* En anglais uniquement
Assembled by
Prince associate
André Cymone in Minneapolis in 1983,
the Girls were an obscure, little known female trio along the lines of
Vanity 6 and Apollonia 6.
Vanity 6 had done well for
Prince in 1982, and
Cymone 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
Prince-influenced blend of funk, rock, and pop,
the Girls were extremely Minneapolis-sounding. All of them were under 20:
Rhodes, the oldest of the three, was 19, while
Brooks was 18, and
Rankin was 17. With
Cymone 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,
Cymone wrote or co-wrote all of the material, including the single "Don't Waste My Time."
Cymone 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