Diamonds and Pearls

Diamonds and Pearls is the thirteenth studio album by American recording artist Prince and The New Power Generation. It was released on October 1, 1991 by Paisley Park Records and Warner Bros. Records. It is his first album to have The New Power Generation, his backing band at the time, receive co-billing. The album produced several hit singles, including "Gett Off", "Cream", "Money Don't Matter 2 Night", "Insatiable", and the title track. Dancers Lori Werner (then dancing under the stage name of Lori Elle) and Robia LaMorte, known as "Diamond" and "Pearl" respectively, are featured on the holographic cover (re-pressings of the album are non-holographic). Diamond and Pearl also appeared in the music videos for "Cream", "Strollin'", "Gett Off", and the title track, and also participated in Prince's Diamonds and Pearls Tour.

Diamonds and Pearls featured a hybrid of music styles, from the funk of "Daddy Pop", "Jughead", and first single "Gett Off", to some of the more mainstream pop/rock songs Prince had recorded in some time, such as "Cream", "Money Don't Matter 2 Night" and the title song. "Willing and Able" was used in a video montage during the closing credits of CBS coverage of Super Bowl XXVI.

Diamonds and Pearls Video Collection

Diamonds and Pearls Video Collection is a collection of music videos compiled to accompany and further promote Prince's hit album Diamonds and Pearls. The collection was originally released in VHS format on October 6, 1992, and finally saw a DVD release on August 22, 2006 (the same release date as Prince's Ultimate collection). The collection contains videos for most of the songs on the album, with the exception of "Daddy Pop", "Walk, Don't Walk" and "Push". Two tracks included that were not on the album were "Call the Law", which was a B-side to the single release of "Money Don't Matter 2 Night" and "Dr. Feelgood", a cover version. Four of the clips were live concert performances: "Thunder", "Dr. Feelgood", "Jughead" and "Live 4 Love". The DVD release did not contain any extras from the VHS version.

Track listing

Diamonds and Pearls (song)

"Diamonds and Pearls" is the title track to Prince and The New Power Generation's 1991 hit album. The song is an upbeat ballad, given a rock edge with guitar and heavy drumming. The song also features the vocals of NPG member Rosie Gaines. The ballad is an expression of love and not lust, as is the theme on some of the other singles from the album. The song was a top 10 hit, reaching #3 in the U.S. and the top spot on the R&B charts. The infamous pearls in the music video come from Connie Parente, a Los Angeles jewelry collector and designer.

The B-side is a mix of excerpts of other Diamonds and Pearls tracks, which serves to promote the album. There was no extended version of the song released. The UK B-side included some of the mixes on the "Cream" maxi single.

The repeated lyric "If I gave you diamonds and pearls, would you be a happy boy or a girl?" echoes the lyrics "I'll buy you diamonds and pearls only if you're good girl" from Prince's 1982 song, "International Lover".