Gimme Your Love

It should have gained a lot more traction than it did. In 1989, the Godfather & Queen of Soul joined forces just once on record for “Gimme Your Love”. The funky, contemporary cut is an upbeat track that opens Aretha’s 1989 album Through The Storm.

The percussion & guitar driven track surges upwards at several points, allowing the legends to both unleash their powerful voices. Yet the perplexing inclusion of programmed brass as opposed to the real thing definitely leave something to be desired, especially amongst two artists whose voices excelled surrounded by a brass section.

However, that wasn’t all “Gimme Your Love” had to offer. By the time Through The Storm came about in 1989, remixes were a common piece of Aretha’s releases. “Gimme Your Love” was no exception. And if the two legends joining forces wasn’t enough, a third legend quietly added his own touch to the track.

Billed as “The Purple Mix”, Prince added his own funky perspective to “Gimme Your Love”. Several versions being were including a whopping 10 minute mix and shorter edits for 45” pressings. Paisley Park is given production credits, but of course that’s just The Purple One in disguise. Not much is known about the creation of “The Purple Mix”, and it’s unclear why Paisley Park is the only credited name for all the remixes. The main bits of Prince’s mix have funkier faux-horns and live sax added in as well as to a slightly harder percussion line. Other versions of the mix (the Extended Remix & The Purple Mix Part 2 specifically) incorporate heavy bass and guitar parts and even some subtle vocals from Prince, masked by a heavy vocoder effect.

A music video was also filmed, but James did not participate for unknown reasons. Instead, old clips of both he and Aretha are edited into new footage of dancers and a short-haired Aretha in red doing her thing around a soundstage.

Listen to “Gimme Your Love”: