Carmen Electra’s Early Music Career: The 1993 Paisley Park Album Explained

Before television and film, Carmen Electra started out as a recording artist on Prince’s Paisley Park label: her self-titled debut album, produced by Prince, was released on February 9, 1993, through Paisley Park and Warner Bros. Records. It was not a commercial success and remains her only studio album, but it explains where her stage name came from and how she first reached a national audience. This guide covers how the record came about, what is on it, how it was received and the music she released later.

Factual sections are sourced at the end. Paragraphs marked “Editor’s note” are our commentary.

How she met Prince

Electra trained as a dancer in Cincinnati and began working professionally in 1990, dancing in a show at the Kings Island amusement park in Ohio. In 1991 she auditioned for an all-female group that Prince was assembling. In her own account, given to E! News in 2016, she was not chosen for the group, but Prince later got in touch and told her she should be an artist in her own right rather than a backing performer.

Where the name came from

Prince wrote a song for her called “Carmen on Top”. According to the same E! News account, he told her she was not a Tara (her birth name is Tara Leigh Patrick) and began calling her Carmen. Wikipedia’s article on the album states that the stage name was drawn from that unreleased song. She also described Prince as shaping her early image, from clothing and hairstyles to the music itself.

The album: Carmen Electra (1993)

• Released: February 9, 1993.
• Labels: Paisley Park and Warner Bros. Records.
• Recorded: 1991–1992, at Paisley Park in Chanhassen, Minnesota.
• Producer: Prince, with additional production credits for Keith “KC” Cohen and Junior Vasquez.
• Genre: hip hop, with Electra presented primarily as a rapper.
• Length: 14 tracks, just under 44 minutes.

Who made it

The music was written by Prince with Levi Seacer Jr., and the lyrics are credited to Prince, Seacer, Tony M. and Monie Love. Tony M. also contributes vocals and raps, Monie Love and the N.P.G. sing backing vocals, and Susan Rogers is among the credited engineers.

Singles

1. “Go Go Dancer” (June 1992)
2. “Everybody Get on Up” (January 1993)
3. “Fantasia Erotica” (August 1993)

Track listing

1. “Go Go Dancer”
2. “Good Judy Girlfriend”
3. “Go On (Witcha Bad Self)”
4. “Step to the Mic”
5. “S.T.”
6. “Fantasia Erotica”
7. “Everybody Get on Up”
8. “Segue” (instrumental)
9. “Fun”
10. “Just a Little Lovin'”
11. “Segue” (instrumental)
12. “All That”
13. “Segue” (instrumental)
14. “This Is My House”

Samples

Several tracks build on earlier recordings. “S.T.” samples the Ohio Players’ “Skin Tight”; “Everybody Get on Up” samples The Esquires’ “Get on Up”; “Fun” uses a vocal snippet from a Run-DMC live track; and “All That” samples Prince’s own “Adore”.

On the road with Prince

Electra performed as a support act at selected European dates of Prince’s 1992 Diamonds and Pearls Tour, according to Wikipedia’s article on the tour, which lists her among the opening acts for “select venues”.

How the album was received

Reviews were modest. AllMusic rates it three stars out of five, and the British music magazine Select gave it two out of five in its March 1993 issue. Wikipedia describes the album as poorly received and notes that it effectively ended her recording career at the time. Electra has said that problems between Prince and his record company in that period may have contributed to the album’s fate.

Editor’s note: We have not found reliable chart or sales figures for the album, so we do not quote any. If you see figures quoted elsewhere, look for a named source such as a chart archive before relying on them.

Music after 1993

Electra’s later music has been occasional rather than continuous. Her Wikipedia discography lists a single, “Fun”, in 1998; “I Like It Loud” in 2012; and further singles in 2013 and 2014, including “WERQ” and “Around the World”. She has also performed as a dancer, most visibly as a featured guest with The Pussycat Dolls on VH1 Divas 2004.

Quick answers

Is Carmen Electra her only album?

Yes. It is her only studio album; her later releases have been singles.

Was “Carmen on Top” ever released?

No. Wikipedia describes it as an unreleased Prince song, and it is not on the 1993 album’s track listing.

Was the album released on Prince’s own label?

Yes. It was released on Paisley Park Records together with Warner Bros. Records; both labels are credited.

Why the Paisley Park years still matter

Editor’s note: The album is a footnote in Prince’s huge catalogue and a short chapter in Electra’s career, but it is the origin of the name she has worked under ever since, and it shows the dance-and-performance background that later carried into her TV hosting. If you are building a collection, original 1993 CD and cassette copies turn up on the second-hand market; check condition and completeness carefully using our fan guides.

For what came next, see our career timeline and our 90s pop culture guide.

Sources

1. Wikipedia, “Carmen Electra (album)” (release, labels, recording, producers, writers, singles, samples, reception). en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carmen_Electra_(album)
2. E! News, “Carmen Electra reacts to Prince’s death: how the music legend launched her career”, April 21, 2016. eonline.com
3. AllMusic, review of Carmen Electra. allmusic.com
4. Rupert Howe, “Reviews: New Albums”, Select, March 1993, p. 71 (via the Select magazine scans archive). selectmagazinescans.monkeon.co.uk
5. Mike Wass, “Carmen Electra Talks Prince: Her 1993 Debut LP & Paisley Park Adventures”, Idolator, December 18, 2013 (cited by Wikipedia; original link now offline).
6. Wikipedia, “Diamonds and Pearls Tour” (support acts). en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diamonds_and_Pearls_Tour
7. Wikipedia, “Carmen Electra” (early career, later singles, VH1 Divas). en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carmen_Electra