Morris Day, frontman of the Prince-formed group the Time since 1981, has alleged that the late musician’s estate has forbidden him from performing under the name Morris Day and the Time.
“I’ve given 40 years of my life building up a name and legacy that Prince and I came up with,” Day wrote in a Facebook post. “A name that while he was alive, he had no problem with me using.
“However, now that Prince is no longer with us – suddenly the people who control his multimillion dollar estate, want to rewrite history by taking my name away from me, thus impacting how I feed my family.”
The Prince estate told Vulture magazine that Day’s post was “not entirely accurate” although added no further detail. A representative said the estate had had “amicable discussions” with Day over his use of the name and was “surprised and disappointed” to see his post.
Prince conceived the Time as an outlet for the material he wrote earlier in his career, allowing him to experiment with other styles. He sourced some members of the group from the local Minneapolis funk band Flyte Time – among them Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis – and added others including Day, a childhood friend.
As teenagers, Day and Prince formed their first band, Grand Central, which they later renamed Champagne. Day’s mother managed the group.
In the Time, Day was the only band member allowed to perform on their self-titled 1981 debut album. Prince played all the instruments and instructed Day to follow his vocal demos note-for-note.
The group had a tempestuous relationship with Prince and his band that resulted in rivalries and disciplinary actions being handed down from the rock star. Day played Prince’s nemesis in the 1984 film Purple Rain, but quit the band a year later after arguing with Prince.
The band split and Jam and Lewis became the biggest music producers of the era, working with the likes of Alexander O’Neal (an early member of Flyte Time), Janet Jackson and Day, now a solo artist, on the single Fishnet.
The Time reunited for the album Pandemonium in 1990 – a tie-in with Purple Rain sequel Graffiti Bridge – but soon had another acrimonious split. A partial reunion in 1995 – missing some original members, among them Jam and Lewis, and adding new ones – was more harmonious, and took on the name Morris Day and the Time.
