Rosie Gaines

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Rosie Gaines is a American vocalist, musician, singer-songwriter, and producer from Pittsburg, California. She is the youngest of ten children. She released a number of dance hits, the most famous being Closer Than Close

Ensemble career

Her first band was a family funk/soul group called Unity, with Gaines on organ, her brother Carl on bass guitar, her cousin Lacy on guitar, sister-in-law Dianne on background vocals and her sister Mal on drums.

Gaines also played in a band called The Oasis and A Touch of Class before joining The Curtis Ohlson Band (with Levi Seacer, Jr. on guitar). Seacer called Gaines one day and asked her to come to Minneapolis, Minnesota to sing a demo of a song for The Pointer Sisters.

With Prince

While she was doing the demo, Prince came in the recording studio, was impressed by her abilities and asked her to join his band The New Power Generation. Prince often referred to Gaines as his "secret weapon".

Gaines was introduced in 1990 as the new vocalist and keyboard player on Prince's Nude tour. Her first appearance on a Prince album was on Graffiti Bridge. She was also a member of The NPG in the movie Graffiti Bridge. She performed and wrote on the Diamonds and Pearls album. In 1992, after the Diamonds and Pearls tour, Gaines decided it was time for her to go solo again, although she continued to work with Prince.

She duetted with Prince on the live version of "Nothing Compares 2 U", available on his 1993 compilation album, The Hits/The B-Sides.

Solo career

Gaines started recording her debut solo album. Several albums worth of material were recorded, and the album was set for release on Paisley Park Records. Unfortunately it was never released because of a legal battle between Prince and Warner Bros. Records.

Gaines eventually released her third album on Motown Records. It opened with "I Want U" and also includes "My Tender Heart" (composed by Gaines and Prince), which she performed on The Ryde Dyvine TV special in late 1992.

In 1995, Gaines released the album Closer Than Close. A single of the same name which had been left off the album was released two years later. The song peaked at #4 in the UK Singles Chart and became a club favorite. Also in 1995 Gaines collaborated with Tevin Campbell on the song "I2I" featured in the hit Disney movie A Goofy Movie.

With her own record label, Dredlix Records, Gaines strove to bring her music directly via the Internet. In 1997 she released an internet-only album, Arrival. Limited to 2,000 copies, it was available exclusively through her official website.

In 2003 she released her critically acclaimed album You Gave Me Freedom through Dome Records in the UK. In 2005 Gaines has provided her vocals for "Dance With Me" recorded by K-Klass and released on SUSU Records label in July 2005. The track made it onto numerous house music compilations, including Bargrooves: Manhattan and A House Affair.

Gaines released her latest album "Welcome To My World" for SUSU Records in November 2006.

Album discography

External links

• Rosie Gaines' Official website
• Rosie Gaines' Official MySpace Page