Romance 1600

Romance 1600
Romance 1600
Studio album by Sheila E.
Released	August 26, 1985
Recorded	January 4 – February 8, 1985
Genre	Funk, pop, R&B
Length	38:59
Label	Paisley Park/Warner Bros.
Producer	Sheila E.; Prince;
Sheila E. chronology

Romance 1600 is the second album by the singer-drummer-percussionist Sheila E. Prince contributed some backing vocals, guitar, and bass guitar, and co-wrote/co-produced "A Love Bizarre", a 12-minute epic that became a major hit in its edited radio-friendly form.^{[citation needed]}

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[4]
Robert Christgau	B^[5]

During her break, she received a lot of media exposure, including appearing in the film Krush Groove, in which she performed "A Love Bizarre" and "Holly Rock". She had also performed for a wide audience as an act on Prince and The Revolution's Purple Rain Tour.

The video for the album's lead single, "Sister Fate", introduced a new image of the performer: a somewhat female-Prince influenced protégée. "Sister Fate"'s B-side had the cryptic protest song "Save the People". The album itself had many tracks that were personal and which help to support the embodiment of the thematic faux-French Renaissance episodic adventure that the lead single's video and the album art intended to set up for the listening audience. ^{[citation needed]}

The album received mixed reviews. "A Love Bizarre" was the album's most successful single. On January 28, 1986, the album was certified Gold by the RIAA.^[6]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Prince, except where noted^[2]^[3]

Side one
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Sister Fate"		3:50
2.	"Dear Michaelangelo"		4:38
3.	"A Love Bizarre"	Prince, Sheila E.	12:18

Side two
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
4.	"Toy Box"		5:32
5.	"Yellow"		2:11
6.	"Romance 1600"		3:56
7.	"Merci for the Speed of a Mad Clown in Summer"	Sheila E.	2:47
8.	"Bedtime Story"		3:45

Personnel

Sheila E. – lead and backing vocals, percussion (all but 4), drums (1, 5, 7), Simmons SDS-V (1), strings, arranger, producer, writer
Juan Escovedo – percussion (3)
Eddie M. – backing vocals (3, 4); saxophone (all but 5)
Ken Grey – Yamaha DX7 (1)
Stef Burns (Stephan Birnbaum) (It) – electric guitar (1), 12-string acoustic guitar (8), backing vocals (3, 4)
Prince – lead (3, 5) and backing vocals (1-3), electric guitar (2-4), Yamaha DX7 (all but 7), Oberheim OB-SX (2), Hammond organ (1, 4, 7), piano (1, 8), keyboards (3, 6), bass guitar (1, 3-5, 8), Linn LM-1 (1, 2, 5, 6), LinnDrum (3, 4), percussion (4), drums (8)
Micheal Weaver – backing vocals (4)
Susie Davis – backing vocals (2, 3, 6)
Jerome Benton – backing vocals (3)
Benny Rietveld – backing vocals (6), bass guitar (1, 7)
John Liotine – trumpet (5)
Steve Madaio – trumpet (5)
Ron Jannelli – trumpet (5), trombone (5)
Dick Hyde – trombone (5)
Robert Martin – saxophone (5)
Tim Misica – saxophone (5)

Charts

Weekly charts

Weekly chart performance for *Romance 1600*
Chart (1985)	Peak position
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)^[7]	33
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)^[8]	36
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)^[9]	33
US Billboard 200^[10]	50
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)^[11]	12

Year-end charts

Year-end chart performance for *Romance 1600*
Chart (1986)	Position
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)^[12]	40

References

^ "RIAA".
^ ^a ^b Tudahl, Duane (2021). Prince and the Parade and Sign O' The Times Era Studio Sessions 1985 and 1986. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 9781538144527.
^ ^a ^b Clerc, Benoît (October 2022). Prince: All the Songs. Octopus. ISBN 9781784728816.
^ Allmusic review
^ Robert Christgau review
^ "Recording Industry Association of America". RIAA. Archived from the original on February 25, 2013. Retrieved March 7, 2012.
^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Sheila E. – In Romance 1600" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Sheila E. – In Romance 1600" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
^ "Swedishcharts.com – Sheila E. – In Romance 1600". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
^ "Sheila E Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
^ "Sheila E Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1986". Billboard. Retrieved July 13, 2021.

[1] "RIAA".

[Tudahl-2] Tudahl, Duane (2021). Prince and the Parade and Sign O' The Times Era Studio Sessions 1985 and 1986. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 9781538144527.

[Clerc-3] Clerc, Benoît (October 2022). Prince: All the Songs. Octopus. ISBN 9781784728816.

[4] Allmusic review

[5] Robert Christgau review

[6] "Recording Industry Association of America". RIAA. Archived from the original on February 25, 2013. Retrieved March 7, 2012.

[ac_Netherlands_Sheila_E.-7] "Dutchcharts.nl – Sheila E. – In Romance 1600" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 6, 2019.

[ac_Germany4_Sheila_E.-8] "Offiziellecharts.de – Sheila E. – In Romance 1600" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved June 6, 2019.

[ac_Sweden_Sheila_E.-9] "Swedishcharts.com – Sheila E. – In Romance 1600". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 6, 2019.

[ac_Billboard200_Sheila_E-10] "Sheila E Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved June 6, 2019.

[ac_BillboardRandBHipHop_Sheila_E-11] "Sheila E Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 6, 2019.

[12] "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1986". Billboard. Retrieved July 13, 2021.

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