On Time: A Princely Life in Funk
Category: Books,Arts & Photography,Music
On Time: A Princely Life in Funk Details
Review "Great book! Great storytelling!"―Lenny Kravitz"[An] entertaining memoir... fans of Prince - and The Time - will be thrilled with this insider view."―Publishers Weekly"An enticing read... [L]argely a memoir but also, in part, an entertaining commentary."―Soul Tracks"What if Prince came back and he and Morris got down to settling old scores and giving away secrets? Morris makes it happen, and I devoured this great book!"―Paul Shaffer, author of We'll Be Here for the Rest of Our Lives"What time is it? It's time for everyone to read Morris Day's memoir. Lean, slick, cooler than Santa Claus, and surprisingly tender, the book not only traces Day's history in Minneapolis funk, but doubles as an intimate recollections of his time with Prince."―Ben Greenman, author of Dig If You Will The Picture: Funk, Sex, God and Genius in the Music of Prince"A breezy, hard-to-put-down book."―Minneapolis Star-Tribune"[Day]'s quite a vivid storyteller and the Day/Prince interplay not only works, but it keeps things moving forward. At times, it's a challenge to put On Time down."―Twin Cities Pioneer Press"A vital, illuminating and wildly entertaining autobiography."―Billboard"Fortunately, Morris Day's memoir arrives in the same month as his old friend's. Day grew up a few blocks from Prince and played drums in his first band. The two remained close for decades...Day's book has him in conversation with Prince's ghost, arguing about how to tell the story, and gives us details about Prince that he never got to tell his memoirist...Day has a front-row seat for the life of one of the greatest musicians of all time and his book is a worshipful telling of what Prince's rise looked like from his vantage."―New York Times Book Review Read more About the Author Morris Day is a legendary multi-platinum recording artist, musician, composer, arranger, and singer who is best known as the lead singer of The Time. He has enjoyed a highly successful solo career as well. He co-starred with Prince with a breakout acting performance in the blockbuster, Purple Rain. Day resides in Orange County, California. David Ritz is a Grammy Award winner and the only four-time winner of the Gleason Music Book Award. He won the 2013 ASCAP Award for outstanding musical bio for When I Left Home, written with Buddy Guy. He has collaborated with Ray Charles, Marvin Gaye, B.B. King, Etta James, Janet Jackson, and Smokey Robinson, and is the co-composer of "Sexual Healing." Ritz lives in Los Angeles, California. Read more
Reviews
For those interested in Prince's path to Warner Bros., listen to interviews from those who were there. Chris Moon of Moonsound hired Prince to help write radio commercials (he was chief recording engineer at the largest advertising agency in Minneapolis); and taught Prince recording and producing, giving him the keys to his studio. Chris helped write and record a demo of songs which he brought to Owen Husney who then took Prince on. David Z (Bobby Z's brother) was brought in to record the demo which got him signed to Warners. David has an interview on You Tube talking about the recording, how Prince played all the instruments. He also worked on Prince's iconic albums, including Purple Rain.Funkatopia has a great interview with Chris Moon on Soundcloud; Chris even talks about recording Champagne's demo (when he first met Prince). Owen Husney has You Tube interviews, and has written the excellent book, 'Famous People Who've Met Me: A Memoir by the Man Who Discovered Prince'. Chris Moon cowrote Soft and Wet, on Prince's 1st album.Per Nilsen's book 'Dance Music Sex Romance, Prince: The First Decade' goes into great detail about it all -- Prince quit Champagne to work with Chris Moon, and his exit wasn't pretty. Morris leaves all of this out of his book.Prince was a once in a lifetime artist. His unprecedented Warners contract where he was given 3-albums and full control in the studio is an important part of his legacy.