The Family—formed to replace Prince’s previous protégé funk band, The Time—distinguished itself with string arrangements by Clare Fischer and the saxophone of Eric Leeds. Prince positioned 19-year-old St. Paul Peterson as the matinee idol lead singer and installed his girlfriend, Susannah Melvoin, as Peterson’s co-lead. Instrumentals “Susannah’s Pajamas” and “Yes” padded out The Family’s eight tracks, Prince playing every instrument on the whole album except sax. Peterson abandoned the group by the time “The Screams of Passion” became The Family’s only hit. But “Nothing Compares 2 U” arguably outshines both the Prince and Sinéad O’Connor versions.

– Miles Marshall Lewis