Vanity 6

Vanity 6 was a short lived American female vocal trio that gained popularity in the early 1980s. They were protégés of musician Prince. Led by singer Vanity, they are known for their song "Nasty Girl." History Formation In 1981, Prince, himself a rising musical star, suggested that Susan Moonsie and her sister Loreen, along with Cavallo, Ruffalo & Fargnoli employee Jamie Shoop form a girl group that would be called the Hookers. Prince's vision was that the three women would perform in lingerie and sing sensual songs with lyrics about sex, romance, and fantasy. Later, musician Rick James claimed that Prince had stolen the idea for creating a sexy trio in negligees who sang about love, pain, money, and power from him while Prince was the opening act on James's tour in 1980. Set designer Roy Bennett's wife Brenda Bennett, who later joined the group stated that Prince was looking to create a somewhat "1980s version of The Supremes." The original trio recorded a few demos before Prince met Canadian model and B movie actress Denise Matthews at the American Music Awards in January 1982. Prince was so taken by her charisma that he decided she would be the perfect lead vocalist for his group the Hookers. He also suggested that Matthews use the stage name Vagina. She agreed to be part of the act, but insisted that the name of the group be changed from the Hookers, and that she will not be using the stage name Vagina. They settled on her stage name as Vanity and the group's name became Vanity 6. Prince chose the name because he said that looking at her was like looking in a mirror at the female version of himself. Around this time, Prince and Vanity began a romantic relationship. Loreen and Jamie were not in the group, and with Vanity's arrival, that left Vanity 6 as Vanity on lead vocals, and Brenda Bennett and Susan Moonsie on backing vocals. Prince provided the group, now dressed in lingerie and high heels, with provocative songs (although within the album credits, group members were sometimes given writing credits).