André Cymone (born Andre Simon Anderson; June 27, 1958) is an American bassist, songwriter and record producer. Cymone was a bass guitarist for Prince's touring band, pre-Revolution. Cymone began a solo career in 1981. His song, "The Dance Electric" (written by Prince), reached #10 on the R&B charts in 1985. Cymone later co-wrote and produced hit songs for other acts, including his then wife Jody Watley's "Looking for a New Love" and "Real Love". Cymone's stage name comes from a variation of his middle name, Simon. Biography Early years Cymone was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. The son of Fred Anderson, a musician, and Bernadette, a social worker, Cymone was the youngest of six children. The Anderson home soon had an additional member – a young Prince who left his own home due to conflicts with his father. Prince's cousin Charles Smith started the band Grand Central and later invited Cymone. The band included Cymone's sister Linda and Morris Day — they later changed their name to Champagne due to being confused with the funk band Graham Central Station. Around this same, in 1975, Pepe Willie (the former husband of another of Prince's cousins), started the funk band 94 East, with members Cymone and Prince. Career In the late 1970s, after Prince released his debut album, For You, Prince recruited Cymone as bassist for his touring band. Cymone stayed with Prince until 1981 when he quit the band over tensions with Prince. The two later resolved their issues and Cymone, managed by Owen Husney, went on to release 3 solo albums – Livin' In The New Wave (1982), Survivin' in the 80s (1983), and AC (1985). All were out of print for a long period of time, but all three of his solo records have been remastered, and expanded with extra tracks. His only successful single – a song written by Prince – was "The Dance Electric" from the AC album. Cymone went on to become a producer and is better known for producing Jody Watley (to whom he was married and shares a son). He has also produced and written songs for several other artists, including Evelyn "Champagne" King, Pebbles, Jermaine Stewart, The Girls, Pretty Poison and Adam Ant. In 1988, Cymone produced three tracks and co-wrote the track "Under My Skin" for Phil Thornalley's 1988 only solo album Swamp. His song "Better Way", performed by James Ingram,