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Recording in Prince's studio: Jill Riley sings 'Raspberry Beret'

Brian Oake and Jill Riley in Studio B at Paisley Park
Brian Oake and Jill Riley in Studio B at Paisley ParkMPR
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by Jay Gabler

January 09, 2017

Jill Riley sings 'Raspberry Beret'
by MPR

What's it like to record in Prince's studio? Paisley Park visitors who purchase VIP tour tickets on Thursdays now have the opportunity to record themselves singing part of a Prince song — right there at one of the most legendary studios in music history.

Last week, The Current's Brian Oake and Jill Riley visited Paisley Park, and Jill took the opportunity to have a studio engineer record her singing part of "Raspberry Beret" along with a backing track of Prince's vocals. Above, listen to Jill's take on the 1985 classic — and listen to Brian and Jill talk about their visit, in an excerpt from their show on Friday morning.

"It was a really cool experience," remembered Jill, who was a huge fan of their tour guide, Mitch. "You can tell he was a huge Prince fan and really passionate and really knew his stuff."

Brian praised the Paisley Park tour. "Sitting behind the board where Sign O' the Times was recorded, seeing his inner workings, how he lived...you got the sense that he was this incredible, towering, almost impossible talent, but also just a regular dude who liked to plop down on the couch and watch basketball games."

Complete information on Paisley Park tickets is available at the venue's website. (Note that the recording opportunity is open to all VIP ticket buyers on Thursdays, but only with VIP tickets and only on Thursdays.)