Sister Fate

"Sister Fate"
Single by Sheila E.
from the album Romance 1600
B-side	"Save the People"
Released	July 1985[1]
Genre	R&B, funk
Length	3:50 (album version) 3:39 (single version) 5:45 (extended 12" version)
Label	Paisley Park, Warner Bros.
Songwriter(s)	Sheila E. (Prince)
Producer(s)	Prince, Sheila E.
Sheila E. singles chronology
"The Belle of St. Mark" (1984) "Sister Fate" (1985) "A Love Bizarre" (1985)

"Sister Fate" is a song by Sheila E. from the album Romance 1600. It was released as the first single from the album in 1985. The album version of the song features an organ and percussion intro and has a running time of 3:50; the single version omits the intro and has a running time of 3:39.

Music video

The video introduced a new image for Sheila E., dressed in a brocaded "cloud jacket" that harkened back to Prince's "cloud suit" from his contemporaneously (1985) released video "Raspberry Beret". At the timestamp of 3:06 within the video, an image of Prince from "Raspberry Beret" is superimposed for one second over a newspaper graphic with the headline "WHO IS SHEILA E.'S MYSTERY LOVE?"

Chart performance

The song stalled on the charts; it went no higher than number 36 on the R&B charts,[2] and did not chart on the Hot 100. It peaked at number 8 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart. Because of the underperformance of "Sister Fate", the second single, "A Love Bizarre" (which featured Prince) was rush-released.

Formats and track listings

US 7"

1. "Sister Fate" (edit) – 3:39
2. "Sister Fate" (instrumental) – 3:39

US 12"

1. "Sister Fate" (extended) – 5:45
2. "Save the People" – 8:28

Personnel

Credits from Duane Tudahl and Benoît Clerc[3][4]

• Sheila E. – lead and backing vocals, drums, Simmons SDS-V, congas, cowbells, timbales, shaker, cymbal
• Prince – Yamaha DX7, Hammond organ, piano, bass guitar, Linn LM-1, handclaps
• Ken Grey – Yamaha DX7 (album intro)
• Steph Birnbaum – electric guitars
• Benny Rietveld – bass guitar (album intro)
• Eddie M. – saxophone

Charts

Chart performance for "Sister Fate"

Chart (1986)	Peak position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[5]	81
US Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles	8
US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs[2]	36
US Billboard Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales[6]	26

References

1. "FMQB" (PDF). p. 27.
2. "Sheila E. Chart History: Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs". Billboard. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
3. Tudahl, Duane (2021). Prince and the Parade and Sign O' The Times Era Studio Sessions 1985 and 1986. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 9781538144527.
4. Clerc, Benoît (October 2022). Prince: All the Songs. Octopus. ISBN 9781784728816.
5. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
6. "Sheila E. Chart History: Dance Singles Sales". Billboard. Retrieved April 25, 2021.