Born in Minneapolis, Morris Day went to school with the world-famous pop artist Prince, singing in his first band Grand Central. The Time was originally created as Prince’s alter-ego, and after looking at several lead vocalists, Prince decided to cast someone with mad talent as the band’s frontman … so he chose Day, his high school friend. Soon after, Morris Day & the Time were cast in “Purple Rain,” which captured the exploding Minneapolis music scene at its peak.
Morris Day & The Time soon burst onto the public scene with the self-titled album The Time (1981), which included “Get it Up,” “Cool,” and “Girl.” The group went on to record three more albums, including 1982’s What Time is It? (featuring “777-9311,” “Wild and Loose,” “Walk,” and “Gigolos Get Lonely Too”) and 1984’s Ice Cream Castle (which included the hit “Jungle Love”). After recording these albums, Morris Day launched his solo career, releasing three discs: The Color of Success (1985), Daydreaming (1987), and Guaranteed (1992). Combined sales of Morris Day’s solo work and The Time’s releases is in excess of 10 million units.
“It was such an innocent time,” Day reminisces. “We were just doing our thing, talking the way we talked and dressing the way we dressed. Bringing our personalities to the record. It was us being us. I’m proud of where I came from musically and the things we’ve done.” After a lengthy hiatus in the late ’90s and early ’00s, Day returned to the scene with his latest solo album, It’s About Time (2004). The disc combines classic old school sounds with new trends, all laced together with Day’s energetic vocals and witty lyrics, and complimented by his trademark smooth-as-silk dance moves.
