Morris Day

Morris E. Day (born December 13, 1956) is an American musician and songwriter. He is best known as the lead singer of The Time.

This article is about the musician. For the comic character, see Morris Day (Viz). For people with a similar name, see Maurice Day (disambiguation).

Morris Day
Day in 1996
Day in 1996
Background information
Birth nameMorris E. Day
Born (1956-12-13) December 13, 1956
Springfield, Illinois, U.S.
OriginMinneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.[1]
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Singer
  • songwriter
  • actor
Years active1981–present
Labels

Music career

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 will be releasing his final solo album Last Call and retiring after his 2023 tour.[4]

Acting career

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 coda.

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 on 227 in the 80s.

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]

Discography

Albums
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.

Singles
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.

Filmography

Film
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

Television
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

References
  1. "Morris Day and The Time". Richard De La Fonte Agency, Inc. Archived from the original on January 28, 2007. Retrieved February 25, 2007.
  2. Scancarelli, Derek. "Morris Day On His Life With Prince: From 'Purple Rain' To A Godly Ultimatum". Forbes. Retrieved August 30, 2023.
  3. "Morris Day Tells the Full Story of 'Partyup'". Ultimate Prince.
  4. Mitchell, Gail (September 8, 2022). "Morris Day Talks Releasing Final Solo Album with 'Last Call': 'It's Time to Do Other Things'". Billboard. Retrieved August 30, 2023.
  5. "Will Smith Says He Became The Fresh Prince of Bel Air After Getting in Trouble with the IRS". people.com. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
  6. Roberts, Randall (March 4, 2022). "After 40 years, Prince Estate claims band name 'Morris Day and the Time' belongs to it". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 24, 2022.
  7. "Morris Day - Billboard 200". Billboard.
  8. "Morris Day - Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums". Billboard.
  9. "Morris Day - Billboard Hot 100". Billboard.
  10. "Morris Day - Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs". Billboard.
  11. "Morris Day - Dance Club Songs". Billboard.
  12. "MORRIS DAY - full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 6, 2022.

Further reading
  • Day, Morris (2019). On Time: A Princely Life in Funk (illustrated ed.). Hachette Books. ISBN 9780306922206.
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