Deep Dive: Apollonia 6, APOLLONIA 6

34 years ago today, Apollonia 6 released their one and only album, an LP which failed to provide the trio with a long-term career but did manage to secure them a top-10 R&B hit.

Recorded at Sunset Sound Studios in Hollywood, APOLLONIA 6 is an album that likely wouldn’t have ever existed if Vanity hadn’t said adieu to the Prince camp, thereby taking Vanity 6’s planned sophomore LP off the table. Not wanting to let perfectly good material go to waste, Apollonia Kotero was hired to replace Vanity, and – voila! – Apollonia 6 was born.

Although the cover art of APOLLONIA 6 would have you believe that Kotero, Susan Moonsie, and Brenda Bennett were the key trio of the group, the reality is decidedly different: Moonisie only appears on one track – the opener, “Happy Birthday, Mr. Christian” – and Kotero and Bennett receive substantial vocal assistance from Jill Jones and Wendy & Lisa. But, hey, the cover definitely matches the overall feel of the album, you have to admit…

The album’s biggest hit was “Sex Shooter,” which hit #7 on the Billboard R&B Singles chart and #85 on the Billboard Hot 100. There was a second hit, “Blue Limousine,” which hit #19 on the R&B Singles chart, but there would not be a third, nor would there be a second Apollonia 6 album. So it goes.

Alas, APOLLONIA 6 currently remains out of print, so we can’t even offer you a Spotify stream of this album. We can, however, offer up PURPLE RAIN, which notably features Apollonia on “Take Me With U.” Sorry, we know it’s no “Sex Shooter,” but it’ll just have to do.