André Cymone

Key to "the Minneapolis sound" before the term was coined, André Cymone combines soul, funk, rock, blues, and pop with a positive message. The musician came up with close friend Prince and struck out on his own after several years of touring with the Purple One as bassist and backing vocalist. While signed to Columbia, Cymone released three albums that culminated with A.C., featuring the 1985 Top Ten R&B hit "The Dance Electric." Cymone also began supporting other artists as a writer and producer during those years, and he subsequently focused on that work, reaching a peak with Jody Watley's 1987 solo breakthrough. Cymone eventually took a step back to raise his children, and in the 2010s became active again, releasing the rock-oriented The Stone, his first album in three decades, in 2014. The fiery 1969 and the descriptively-titled The Resurrection of Funk, issued respectively in 2017 and 2026, have seen him continue to offer feel-good, genre-blurring jams with progressive social commentary in the mix. Born Andre Simon Anderson in Minneapolis, Cymone grew up in a supportive household where fellow aspiring musicians congregated and practiced. One peer was Prince, who even stayed with the family for a time. Cymone and Prince, whose fathers also played together, were in fledgling bands Grand Central, Champagne, and 94 East until Prince signed a recording contract with Warner Bros. After Prince released his 1978 debut, For You, he had Cymone join his touring band on bass and backing vocals. Cymone remained with Prince until 1981, and then signed with Columbia as a solo artist. From 1982 through 1985, Cymone released Livin' in the New Wave, Survivin' in the '80s, and A.C., three albums that fused funk, new wave, hard rock, and pop. A total of six singles from the LPs made Billboard's R&B chart. The biggest hit, 1985's Prince-written "The Dance Electric," reached number ten. While Cymone wrote and produced four songs for Evelyn "Champagne" King's 1983 album Face to Face (including the Top 30 R&B single "Teenager") and was the driving force behind the Girls' 1984 Columbia album Girl Talk, he didn't concentrate on outside work until after the release of A.C. Cymone assisted the varied likes of Pebbles ("Love/Hate"), James Ingram ("Better Way"), Jermaine Stewart (Say It Again), Phil Thornalley ("Love Me Like a Rock"), Pretty Poison (Catch Me, I'm Falling), Adam Ant (Manners & Physique), and Tom Jones (The Lead and How to Swing It). His most lasting success came with Shalamar star Jody Watley, to whom he was married for several years. The two collaborated extensively, from Watley's 1987 full-length solo debut through 1993's Intimacy. The partnership yielded the number one R&B singles "Looking for a New Love" and "Real Love," as well as the Top Five hits "Still a Thrill," "Some Kind of Lover," "Friends," and "I Want You." From the mid-'90s onward, Cymone wasn't as visibly active. He worked with independent artists, including fellow Prince associate St. Paul Peterson (Blue Cadillac, 1996), Angel Sessions (Introducing, 1998), and Jody Russell (Just in Time, 1999). After many years away from the music industry, Cymone returned in 2012 with "America," an uplifting rocker for which all proceeds went to the re-election campaign for Barack Obama. The following year, Cymone released "Trayvon" in response to the fatal shooting of unarmed Black teenager Trayvon Martin, and donated the song's proceeds to the Trayvon Martin Foundation. Led by the optimistic and empowering "American Dream," Cymone's fourth album, a self-produced, rock-oriented set entitled The Stone, followed in 2014 on the artist's own Blindtango label. He quickly followed up in 2016 with the Black Man in America EP, highlighted by the title song and "Black LIves Matter." Those two songs also appeared on 2017's 1969, an album inspired by Cymone's adolescent musical and political awakenings experienced through the radio and his older siblings. In the early 2020s, Cymone's early-'90s sessions with the Mighty Soulmates -- a group also featuring Paul Peterson, Gardner Cole, and the System's Mic Murphy -- saw commercial release as Vol. 1 and Vol. 2. Cymone's entirely self-created sixth album, The Resurrection of Funk, followed in 2026. ~ Andy Kellman, Rovi