The Glamorous Life

"The Glamorous Life"
U.S. 7" single
Single by Sheila E.
from the album The Glamorous Life
B-side	"The Glamorous Life" (Part II)
Released	May 12, 1984
Format	7" single 12" single
Recorded	March 1984
Genre	Funk
Length	8:58 (Album) 3:41 (7" single) 6:33 (Club Edit)
Label	Warner Bros.
Writer(s)	Prince
Producer	Sheila E., Jamie Starr
Sheila E. singles chronology
"The Glamorous Life" (1984) "The Belle of St. Mark" (1984)

"The Glamorous Life" is a song written by Prince in 1984 and first recorded by singer/percussionist Sheila E.. The dance song has lyrics which reflect a cynicism for the decadence and materialism of the song's protagonist, referred to in the third person, who "wants to lead a glamorous life", although she is aware that "without love, it ain't much".

Song history

"The Glamorous Life" was originally intended to be recorded by the short-lived replacement act for Vanity 6, girl group Apollonia 6. Prince allegedly had several tracks lined up for the trio to record for their 1984 debut album (and by some accounts, their follow up album as well) but abandoned the idea when he learned that lead singer Apollonia Kotero had no desire to stay in the group beyond her contractual obligations as designed for her movie role in Purple Rain.

Prince decided to give the song to Sheila E. who was fresh off her duet on Prince's "Erotic City". "The Glamorous Life" would be recorded by Sheila and go on to launch her solo career.

Sheila E. version

"The Glamorous Life" was the title track and closing song on Sheila E.'s debut solo album, and reached number 7 on the U.S. pop charts, as well as number 1 on the U.S. dance charts, and earned a Grammy Award nomination.

Sheila's live performances of the song became memorable events, most notably for her percussion solo towards the end of the song. Depending on the occasion, she would either spin around several times while drumming without missing a beat during the rigorous solo, place one highly elevated foot on a snare while standing on the other leg mid-solo, or perform with glow-in-the-dark drumsticks. While the solo featured in the song helped to bolster Sheila E.'s fame, all subsequent versions of this song have no drum solo at all.

Track listing

7" vinyl

Side one

1. "The Glamorous Life" – 3:41

Side two

1. "The Glamorous Life Part II" – 3:12

12" vinyl

Side one

1. "The Glamorous Life" (Club Edit) – 6:33

Side two

1. "The Glamorous Life Part II" – 3:12

Chart performance

Melissa Tkautz version

"The Glamorous Life"
Single by Melissa Tkautz
from the album Lost & Found
Released	March 31, 2005 (2005-03-31)
Format	CD single 12" vinyl
Recorded	Melbourne, Australia
Genre	Dance-pop
Length	3:21
Label	Big Records
Writer(s)	Prince
Producer	Paul Wiltshire
Melissa Tkautz singles chronology
"Is It...?" (1993) "The Glamorous Life" (2005) "All I Want" (2005)

Tkautz, a former television actress, had achieved two highly successful dance singles in the early 1990s, in her native Australia. Her 2005 recording of "The Glamorous Life" was presented as a comeback and was the first step in a marketing project that aimed to return her to her earlier level of success. Her version was recorded in Melbourne, and was produced by Paul Wiltshire, who had achieved success as a producer with the Backstreet Boys and Anthony Callea. It was released on September 4, 2005, simultaneously with a music video, directed by Mark Hartley and choreographed by Will Sabin.

Though the single failed to relaunch Tkautz's music career, it was a substantial club hit in Australia, peaking at number #31 on the ARIA charts.

Formats and track listings

"The Glamorous Life" was released in Australia, September 4, 2005 as a CD single. In March, 2006, the song was released in Germany by Dos Or Die Records on vinyl.^[3]

CD single

Australia: Big Records – BIGS020

1. "The Glamorous Life" (Radio Edit) – 3:21
2. "The Glamorous Life" (AC Radio Edit) – 3:34
3. "The Glamorous Life" (Hotfuss Radio Edit) – 3:20
4. "The Glamorous Life" (Explicit version) – 8:23
5. "The Glamorous Life" (Jimmy Z VS Bootscratchers Remix) – 6:27
6. "The Glamorous Life" (Hotfuss Club Mix) – 6:21

12" vinyl

Germany: Dos Or Die Records – US 032
Side one

1. "The Glamorous Life" (D.O.N.S. Remix) – 7:40

Side two

1. "The Glamorous Life" (Warp Brothers Remix) – 6:19
2. "The Glamorous Life" (Hotfuss Club Mix) – 6:20

Chart performance

Other cover versions

• The song was covered by Eden's Crush in their 2001 debut album Popstars.
• New York indie-rock band The Fever recorded a cover (and two remixes of the cover) as the B-side to their 2003 single "Ladyfingers".
• The song was covered by Australian band T-Funk (featuring vocals by Inaya Day, who had previously covered another Prince-written song "Nasty Girl") in 2005.
• In 2007 a cover version was recorded by Icelandic band Al'Margir.

References