Morris Day | |
|---|---|
 Morris Day on stage with fans, in 2024 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Morris E. Day |
| Born | December 13, 1956 Springfield, Illinois, U.S. |
| Origin | Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S. [1] |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) |
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| Years active | 1981–present |
| Labels | |
Morris E. Day (born December 13, 1956) is an American musician and songwriter. He is best known as the lead singer of The Time.
Morris Day is best known as the lead singer of The Time, a group associated with Prince. Day and Prince attended the same high school in Minneapolis and in 1974, as teenagers, became bandmates in the band Grand Central. The band was managed by Morris' mother. [2] [3]
Morris announced in 2022 that he would be releasing his final solo album Last Call and retiring after his 2023–2024 tour. [4]
In addition to his roles in Purple Rain (1984) and Graffiti Bridge (1990), Day also appeared in small parts in films such as Richard Pryor's Moving (1988) and the Andrew Dice Clay film The Adventures of Ford Fairlane (1990). Day's presence on the screen decreased until, in 2001, he returned to film in Kevin Smith's Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back , performing "Jungle Love" with The Time after being introduced emphatically by Jason Mewes' character as "Morris Day and the Time!" and dancing with the movie's stars in the film's ending.
Day also appeared on the small screen in 1990 when he portrayed the character Lamarr on ABC's short-lived sitcom New Attitude . He guest-starred on the sitcom Eve as a pimp who wanted Eve's fashion boutique to design a flamboyant suit to match his witty personality, and appeared as himself in an episode on the series Moesha , attempting to file a lawsuit against Moesha's ex-boyfriend Q, who used a sample from "The Oak Tree" without permission. He also appeared in the series 227 .
He appeared opposite James Avery and Matthew Stewart in a pilot called Heart & Soul produced by Quincy Jones. In 2018, Will Smith revealed that he auditioned on the spot for The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air with a script for a "failed Morris Day pilot" that Jones handed to him. [5]
In March 2022, an article written by the Los Angeles Times mentioned that the Prince Estate recently informed Day that he "can no longer use Morris Day and the Time in any capacity." After reading the letter that was sent to Day from the estate, music industry attorney Erin M. Jacobson mentioned in that same article that it was more accurate to say the letter stated that Day could not claim “ownership of the name,” but there was still opportunity to use the name via an agreement with the Prince Estate that would provide terms for Day to monetarily compensate “the trademark owner in exchange for the ability to continue using the name.” [6]
| Year | Album | Chart positions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [7] | US R&B [8] | |||||
| 1985 | Color of Success | 37 | 7 | |||
| 1987 | Daydreaming | 41 | 7 | |||
| 1992 | Guaranteed | — | — | |||
| 2004 | It's About Time | 197 | 38 | |||
| 2022 | Last Call | — | — | |||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. | ||||||
| Year | Single | Chart positions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [9] | US R&B [10] | US Dance [11] | UK [12] | |||
| 1985 | "The Oak Tree" | 65 | 3 | 14 | 77 | |
| "The Color of Success" | — | 15 | — | — | ||
| "The Character" | — | 34 | — | — | ||
| "Love Sign" | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1987 | "Fishnet" | 23 | 1 | 12 | — | |
| 1988 | "Love Is A Game" | — | 71 | — | — | |
| "Are You Ready" | — | — | 8 | — | ||
| "Daydreaming" | — | 26 | — | — | ||
| 1992 | "Circle of Love" | — | — | — | — | |
| "Gimme Whatcha Got" | — | 77 | — | — | ||
| 2000 | "Get a Job" | — | 96 | — | — | |
| 2017 | "Over That Rainbow" | — | — | — | — | |
| "One Night Stand" (with Snoop Dogg) | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019 | "Lil Mo Funk" (with Snoop Dogg) | — | — | — | — | |
| 2020 | "Cooler Than Santa Claus" | — | — | — | — | |
| "Headrush" (with Trinidad James) | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2021 | "Grown Man" (with Big Daddy Kane) | — | — | — | — | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | ||||||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Purple Rain | Himself | |
| 1988 | Moving | Rudy | |
| Heart and Soul | Curtis Brousseau | TV movie | |
| 1990 | The Adventures of Ford Fairlane | Don Cleveland | |
| Graffiti Bridge | Himself | ||
| 1991 | Hotel Dicks | Dick 1 | |
| 1997 | A Woman Like That | ||
| 2001 | Boys Klub | Marx 2 | |
| Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back | Himself | ||
| 2004 | West from North Goes South | Elvis Potter |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | 227 | Prince Lionel | Episode: "The Prince" |
| 1990 | New Attitude | Lamarr | Main cast |
| 1997 | Moesha | Himself | Episode: "Rhythm and Dues" |
| 2004 | Eve | Rodney P | Episode: "Pimps Up, DivaStyle Down" |
| Da Boom Crew | Zorch | Main cast | |
| 2007-08 | Baisden After Dark | Himself/Band Leader | TV series |
Prince Rogers Nelson was an American singer, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, record producer, and actor. The recipient of numerous awards and nominations, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest musicians of his generation. He was known for his flamboyant, androgynous persona; his wide vocal range, which included a far-reaching falsetto and high-pitched screams; and his skill as a multi-instrumentalist, often preferring to play all or most of the instruments on his recordings. His music incorporated a wide variety of styles, including funk, R&B, rock, new wave, soul, synth-pop, pop, jazz, blues, and hip hop. Prince produced his albums himself, pioneering the Minneapolis sound.
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Purple Rain is the sixth studio album by the American singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Prince. It was released on June 25, 1984, by Warner Bros. Records as the soundtrack album to the 1984 film of the same name. Purple Rain was musically denser than Prince's previous albums, emphasizing full band performances, and multiple layers of guitars, keyboards, electronic synthesizer effects, drum machines, and other instruments.
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"The Bird" is a song from The Time's third album, Ice Cream Castle. The song was initially recorded in the studio in 1983 with all instruments by Prince, except guitar, which was performed by Jesse Johnson. This version was replaced by a live recording with the full band at the First Avenue on October 4, 1983. This is the first Time song to be released both live and featuring The Time as a band, rather than primarily Prince with Morris Day on vocals. The song has become a signature number for the band and continues to be played in every Time concert to this day. In addition, two additional live versions have since been released: one on Prince's Rave Un2 the Year 2000 DVD and one recorded at the House of Blues in 1998 for Morris Day's 2004 album It's About Time.
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The Time, also known as Morris Day and the Time and The Original 7ven, is an American funk rock band founded in Minneapolis in 1981. They contributed to the development of the Minneapolis sound, an eclectic fusion of funk, R&B, new wave, synth-pop and dance. Led by singer-songwriter Morris Day, the band members are known for having been close associates of musician Prince, and are arguably the most successful artists who have worked with him, achieving success with singles such as "Get It Up", "The Bird", "Cool", "777-9311", "Jungle Love" and "Jerk Out".
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"Jungle Love" is a song from The Time's third album, Ice Cream Castle.
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