Difference between revisions of "The Time"
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− | |introduction = The Time is a funk and dance-pop ensemble formed in 1981 in Minneapolis from two Twin Cities funk units, Flytetyme and Enterprise. Vocalist [[Morris Day]] infused his cocky, swaggering personality into dance hits and the band managed to do something unique with [[Prince]]'s genre-busting innovations. By 1982, the group had already established itself as one of the hottest bands working the live circuit. In 1983, [[Jimmy Jam]] and [[Terry Lewis]] were fired from the band, after pursuing a career as producers. The band split in 1984 When [[Morris Day]] left. The original 6 members (plus [[Jerome Benton]]) reunited in 1990 but despite expectations, the reunion only brought moderate success. In 2008 The group did a live stint in Las Vegas with the original line-up. | + | |introduction = The Time is a funk and dance-pop ensemble formed in 1981 in Minneapolis from two Twin Cities funk units, Flytetyme and Enterprise. Vocalist [[Morris Day]] infused his cocky, swaggering personality into dance hits and the band managed to do something unique with [[Prince]]'s genre-busting innovations. By 1982, the group had already established itself as one of the hottest bands working the live circuit. In 1983, [[Jimmy Jam]] and [[Terry Lewis]] were fired from the band, after pursuing a career as producers. The band split in 1984 When [[Morris Day]] left. The original 6 members (plus [[Jerome Benton]]) reunited in 1990 but despite expectations, the reunion only brought moderate success. In 2008 The group did a live stint in Las Vegas with the original line-up. In October 2011 they released a new The Time album ''Condensate'' without any [[Prince]] input. The album was released under the new moniker '''The Original 7ven''', as Prince owned the rights to the band name The Time. The band split once again shortly after. |
|original line up = | |original line up = | ||
* [[Morris Day]] - Vocals<br> | * [[Morris Day]] - Vocals<br> | ||
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* [[Mark Cardenas]]: Keyboards<br> | * [[Mark Cardenas]]: Keyboards<br> | ||
* [[Jerry Hubbard]]: Bass<br> | * [[Jerry Hubbard]]: Bass<br> | ||
+ | * [[Rocky Harris]]: Bass<br> | ||
|evolution = The band was assembled under a clause in [[Prince]]'s contract with [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warner_Bros._Records Warner Bros. Records] that allowed him to recruit and produce other artists for the label. Allegedly inspired by the 1980 film ''The Idolmaker'', about the life of music promoter and producer Bob Marucci (the Svengali figure behind such 50s/early 60s teen idols like Fabian and Frankie Avalon), [[Prince]] decided to put together a poppy funk group that would serve as a pet project and an outlet for further material in the vein of his own early albums, while he himself went on to explore other genres and styles in his own career. | |evolution = The band was assembled under a clause in [[Prince]]'s contract with [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warner_Bros._Records Warner Bros. Records] that allowed him to recruit and produce other artists for the label. Allegedly inspired by the 1980 film ''The Idolmaker'', about the life of music promoter and producer Bob Marucci (the Svengali figure behind such 50s/early 60s teen idols like Fabian and Frankie Avalon), [[Prince]] decided to put together a poppy funk group that would serve as a pet project and an outlet for further material in the vein of his own early albums, while he himself went on to explore other genres and styles in his own career. | ||
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After [[Prince]] used a groove by his childhood friend [[Morris Day]] to create, "[[Partyup]]", on his [[Album: Dirty Mind|Dirty Mind]] album, he promised to give him a band with a contract in return. | After [[Prince]] used a groove by his childhood friend [[Morris Day]] to create, "[[Partyup]]", on his [[Album: Dirty Mind|Dirty Mind]] album, he promised to give him a band with a contract in return. | ||
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− | By 1981, he had built The Time out of two existing Minneapolis bands, "Flyte Time" (from the Donald Byrd song), which featured [[Jellybean Johnson]] on drums, [[Jimmy Jam]] and [[Monte Moir]] on keyboards, and [[Terry Lewis]] on bass | + | By 1981, he had built The Time out of two existing Minneapolis bands, "Flyte Time" (from the Donald Byrd song), which featured [[Jellybean Johnson]] on drums, [[Jimmy Jam]] and [[Monte Moir]] on keyboards, and [[Terry Lewis]] on bass and Enterprise Band of Pleasure with [[Morris Day]] on drums, [[Jesse Johnson]] on guitar and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_O%27Neal Alexander O'Neal] as a singer. |
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[[Jesse Johnson]] from Rock Island, IL originally came to Minneapolis when [[Prince]] was auditioning for a bass player after [[André Cymone]] left his band. [[Prince]] thought [[Jesse Johnson|Jesse]] was a great guitar player, but he was looking for a bass player so he told him to stick around instead, after which Jesse joined Enterprise Band of Pleasure initially. | [[Jesse Johnson]] from Rock Island, IL originally came to Minneapolis when [[Prince]] was auditioning for a bass player after [[André Cymone]] left his band. [[Prince]] thought [[Jesse Johnson|Jesse]] was a great guitar player, but he was looking for a bass player so he told him to stick around instead, after which Jesse joined Enterprise Band of Pleasure initially. | ||
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The tension came to a head on the final night of the tour in Cincinnati during The Time's set when [[Prince]] and some of his cronies egged their support act from off-stage. Things further escalated after The Time's performance when guitarist [[Jesse Johnson]] was handcuffed to a wall-mounted coat rack and further humiliated. [[Prince]], of course, demanded no interruptions during his performance, but as soon as he left the stage, a food fight erupted. When the battle continued at the hotel, [[Prince]] made [[Morris Day]] pay for all damages, claiming that he had started the whole thing.<br> | The tension came to a head on the final night of the tour in Cincinnati during The Time's set when [[Prince]] and some of his cronies egged their support act from off-stage. Things further escalated after The Time's performance when guitarist [[Jesse Johnson]] was handcuffed to a wall-mounted coat rack and further humiliated. [[Prince]], of course, demanded no interruptions during his performance, but as soon as he left the stage, a food fight erupted. When the battle continued at the hotel, [[Prince]] made [[Morris Day]] pay for all damages, claiming that he had started the whole thing.<br> | ||
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− | During the 1983's [[1999 Tour]], The Time were playing as [[Vanity 6]]'s backing band from behind a curtain, before doing their own hour-long set with only a small pay increase. [[Jimmy Jam]] and [[Terry Lewis]], who had begun writing songs and production work of their own (working with SOLAR to produce [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klymaxx Klymaxx] and with Tabu Records to produce [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_S.O.S._Band The S.O.S. Band]), were stranded in Atlanta by a blizzard and failed to make it to a Time concert in San Antonio. As result Jerome had to mime playing bass guitar on stage while [[Prince]] played Lewis' part off stage, and Lisa stood in for Jimmy Jam. Subsequently, the duo were fined and then fired after the tour finished.<br> | + | During the 1983's [[1999 Tour]], The Time were playing as [[Vanity 6]]'s backing band from behind a curtain, before doing their own hour-long set with only a small pay increase. [[Jimmy Jam]] and [[Terry Lewis]], who had begun writing songs and production work of their own (working with [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SOLAR_Records SOLAR] to produce [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klymaxx Klymaxx] and with Tabu Records to produce [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_S.O.S._Band The S.O.S. Band]), were stranded in Atlanta by a blizzard and failed to make it to a Time concert in San Antonio. As result Jerome had to mime playing bass guitar on stage while [[Prince]] played Lewis' part off stage, and Lisa stood in for Jimmy Jam. Subsequently, the duo were fined and then fired after the tour finished.<br> |
Although [[Prince]] would state in a 1990 Rolling Stone's interview that he "didn't fire Jam and Lewis. Morris asked [him] what [he] would do in his situation. Remember, it was [Morris'] band." Whether their firing was due to the incident or to their increasing independence has never been cleared up. [[Monte Moir]] subsequently left on his own accord, and would also work with Jam and Lewis. The three were replaced with [[Mark Cardenas]] and [[Paul Peterson]] on keyboards and [[Rocky Harris]] on bass. Harris only remained the bass-player for a few weeks as he was fired when he failed to show up on time one day filming a scene for [[Film: Purple Rain|Purple Rain]]. He was quickly replaced by [[Jerry Hubbard]]. This new line up was featured in [[Prince]]'s [[Film: Purple Rain|Purple Rain]] film. The Time rode the wave of popularity created by the movie and hit singles "[[Jungle Love]]" and "[[The Bird]]" and were household names in 1984. Unfortunately, the band was not to reap the benefits.<br> | Although [[Prince]] would state in a 1990 Rolling Stone's interview that he "didn't fire Jam and Lewis. Morris asked [him] what [he] would do in his situation. Remember, it was [Morris'] band." Whether their firing was due to the incident or to their increasing independence has never been cleared up. [[Monte Moir]] subsequently left on his own accord, and would also work with Jam and Lewis. The three were replaced with [[Mark Cardenas]] and [[Paul Peterson]] on keyboards and [[Rocky Harris]] on bass. Harris only remained the bass-player for a few weeks as he was fired when he failed to show up on time one day filming a scene for [[Film: Purple Rain|Purple Rain]]. He was quickly replaced by [[Jerry Hubbard]]. This new line up was featured in [[Prince]]'s [[Film: Purple Rain|Purple Rain]] film. The Time rode the wave of popularity created by the movie and hit singles "[[Jungle Love]]" and "[[The Bird]]" and were household names in 1984. Unfortunately, the band was not to reap the benefits.<br> | ||
It was Day who left next after arguments with [[Prince]], choosing to pursue a solo career in 1985 after a successful acting turn in [[Film: Purple Rain|Purple Rain]]. Soon thereafter, with [[Jesse Johnson]] also opting to go solo (taking Time members [[Mark Cardenas|Cardenas]] and [[Jerry Hubbard|Jerry]] with him), the band disintegrated; the remaining members ([[Jerome Benton]], [[Jellybean Johnson]] and [[Paul Peterson]]) were reformed into a new short-lived project called [[The Family]]. Meanwhile, [[Jimmy Jam]] and [[Terry Lewis]] went on to become one of the most successful songwriting and production teams of the 80s and 90s.<br> | It was Day who left next after arguments with [[Prince]], choosing to pursue a solo career in 1985 after a successful acting turn in [[Film: Purple Rain|Purple Rain]]. Soon thereafter, with [[Jesse Johnson]] also opting to go solo (taking Time members [[Mark Cardenas|Cardenas]] and [[Jerry Hubbard|Jerry]] with him), the band disintegrated; the remaining members ([[Jerome Benton]], [[Jellybean Johnson]] and [[Paul Peterson]]) were reformed into a new short-lived project called [[The Family]]. Meanwhile, [[Jimmy Jam]] and [[Terry Lewis]] went on to become one of the most successful songwriting and production teams of the 80s and 90s.<br> |
Revision as of 06:43, 10 September 2017
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The Time |
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The band went on to release four albums (mostly performed by Prince & singer Morris Day alone) during the course of their main career, each a solid slice of jam-based, rock-infused 80s funk, generally light and humorous in tone, strongly influenced by Parliament - and, of course, Prince. Although they scored numerous hits (including "Get It Up", "Cool", "The Walk", "777-9311", "Jungle Love" and "The Bird", mostly on the R&B charts) during the early 1980s, they never reached super-stardom. Jesse Johnson also went solo, releasing albums, writing songs and producing acts such as Vanity, Sue Ann Carwell, Three Shades of Brown, Ta Mara & The Seen, dá Krash / Kool Skool, Wendy And Lisa. He is experienced in arranging, engineering, programming and producing and appeared on many albums by other artists like Janet Jackson, Paula Abdul, Rod Stewart, Les Rita Mitsouko. Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis founded the label Flyte Tyme Records and became one of the most successful production teams, working with everyone from Full Force and Janet Jackson to the S.O.S. Band and Human League. To this day millions of sales on over 100 albums they produced have exceeded gold, platinum, and multi-platinum status. Their personal record include 15 No. #1 pop hits, 25 No. #1 R&B chart toppers, multiple Grammy Awards, and numerous other accolades and honors. Monte Moir followed the example of the pair, writing songs for Janet Jackson, Alexander O'Neal and Deja, and using his experience in arranging, engineering, programming and producing on many albums by other artists like Patty Austin, St. Paul, Deniece Williams, Cherrelle and the S.O.S. Band. Jellybean Johnson joined, together with Susannah Melvoin, Jerome Benton and Paul Peterson a new Prince project: The Family. The band released a self-titled album in 1985 after which they split. He has written tracks for Alexander O'Neal, New Edition and Nona Hendryx, and is experienced in arranging, engineering, programming and producing. He appeared on many albums by other artists like Janet Jackson, Jill Jones, Karyn White, Herb Alpert and Mint Condition. Several members of The Time reunited in 1995, added a few new recruits and have remained together since. This version of the band can be seen in the Kevin Smith film Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back and tours frequently to this day. The band is usually billed as "Morris Day and The Time". A fifth Time album is rumored to have been completed in the late 90's, recorded with the new lineup but production and coordination with Prince has prevented its release. The title Old Dogs, New Tricks was the working title. A 2004 album attributed to Morris Day called It's About Time contains a few new tracks written and performed by Day and a number of live performances by The Time.
In June and July 2008, all of the original members of The Time (Morris Day, Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis, Jesse Johnson, Jerome Benton, Jellybean Johnson, and Monte Moir) reunited once again for a series of shows at the Flamingo Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. In October 2011 they released a new The Time album Condensate without any Prince input. The album was released under the new moniker The Original 7ven, as Prince owned the rights to the band name The Time. by December 2011 Jesse Johnson announced he was leaving the band, making their new name moot. | ||
Live
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performances outside the Controversy Tour and 1999 Tour
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Additional Information |
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