Back In Time Judith Hill album

NPG Records

He respected her opinion a lot. That was kind of a first.

Aspiring vocalist Judith Hill got her break as the lead backing vocalist for Michael Jackson for his This Is It concert residency planned at London’s O2 Arena from July 2009 to March 2010. That tour never too to the stage due to Jackson’s death on 25 June 2009. Hill was featured in the resulting This Is It movie piecing together the footage of the would-be show. In 2013, Hill was consequently subject of the documentary 20 Feet From Stardom in which she recounted life as a backing singer – her performance winning the Grammy for Best Music Film. Hill then appeared on the fourth season of TV talent show The Voice in 2013, she met Prince in March 2015 after he watched her on the show Revolt TV that previous April saying she would like to work with him. He invited her to the listening party for his latest LP Art Official Age and that winter they worked together at Paisley Park Studios to lay down her debut record Back In Time, for which Hill wrote all the songs.

Back In Time was released by NPG Records just days after it was completed. The release came without word or warning, distributed simply as a link to the full downloadable album emailed to the subscribers to Prince’s Live Nation list. Prince said it was the fastest album he’d ever made. The download link was available for just 48-hours.

Whilst Prince has no formal writing credit for Back In Time, he mentored Hill throughout the project, plays guitar, bass and drums on it as well as even co-lead and backing vocals, he also produced the record – the sound is unmistakably his. Following its release on 23 March 2015 as a free download, the excellent Back In Time received an undeserved limited commercial release in physical format on 23 October that year – also arranged by Prince under his NPG Records label. The physical edition contains the title track, omitted from the digital version. Despite its limited US circulation Back In Time peaked at number 28 in the Billboard R&B chart.

Hill became Prince’s final girlfriend. The couple had been dating for about two years until the time of his death in 2016. She was sat alongside him on the fateful charted flight that was forced to make an emergency landing at Moline Airport, Illinois in the early hours of 15 April 2016, where on the tarmac Prince received medical treatment following an overdose from opiate-base painkillers he had been taking for his hip. Hill stayed with him throughout and they continued the flight home the following morning. Prince died alone at Paisley Park following a relapse on 21 April.

Performers

Vocals / Piano

Judith Hill

Vox / All instr.

Prince

Bass Guitar

Andrew Gouche

Robert Hill ^{Angel In The Dark}

Drums

John Blackwell

Keyboards

Xavier Taplin

Programming

Joshua Welton ^{Angel In The Dark and Back In Time}

Saxophone

Marcus Anderson

Adrian Crutchfield

BK Jackson

Trumpet

Lynn Grissett

Michael B. Nelson

Orchestration

Adi Yeshaya (STRINGenius) ^{Angel In The Dark}

Data

Producers

Prince and Judith Hill

Label

NPG Records

Distribution

NPG Records

Cover/Design

Annie Madison

Released

11 years ago on 23 March 2015

Running Time

41:14

US Chart Peak

Did not chart

UK Chart Peak

Did not chart

Orig. Formats

Singles from Back In Time

Cry, Cry, Cry

NPG Records

Released

21 September 2015

US Chart Peak

Did not chart

UK Chart Peak

Did not chart

Format

1. Cry, Cry, Cry (5:06)