, which was your initial question.

Like I said, I don't know how musical tastes run in Belgium but I would like to know what makes Cymone's songs more appealing than Johnson's. Johnson's music was far more accessible and mainstream than what Cymone produced, and I can't imagine a rather trite song like "Lipstick Lover" being considered superior to stuff like "Be Your Man," "Can You Help Me" or "Lovestruck."

Could all very well be. You mention Belgium again and the fact that JJ's music was superior. Quite possible! Not over here! I know you will not accept it but those are the facts. Johnson's music was not successful here!

So that must be why you introduced Johnson into thread by making a backhanded personal comment about him in some effort to defend Cymone. With "complements" like those, I'm sure Johnson is singing The O'Jays' "Backstabbers."

As far as I'm concerned he can sing every song he wants. It's a free world. Backstabbin' is something that you do to a friend. Johnson ain't no personal friend of mine so I doubt that he ill be hurt by this or in fact that the guy gives a damn about these posts.


Oh, really? Should I be impressed, that you proclaimed yourself as some herald to Prince? :icon_lol: :icon_lol: :icon_lol:

Here you are DISMISSIVE. I never said I was a herald of Prince. I said that I spoke too many people around him and that they said this about Johnson. I don't record my life so no I can not put a video of it online. Read press articles from those days and you will see that it was the perception BITD.

Again, should I be impressed? Really, how relevant is this to the conversation?

I have many aims in life, but impressing you is not 1 of them. Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn!

Of course, because Johnson was a part of Prince's most popular discovery at the time. That alone gave reason to make comparisons. Factor in that Johnson also was a guitarist and some of the other superficial, physical comparison between Prince and his other discoveries, of course there would be some inevitable comparisons. Name some other principal in the Prince camp who WASN'T compared with him. Hell, Cymone acted and tried to look like Prince!

Could very well be! But he scored here and JJ didn't. So in the eyes of the Belgian public, he could be considered as the "better Prince-clone". No?


Again, I can't account for people's taste in a country about which I know nothing. But it also seems that people like "The Dance Electric" in no small part because it's unequivocably a Prince song with someone else doing an imitation of His Royal Badness.

So what? They liked it here and they don't need to bargain with you about it!


Good, because in the United States most people don't even remember "The Dance Electric" because it's been out of print for so long and it wasn't exactly a "floorkiller" here. In fact, if played to someone never heard it the reaction is almost invariably, "Prince has a new record out?" Like I said, I can't account for taste but Johnson's records IMO were superior to and far more successful than Cymone's stuff here.[/QUOTE]

That's your opinion and you are entitled to it! Great for Jesse, and I hope they keep playing his songs in the years to come. I like 'em too, otherwise I wouldn't have bought the albums back then.

What Time Is It? Time to put this thread into the skillet! A GREAT song on this GREAT album BTW

[Najee]

No, you made a bad assumption I did not like "The Dance Electric." In fact, it's quite the opposite. What I take issue with is you making swipes at another artist for the sake of elevating another artist, and what makes it laughable is that comments you're using to deride Jesse Johnson apply more to André Cymone than they do to Johnson.