30%
view 
Members
1 Male
Origin
Minneapolis, USA
Genre
Funk
Style
Rock/Pop
Mood
---
Born
1 MaleOrigin
Minneapolis, USAGenre
FunkStyle
Rock/PopMood
---
Born
1957
Active
---Present...
Cutout
Most Loved Tracks4 users
Morris Day - The Oak Tree4 users
Morris Day - Color of Success
Music Video LinksArtist Biography
Available in:
Morris E. Day (born December 13, 1957) is an American musician, composer and actor. He is best known as the lead singer of The Time.
1970s and 1980s
In high school, Day was in a band with Prince and André Cymone and the trio formed an early band managed by Day's mother called "Grand Central," later renamed "Champagne." Later, Prince embarked on a solo career but retained Cymone for his backing band. The two began to plan a side-group that would focus more on R&B, while Prince would continue to explore various musical styles. The Time was composed of 4 members from an earlier funk group called "Flyte Tyme," but the lead singer had not been chosen. Charles Alexander Cobb of Saint Paul, was considered but he turned it down. Sue Ann Carwell was auditioned; and Alexander O'Neal nearly became The Time's lead singer, but dropped out due to payment negotiations. Day, who was now in a band called "Enterprise", allowed Prince to have a song called "Partyup" for his Dirty Mind album, and Prince would soon return the favor by giving Day the job of lead singer. Day would suggest guitarist Jesse Johnson, who completed the band's ensemble.
The Time's most prolific and visible period came in 1984, when Day played the antagonist to Prince in his feature films Purple Rain and Graffiti Bridge, which helped establish Day's playboy stage presence. Typically escorted by his valet, "Jerome" (Jerome Benton), Day won fans with his exaggerated vanity ("Jerome bring me my mirror!") and strutting bravado ("Ain't nobody bad like me!"), acting as a comic foil to Prince's romantic, sensitive lead. This persona was further exploited for comic effect on The Time's records, on songs such as "Chili Sauce" and "If the Kid Can't Make You Come" from the album Ice Cream Castle.
That album, the group's most popular, is best remembered for the infectious singles "Jungle Love" and the Rufus Thomas influenced, "The Bird." With their palpable pop energy and catchy choruses, both songs were hits on both urban and pop radio.
With the breakup of The Time in 1984, Day began his solo career. The low sales of his solo albums such as 1987's Daydreaming (which spawned the single "Fishnet") and his most commercially viable solo album, Guaranteed were a blow to his career.
In 1986 Morris Day married Judith Day. They were married for 22 years—until 2008. They had three children together.
1990s
It wasn't until 1990 that The Time scored a #1 R&B hit with "Jerk Out," a Dance-funk cut from their reunited fourth album, Pandemonium. This album also featured the original members of the band. The same year, Day formed his own girl band (not unlike Prince's Vanity 6/Apollonia 6) called The Day Zs. The group's first and only album release was produced by Day and he sang on one of the tracks called "Green Acres."
From that high point, Day's success began to wane. The general decline of Prince's popularity soon after did not help and Day's public visibility, and his creative output waned considerably.
2000 to present
Day came out of his self-imposed retirement because of his fans' support. Day has remained a popular concert draw since the late 1990s, fronting a revamped lineup of The Time, including originals Jellybean Johnson on drums and Monte Moir on keyboards. The band was invited to perform on Prince's direct to video concert film, "Rave Un2 The Year 2000", in December 1999.
Day has also appeared regularly in local television commercials for a Toyota dealership in the Atlanta area.
As of 2007, Day is band leader on the TV One program Baisden After Dark.
He reunited with the original members of The Time after 18 years for a performance with Rihanna at the 50th Grammy Awards show.
Morris Day and The Time performed at the 2008 HR Florida State Conference.
Morris Day is now performing with his new band called The Original 7ven the band includes most of the members of the original band The Time hence the name.
The new album was released in 2011 and is called Condensate.
Wide Thumb
Clearart
Fanart
Banner
User Comments
No comments yet..
Unlocked
