For those who had high hopes 20 years ago that Prince’s Paisley Park label would bring forth superb new artists – (you know... like Carmen Electra) – Tony LeMans was a good sign. His 1989 self-titled album was one of Paisley Park’s best.Unfortunately, Tony LeMans died in a motorcycle accident in 1992. He was 29 years old.
Somebody has created a MySpace page in LeMans’s “loving memory.” It includes three downloadable tracks off the 1989 album. (Downloadable, that is, if you have a MySpace account.)
Two of those three MP3s are marred by technical glitches. But “Higher Than High” – which was a medium-sized hit on the R&B charts – survives intact. To hear it on my Vox blog, click here.
“Higher Than High” combines a Sly Stone lyric, a middle-era Prince synthesizer riff, a little Siedah Garrett on backing vocals, and a good-enough lead singing performance by LeMans. It’s yours if you want it. Follow this link.
His name sounds vaguely familiar. I remember early Prince proteges like Sue Ann (Carwell). I didn't keep good track of his Paisley Park posse.
ReplyDeleteI don't want to say that I lost interest entirely after Purple Rain, but...my fandom began to wane a bit.
Thanks for the link, though.
Bklyn6, I was so deep into Prince 15, 20 years ago that I bought up all the Paisley Park joints... Taja Sevelle, Ingrid Chavez... Some pretty weak albums in there.
ReplyDeleteI also bought a lot of the Minneapolis copycat acts. Remember Exotic Storm? (I hope not.)
I wasn't into Taja, or Ingrid. I didn't even see Graffiti Bridge. After hearing how awful it was, I just thought it'd be too painful to watch.
ReplyDeleteMy thing was going to see the proteges/spin-offs when they came to town. I saw Sheila E., Dez Dickerson and the Modernnaires, Jill Jones, Jesse Johnson, Vanity 6, acts like that. I had tickets to see Mazarati at the Ritz but they cancelled. They were replaced by Billy Preston.
I've NEVER heard of "Exotic Storm"!
I've been trying to find this cut by a guy named Jack (Jak?). He had this Prince flavored song called "I Go Wild" back in the early 80s. Can't find it anywhere.
I know you rememember that Prince wannabe Georgio! (I actually have that cassette somewhere.)
Thankfully, I never heard of Georgio.
ReplyDeleteLucky you, seeing Dez Dickerson live, however. I would've loved that. He went the Christian-rock route in the '90s.
He threw guitar picks into the audience with "Dez" engraved on them. I caught two; no longer have them, though.
ReplyDeleteI also remember that he slipped and fell onstage. :-(
^ And he probably wasn't even wearing heels! Didn't he learn nothing from Prince?
ReplyDeleteHe might've been wearing heels. I remember that he wasn't all that tall.
ReplyDeleteI remember Jak, and actually had that single (on 45) back then. I thought I still did, but I checked. Nope.
ReplyDeleteGeorgio I remember as well. He had a mostly House music sound.
Tony Lemans was my brother's best friend and like family. Tony died from an automobile accident on PCH and not a motorcycle accident as claimed. I ask that people please verify information before placing it out for the general public to view.
ReplyDeleteTake care and god bless.