Girls & Boys

Prince and the Revolution recorded “Girls & Boys” on 8–9 July 1985 at the Washington Avenue Warehouse in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, with further mixes completed later in 1985 and the single edit prepared in June 1986. Prince led the recording with Wendy Melvoin, Lisa Coleman, Brown Mark, Bobby Z., Dr. Fink, Eric Leeds, Sheila E., Susannah Melvoin and Marie-France Drouin contributing to the Parade version. Released by Paisley Park and Warner Bros. in 1986 on Parade and as a UK and European single, the track extended the Under the Cherry Moon campaign after “Kiss” and “Mountains.” Its horn-driven arrangement, French spoken interlude and Revolution band feel made it one of Parade’s clearest funk-pop set pieces. The song remains a signature Parade-era track and a regular live vehicle in Prince’s later setlists. It also marked Eric Leeds’ first major album-track appearance on a Prince release, beginning a long association with Prince’s horn-driven recordings.