"[W]ill command the rapt attention of casual fans and scholars alike." Booklist , Starred Review From Prince's superstardom to studio seclusion, this second book in the award-winning Prince Studio Sessions series spotlights how Prince, the biggest rock star on the planet at the time, risked everything to create some of the most introspective music of his four-decade career. Duane Tudahl takes us on an emotional and intimate journey of love, loss, rivalry, and renewal revealed through unprecedented access to dozens of musicians, singers, studio engineers, and others who worked with him and knew him best―with never-before-published memories from the Revolution, the Time, the Family, and Apollonia 6. Also included is a heartfelt foreword by musical legend Elton John about his time and friendship with Prince. “In this second Prince Studio Sessions series, Tudahl continues to explore the annals of Prince’s voracious creative drive, even while touring the Purple Rain album at a pinnacle of his stardom. Working day-by-day and session-by-session, Tudahl meticulously recreates Prince’s daily timeline in 1985 and 1986 while layering in a heap of technical information about the production process, equipment, and mixes that were created (many vaulted, still unheard). Brief snippets of information provide context for Prince’s surroundings, the people he worked with, and concurrent events, but the focus remains on the music and how it poured out of Prince wherever he was, whether on the road or back at the studio. While these years weren't all glory―Prince sustained blows like the failure of his directorial debut Under the Cherry Moon, his decision not to participate in the “We Are the World” recording, and wavering public opinion after strutting around with his bodyguards at awards shows―it seems to have had little effect on his creativity and productivity. Compulsively readable and hugely useful to researchers, this dense chronology will command the rapt attention of casual fans and scholars alike.” ― Booklist, Starred Review “A new book by Duane Tudahl, Prince and the Parade & Sign O’ The Times Era Studio Sessions: 1985 and 1986, provides a definitive account of two heady years that followed Prince’s Purple Rain breakthrough, climaxing with his completion of a mammoth three-record set that would be pared down into Sign o’ the Times.” ― Washington Independent Review of Books “Tudahl continues his Prince saga in this laudatory book, which is a meticulously researched day-by-day account of Prince’s songwriting, recording, and live performances during 1985 and 1986. It chronicles the making of the film Under the Cherry Moon and the albums Around the World in a Day, Parade, and Sign o’ the Times. Using interviews with Prince’s fellow musicians and studio engineers, Tudahl painstakingly describes the importance of each stage rehearsal, concert, and song mix, and creates an intimate portrait of the singer, songwriter, and actor. Prince emerges as a controlling, sometimes generous, many times denigrating, wildly creative workaholic who became increasingly imperious after his Purple Rain stardom. The second installment in Tudahl’s Prince chronology is a treasure trove for fans.” ― Library Journal “Duane Tudahl's work has now become must-reads for Prince aficionados. Prince may be the most important musical artist of the latter half of the twentieth century and this book underlines this with zero fanfare. Just read the magic, as it rolls from day to day. Amazing stuff.” ― The Aquarian Weekly “The 600-plus-page tome captures Prince’s arguably most creative era in fascinating detail. More than anything else in Prince’s life, the recording sessions and tour dates ― i.e. the music ― provided the framework for everything else in that life, and Tudahl expertly weaves the details into the music that was made at the time. This book is something fans can savor for months on end.” ― Variety “[A] thick daily chronicle of Prince's recording sessions in those two years, which means it's essentially a daily chronicle of Prince's life. As Tudahl documents here (and in his equally essential predecessor volume focusing on the Purple Rain era), days when Prince was in no way involved in a recording project were rare for his entire adult life.... Tudahl's book is a sizable tome, but it's readable throughout: you're left thinking that there are few better ways to understand Prince than to see his life through the lens of the recording studio, which was always his temple.” ― The Current “For a second time, author and Prince historian Duane Tudahl set out to do something that could never be questioned or contradicted when it came to telling Prince‘s real story. Painstakingly digging through hundreds, if not thousands, of studio work orders, interviews with band members who were there (print and audio), and cross-referencing notes and statements. Then he put it all in chronological order and arduously documented the sources to allevi