This 1985 Prince Classic Was Nearly Released by Girl Group Apollonia 6

Prince always seemed to have more irons in the fire than the average pop star. In addition to his own recording career, he initiated countless side projects, acting as the songwriter, producer, instrumentalist, and general mastermind for a number of acts.

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On top of that, the guy was constantly making movies throughout much of this time. All those elements went into the stew that created the wonderful Purple Rain song “Take Me With U”.

Girl Group Problems

Right as he was on the precipice of pop stardom, Prince made the decision to up the ante. Coming off the 1982 album 1999, which delivered by far his biggest mainstream success to that point, he decided that his next album would coincide with a movie loosely based on his life. And he’d star in it to boot.

Had that movie flopped, it could have derailed his momentum. The Prince legend as we know it might never have developed. Of course, hindsight tells us that Purple Rain, both as a movie and an album, brought Prince to heights of superstardom few pop stars had ever reached.

But it didn’t come without some bumps in the road. Chief among them was the late-in-the-game decision by Vanity, lead singer of Vanity 6 and Prince’s one-time paramour, to leave the project (and the relationship) in favor of other career opportunities. Since the film was already well into development and required a female lead and a girl group, Prince quickly found replacements.

On the “Take”

Apollonia Cotero, a budding actress and model, got the gig to replace Vanity. Prince didn’t stop there, hiring two other singers to form Apollonia 6 and putting together music for their debut album. Meanwhile, he had written the song “Take Me With U” at the request of the film’s director (Albert Magnoli) for an upbeat duet.

Cotero didn’t have a ton of singing experience. As a result, Prince used the backing vocals of Lisa Coleman, a member of his band The Revolution, and Jill Jones to fill out the sound. The plan was for “Take Me With U” to be a centerpiece of Apollonia 6’s debut album.

But he decided at the last minute to include the song on the Purple Rain soundtrack instead. (Other songs he removed from the Apollonia 6 album were huge hits “Manic Monday”, recorded by The Bangles, and “The Glamorous Life”, by Sheila E). “Take Me With U”, released as the fifth single from Purple Rain, topped out at No. 25 on the pop charts.

Behind the Lyrics of “Take Me With U”

“Take Me With U” is a straightforward expression of desire, one where every syllable drops into the meter for maximum impact. Prince manages to go a bit deeper than the usual come-ons. “Come on and touch the place in me that’s calling out your name,” he sings. “Why must we play this game?” he asks, hinting that she’s being a bit coy about their attraction.

Prince allows some lightness to enter the picture later. When he sings, “To be around you is oh so right, you’re sheer perfection,” Apollonia quickly follows it up with a playful “Thank you.” He insists that he can handle anything but a separation from her. “Drive me crazy, drive me all night, just don’t break up the connection,” he pleads.

Many songwriters could strive their whole career and never come up with a pop concoction as pristine as “Take Me With U”. Imagine doing it on demand while in the middle of all kinds of tumult and chaos. Well, we don’t have to imagine, because Prince did that kind of stuff time and again.

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