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Take Me With U: Prince's best duets

Prince and Apollonia in 'Purple Rain'
Prince and Apollonia in 'Purple Rain'Warner Bros. via YouTube

by Jill Riley, Cecilia Johnson and Brian Oake

April 21, 2017

Prince is almost as legendary for working with other artists -- from the Revolution to Liv Warfield -- as he is in his own right. With this playlist, hear 10 of his best songs as co-pilot.

Prince feat. Apollonia - "Take Me With U"

In this majestic love song, Prince and Apollonia beg each other to stay close. "I don't care if we spend the night at your mansion," Apollonia cries; "All I want is 2 spend the night together." Prince originally wrote "Take Me With U" for Apollonia 6's self-titled album, but after a last-minute switch, it became a Purple Rain classic.

Prince, Wendy & Lisa - "Sometimes It Snows In April"

This song came out on Parade in 1986, but it gained a whole new significance when Prince passed away on April 21, 2016. The somber tune was initially tracked on April 21, 1985 at Sunset Sound in Hollywood.

Sheila E. feat. Prince - "A Love Bizarre"

Prince and Sheila E. both sound great on this Billboard Dance Club chart-topper, but the saxophone, played by Eddie Mininfield (a.k.a. Eddie M.), is what really makes it stick. Maybe the real duet is Mininfield's sax and Prince's behind-the-scenes prowess; Prince produced, wrote, and arranged "A Love Bizarre," as he did with all but one song on Sheila E.'s Romance 1600.

Prince feat. Sheena Easton - "U Got The Look"

Prince took Sheena Easton out on a 1985 date and didn't utter a word, according to Al Bowman, the couple's chauffeur for the night. Easton must not have minded too much, because she briefly dated him and recorded vocals on his Sign O The Times song "U Got The Look" (plus "The Arms of Orion" from Batman). In his recent sexy songs Prince hour with Jade, Har Mar Superstar points out that Prince "teases his sped-up voice," a.k.a. his alter ego Camille's voice, in "U Got The Look." Co-lead vocals are indeed credited to Camille.

Madonna feat. Prince, "Love Song"

Despite the fact that Prince and Madonna also dated for a brief period, they sing that their duet is "not a love song." The Like A Prayer track is uneasy, with synthesizers skulking around between drum machine beats and guitar flutters.

Paula Abdul feat. Prince, "U"

Prince doesn't sing on this Spellbound track from 1991, but he did produce it (under the name Paisley Park) and play all of the instruments, most notably the hard rock guitar. Another point of interest: Jesse Johnson of the Time co-wrote and produced "I Need You" on Abdul's 1988 album Forever Your Girl.

Kate Bush feat. Prince, "Why Should I Love You?"

"Why Should I Love You?" begins like classic Kate Bush: intoned vocals over churchy keys and a choir. Then, it breaks into a jam, complete with buzzy horns and an insistent bass line not unlike the one in "Thriller." Bush met Prince at a show in 1990, Daisy Jones writes in Noisey, and subsequently asked him to sing background vocals for a song she'd recorded at Abbey Road. "But when Prince received the track," Jones goes on, "he ignored the intructions and dismantled the entire thing like a crazed mechanic taking apart old cars on his backyard." The result is an underrated, gorgeous piece from Bush's 1993 album The Red Shoes.

Janelle Monae feat. Prince, "Given Em What They Love"

Janelle Monae is one of the brightest stars in the Prince constellation, recently appearing in Hidden Figures and 2017 Best Picture winner Moonlight. But before the movies, she made android-R&B album The Electric Lady, which features Prince on wailing tune "Given Em What They Love." When Monae came to the Skyway Theatre in 2013, Prince sat at a private table in the balcony; she and her band spent many days "running around Paisley and sitting in on our rehearsals," according to NPG vocalist Shelby J.

Prince and 3RDEYEGIRL feat. Lizzo & Sophia Eris, "BOYTROUBLE"

"BOYTROUBLE" is a Minnesotan team-up, with lots of help from 3RDEYEGIRL. It's one of the few Prince songs to include rap, released on PLECTRUMELECTRUM in September 2014. When it came out, Jay Gabler wrote, "On 'BOYTROUBLE,' a girl-power romp, first Sophia Eris and then Lizzo contribute spirited raps over the track's burbling beat." The next year, Lizzo and Eris's crew GRRRL PRTY would perform at Paisley Park while Finding Nemo played. Prince invited them back the night Madonna visited, according to crew DJ Shannon Blowtorch, but on such short notice, it didn't work out.

Prince feat. Rosie Gaines, "Nothing Compares 2 U"

One of the most beloved Prince songs of all time. He performed it with several different vocalists -- and of course, Sinead O'Connor's version made it famous -- but Prince and Rosie Gaines's version has a certain glory. Find it in Gaines' quiver, in Prince's scoops, and as always, in the gorgeous melody.

This hour of Prince's best duets, hosted by Oake and Riley, aired on Friday, April 21 at 8 a.m. The show will be rebroadcast on Saturday, April 22 at 1 a.m.