There aren’t many songs that typify the 1980s more than Sheila E.’s “The Glamorous Life.” It was written and co-produced by Prince. It was reportedly inspired by Prince’s co-star in Purple Rain, Apollonia Kotero. The main theme of “The Glamorous Life” is conspicuous consumption. It even inspired the only No. 1 hit from one of the decade’s defining bands.
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Where “The Glamorous Life” parts ways with the mainstream ‘80s ethos is in its ultimate message about materialism. Madonna’s “Material Girl,” released eight months after “The Glamorous Life” arrived in May 1984, was either supportive of a materialist outlook or ironically critical of it, depending on your perspective. By contrast, “The Glamorous Life” takes a straightforward approach in its questioning of the prevalent ‘80s mood.
Conflicted About Materialism and Love
Celebrations of materialism were everywhere in the ‘80s, so it would be easy to hear “The Glamorous Life” as a takedown of the cultural norms in general. However, Kotero has said the song’s lyrics were at least partially inspired by her. She told Prince biographer Per Nilsen that “The Glamorous Life’s” opening lines—She wears a long fur coat of mink / Even in the summertime—came straight from a conversation she had with the superstar. Kotero said, “He used to make all these stupid jokes, ‘You’re the kind of chick who would wear a mink coat in the summertime.’”
From there, Prince fills out the sketch of the song’s subject and her priorities. There isn’t much subtlety in the description: She’s got big thoughts / Big dreams / And a big brown Mercedes sedan. But by the end of the first verse, Prince lets us know that he thinks his big-thinking protagonist protests a little too much.
What I think this girl
She really wants, to be in love with a man
In the chorus, Prince gives us both sides of her internal dialogue. She may tell herself that all she needs are expensive things, but the glamor of luxury items pales in comparison to having real love.
She wants to lead the glamorous life
She don’t need a man’s touch
She wants to lead the glamorous life
Without love, it ain’t much
“She Knew She Had a Problem”
The cognitive dissonance doesn’t get resolved in the second verse. Prince’s glamour-seeker continues to make her case for a relationship based on physical attraction and money rather than love. The verse begins in the setting of the “if you have to ask, you can’t afford it” lingerie section of a department store. The scene rapidly shifts, not to the nearest big-box store, but to the bedroom.
She threw him bread
And said make me scream
In the dark, what could he say?
Our protagonist then tells us (and probably herself) that she’s looking for “diamonds and furs,” because “love will only conquer my head.”
In the third verse, however, she has a rude awakening.
They made haste in the brown sedan
They drove to 55 Secret Street
They made love, and by the seventh wave
She knew she had a problem
At this point, she realizes that “money only pays the rent,” while “love is forever.” It turns out that being in love is the glamorous life.
Did Prince Have Co-Writers?
Both Sheila E. and Kotero have said they worked on composing “The Glamorous Life” with Prince, but neither has received a writing credit. Sheila E. described her involvement in writing the song in her 2014 memoir The Beat of My Own Drum. She wrote, “It started out as an instrumental, and I couldn’t think of any lyrics for it at first. Once I got started, though, the words came quickly.’
Kotero told CNN she co-wrote “The Glamorous Life” and The Bangles’ “Manic Monday” with Prince, and that he intended to compensate her and other collaborators. She said, “I always floated lyrics to him and a lot of the time, a lot of us artists were uncredited. So what Prince was doing [at the time of his death] was doing due diligence.”
The Impact of “The Glamorous Life”
“The Glamorous Life” gave Sheila E. her only Top 10 single on the Billboard Hot 100 on her first try. The song went to No. 7 on the flagship chart, and it also topped Billboard’s Dance Club Songs chart. It helped to propel the album The Glamorous Life to No. 28 on the Billboard 200.
Prince’s demo version of “The Glamorous LIfe” was released posthumously on the 2019 album Originals. The song was covered by T-Funk featuring Inaya Day in 2005. Their version went to No. 6 on Billboard’s Dance Club Songs chart.
“The Glamorous Life” also has a connection to another big hit of the mid-’80s. Phil Collins has said it provided the inspiration for Genesis’ only No. 1 hit, “Invisible Touch.” While that just hammers home how quintessentially ’80s Sheila E.’s biggest single was, the song still has plenty of fans in the 21st century. Its official video and the video for “The Glamorous Life” on Sheila E.’s YouTube channel have combined for nearly 11 million views. The song may have had special pertinence for the ’80s, but its message and funky groove are timeless.
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Photo by Leon Bennett/Getty Images for The Recording Academy
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