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Romance 1600
Studio album by Sheila E.
Released	August 26, 1985
Recorded	January 4 – February 8, 1985
Genre	Funk, pop, R&B
Length	38:59
Label	Paisley Park/Warner Bros.
Producer	Sheila E. Prince
Sheila E. chronology
The Glamorous Life (1984) Romance 1600 (1985) Sheila E. (1987)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Robert Christgau	B

Romance 1600 is the second album by the singer-drummer-percussionist Sheila E. While the album is credited as arranged, produced, and written by Sheila E., it is commonly acknowledged to be mostly arranged, produced, and written by Prince. His contributions are most notable on the song "A Love Bizarre", a 12-minute epic that became a major hit in its edited radio-friendly form.

Following the release of her debut album, she appeared in the film Krush Groove, in which she performed "A Love Bizarre" and "Holly Rock". Only Holly Rock appeared on the soundtrack to the film.

The album's lead single was "Sister Fate". "Sister Fate"'s B-side is a non-album track called "Save the People".

The album's second single was Bedtime Story, backed with the album track Dear Michaelangelo.

"A Love Bizarre" was the third, final, and most successful single from the album. The single reached number 11 on the US Billboard Hot 100 Chart, number 2 on the Billboard Black Chart, and number 1 on the Billboard Hot Dance/Disco - Club Play chart.

On January 28, 1986, the album was certified Gold by the RIAA.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Prince, except where noted

Personnel

• Sheila E. – lead and backing vocals, percussion (all but 4), drums (1, 5, 7), Simmons SDS-V (1), strings, arranger, producer, writer
• Juan Escovedo – percussion (3)
• Eddie M. – backing vocals (3, 4); saxophone (all but 5)
• Ken Grey – Yamaha DX7 (1)
• Stef Burns (Stephan Birnbaum) (It) – electric guitar (1), 12-string acoustic guitar (8), backing vocals (3, 4)
• Prince – lead (3, 5) and backing vocals (1-3), electric guitar (2-4), Yamaha DX7 (all but 7), Oberheim OB-SX (2), Hammond organ (1, 4, 7), piano (1, 8), keyboards (3, 6), bass guitar (1, 3-5, 8), Linn LM-1 (1, 2, 5, 6), LinnDrum (3, 4), percussion (4), drums (8)
• Micheal Weaver – backing vocals (4)
• Susie Davis – backing vocals (2, 3, 6)
• Jerome Benton – backing vocals (3)
• Benny Rietveld – backing vocals (6), bass guitar (1, 7)
• John Liotine – trumpet (5)
• Steve Madaio – trumpet (5)
• Ron Jannelli – trumpet (5), trombone (5)
• Dick Hyde – trombone (5)
• Robert Martin – saxophone (5)
• Tim Misica – saxophone (5)

Charts

References

1. "RIAA".
2. ^ Tudahl, Duane (2021). Prince and the Parade and Sign O' The Times Era Studio Sessions 1985 and 1986. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 9781538144527.
3. ^ Clerc, Benoît (October 2022). Prince: All the Songs. Octopus. ISBN 9781784728816.
4. Allmusic review
5. Robert Christgau review
6. "Recording Industry Association of America". RIAA. Archived from the original on February 25, 2013. Retrieved March 7, 2012.
7. "Dutchcharts.nl – Sheila E. – In Romance 1600" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
8. "Offiziellecharts.de – Sheila E. – In Romance 1600" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
9. "Swedishcharts.com – Sheila E. – In Romance 1600". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
10. "Sheila E Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
11. "Sheila E Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
12. "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1986". Billboard. Retrieved July 13, 2021.

• 1985 albums
• Sheila E. albums
• Albums produced by Prince (musician)
• Paisley Park Records albums
• Warner Records albums