Girls & Boys (Prince song)

"Girls & Boys" is a 1986 song by American musician Prince and The Revolution, from his eighth studio album, Parade (1986), the soundtrack to the film Under the Cherry Moon. The song was released as a single in the UK, and as the B-side to "Anotherloverholenyohead" in the US.

"Girls & Boys"
UK 12" single
Single by Prince and The Revolution
from the album Parade
B-side
  • "Under the Cherry Moon"
  • "Erotic City" (UK 12")
  • "She's Always in My Hair" (UK double 7" single)
  • "17 Days" (UK double 7" single)
ReleasedAugust 4, 1986
RecordedJuly 8, 1985
StudioWashington Avenue Warehouse (Minneapolis)
Genre
Length3:27 (7" edit)
5:30 (album/12" version)
LabelPaisley Park / Warner Bros.
Songwriter(s)Prince
Producer(s)Prince
Prince singles chronology
"Anotherloverholenyohead"
(1986)		 "Girls & Boys"
(1986)		 "Sign o' the Times"
(1987)

Following the smash success of its predecessor "Kiss", "Girls & Boys" peaked at number 11 in the UK, but was not released as a single in America. Prince's former drummer, Bobby Z. later commented that the song may have helped the entire album and film achieve bigger success, saying "second singles sometimes weren't right... 'Kiss' was a complete smash and set the album up huge. In my opinion it should then have been 'Girls & Boys', not 'Mountains'". The music video for the single consisted of clips from the film and separately-shot footage of The Revolution, including Prince's then-fiancee Susannah Melvoin.

"Girls & Boys" is a funk offering featuring both live drumming as well as the drum machine Linn LM-1. The keyboard hook is a peculiar duck-like sound. This is the first official Prince single to include the saxophone contributions of Eric Leeds. The lyrics speak of characters similar to Christopher and Mary from Under the Cherry Moon, although their actions are not seen in the film. The song includes a seduction spoken by Marie France in French, as well as an early attempt by Prince to deliver a short rap. Background vocals are Wendy & Lisa, and Susannah Melvoin. Sheila E. is not in it.

The B-side was the LP version of "Under the Cherry Moon". The 12" single also included the 1984 track "Erotic City", which originally backed "Let's Go Crazy". In addition, a special double 7" single was released containing "Girls & Boys", "She's Always in My Hair" (which originally backed "Paisley Park"), "Under the Cherry Moon", and "17 Days", which originally backed "When Doves Cry".

In March 2006, British actress Kristin Scott Thomas, one of the stars of Under the Cherry Moon, nominated "Girls and Boys" as one of her eight favourite Desert Island Discs.[1]

"Girls and Boys" was covered by jazz/funk bassist Marcus Miller on his 2005 album Silver Rain, featuring singer Macy Gray.

Track listing
  • 7" vinyl / 7" vinyl picture disc
  1. "Girls & Boys" (edit) – 3:27
  2. "Under the Cherry Moon" – 2:57
  • 2x7" vinyl
  1. "Girls & Boys" (edit) – 3:27
  2. "Under the Cherry Moon" – 2:57
  3. "She's Always in My Hair" – 3:27
  4. "17 Days" – 3:52
  • 12" vinyl
  1. "Girls & Boys" (LP version) – 5:30
  2. "Under the Cherry Moon" – 2:57
  3. "Erotic City (Make Love Not War Erotic City Come Alive)" – 7:24

Personnel

Credits from Duane Tudahl, Benoît Clerc, and Guitarcloud[2][3][4]

Charts
Weekly chart performance for "Girls & Boys"
Chart (1986–1987) Peak
position
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[5] 10
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[6] 10
France (SNEP)[7] 38
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[8] 29
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[9] 12
UK Singles (OCC)[10] 11
West Germany (Official German Charts)[11] 27

Notes
  1. "BBC Radio 4 - Desert Island Discs, Kristin Scott Thomas".
  2. Tudahl, Duane (2021). Prince and the Parade and Sign O' The Times Era Studio Sessions 1985 and 1986. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 9781538144527.
  3. Clerc, Benoît (October 2022). Prince: All the Songs. Octopus. ISBN 9781784728816.
  4. "Parade". guitarcloud.org. Retrieved 2023-04-29.
  5. "Prince & The Revolution – Girls & Boys" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved May 6, 2016.
  6. Pennanen, Timo (2021). "Prince". Sisältää hitin - 2. laitos Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla 1.1.1960–30.6.2021 (PDF) (in Finnish). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 204. Retrieved July 3, 2022.
  7. "Prince & The Revolution – Girls & Boys" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved May 6, 2016.
  8. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Prince & The Revolution" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved July 3, 2022.
  9. "Prince & The Revolution – Girls & Boys" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved May 6, 2016.
  10. "Prince & The Revolution: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 6, 2016.
  11. "Offiziellecharts.de – Prince & The Revolution – Girls & Boys" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved May 6, 2016.
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