The Girls

Assembled by <a href="spotify:artist:5a2EaR3hamoenG9rDuVn8j">Prince</a> associate <a href="spotify:artist:4Q4CRlCreilk0EN0myk5Jh">André Cymone</a> in Minneapolis in 1983, the Girls were an obscure, little known female trio along the lines of <a href="spotify:artist:5wPSXka9sWfoHuWE8zSJHY">Vanity 6</a> and Apollonia 6. <a href="spotify:artist:5wPSXka9sWfoHuWE8zSJHY">Vanity 6</a> had done well for <a href="spotify:artist:5a2EaR3hamoenG9rDuVn8j">Prince</a> in 1982, and <a href="spotify:artist:4Q4CRlCreilk0EN0myk5Jh">Cymone</a> was hoping to direct a hit female group of his own when, in 1983, he hired singers Sheila Rankin, Germain Brooks, and Doris Rhodes and called them the Girls. With a sexy image, R-rated lyrics, and a very <a href="spotify:artist:5a2EaR3hamoenG9rDuVn8j">Prince</a>-influenced blend of funk, rock, and pop, the Girls were extremely Minneapolis-sounding. All of them were under 20: <a href="spotify:artist:1yap1SgRPMxgyfrrDlQ95y">Rhodes</a>, the oldest of the three, was 19, while <a href="spotify:artist:0XKOBt59crntr7HQXXO8Yz">Brooks</a> was 18, and Rankin was 17. With <a href="spotify:artist:4Q4CRlCreilk0EN0myk5Jh">Cymone</a> guiding them, the Girls signed with Columbia in 1983, and their debut album, Girl Talk, came out the following year. In addition to producing Girl Talk, <a href="spotify:artist:4Q4CRlCreilk0EN0myk5Jh">Cymone</a> wrote or co-wrote all of the material, including the single "Don't Waste My Time." <a href="spotify:artist:4Q4CRlCreilk0EN0myk5Jh">Cymone</a> had high hopes for the album, but much to his disappointment, it didn't sell. The Girls were dropped by Columbia, and in 1985 the trio broke up without ever recording a second album. ~ Alex Henderson, Rovi