Morris Day
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| Morris Day | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Morris E. Day |
| Born | December 13, 1957 |
| Origin | Springfield, Illinois[1] |
| Genres | Rock, pop, R&B, soul, Funk, funk-rock, funk metal, New Wave, dance, hip-hop |
| Occupations | Musician, Singer, Drummer |
| Instruments | Vocals, Drums, Keyboards |
| Years active | 1981–present |
| Labels | Warner Bros. Records Paisley Park Records Reprise Records Hollywood Records |
| Associated acts | The Time Flyte Tyme Prince |
| Website | http://www.morrisdayandthetime.com |
Morris E. Day (born December 13, 1957) is an American musician and composer. He is best known as the lead singer of The Time.
Contents |
[edit] Musical career
[edit] 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. 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 film Purple Rain, 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.
In 1984, Day contributed backing vocals on "Mechanical Emotion" from Vanity's debut album Wild Animal. With the breakup of The Time that same year, Day began his solo career. The modest to mediocre 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 terrible blow to his career.
[edit] 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.
[edit] 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 90s, with Day fronting a revamped lineup of The Time, including originals Jellybean Johnson on drums and Monte Moir on keyboards.
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.
He currently has three children [1].
[edit] Acting career
Though he had continued to act in films from time to time in small parts (Richard Pryor's Moving being a brief but memorable turn), 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 and dancing with the movie's stars in the movie's coda and being introduced emphatically by Jason Mewes' character as "Morris Day and The motherfuckin' Time!".
Day also appeared on the small screen in 1990 when he portrayed the character Lamarr on ABC's short-lived sitcom New Attitude. He also 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, as he also appeared as himself in an episode on the series Moesha, who attempted to file a lawsuit against Moesha's ex bofriend Q, who used a sample for a song he and his group made, as he had no permission from Day.
[edit] Appearances in popular culture
In the 1980s and 1990s, WWF wrestler "Birdman" Koko B. Ware used "The Bird" as his entrance theme.
In the online RPG World of Warcraft, there is a computer controlled character outside the gates of Silvermoon City named "Morrisroe"; in a nod to Purple Rain he spawns a subordinate minion named "Jerome".
He appeared with The Time at the end of the movie "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back" and was referred to as the main characters' favorite band.
In 1994, Day was featured on and provided the chorus and accompanying vocals for rapper K-Dee's song "Gigalos Get Lonely Too" from the Ass, Gas, or Cash (No One Rides for Free) album. This song was essentially a direct sampling of a similarly named "Gigolos Get Lonely Too", recorded by The Time in the 80's.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
- The Time (Warner Bros., 1980)
- What Time Is It? (Warner Bros., 1982)
- Ice Cream Castle (Warner Bros., 1984)
- Color of Success (Warner Bros., 1985)
- Daydreaming (Warner Bros., 1987)
- Pandemonium (Paisley Park Records, 1990) #18 US
- Guaranteed (Reprise, 1992)
- It's About Time (Hollywood, 2004)
[edit] Singles
- Color of Success
- The Oak Tree
- The Character
- Daydreaming
- Fishnet 1988, #23
- Love Is a Game
- Gimme Watcha Got
- Circle of Love
- 777-9311
- Gigolos Get Lonely Too
- Jungle Love 1984, #20
- Jerk Out 1990, #9
- The Bird 1984, #36
[edit] Filmography
[edit] With Prince
[edit] Other appearances
[edit] References
- ^ Morris Day and The Time, Richard De La Fonte Agency, Inc. Retrieved 25 February 2007.
[edit] External links
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