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Prince · S4 E5
The Time
Morris Day, Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis. Prince creates a rival band, writes their hits, plays their instruments, and produces them in secret
1981, a Minneapolis recording studio. Prince records an entire album by himself, hands the finished tapes to a band called The Time, and tells them to learn the parts and pretend they played them.
"Jungle Love" (The Time, 1984). The Time's biggest hit, written, produced, and largely performed by Prince. Morris Day sings, the band performs live with swagger and humor, but the man behind the curtain is the same person competing with them on the charts.
Jungle Love, The Time (1984)
"Jungle Love" is built on a funky guitar riff and a horn-like synth line that sounds like a cartoon chase scene in the best possible way. Morris Day's vocal is loose and charismatic, all swagger and humor, which is exactly what Prince wanted: a frontman who could sell the illusion. The production is unmistakably Prince: the Linn drum pattern, the synth textures, the bass line. The open secret is that Prince played most of this himself, then let The Time take the credit.
Sources
Hahn, Alex. "Possessed: The Rise and Fall of Prince." Billboard Books, 2003.
Thorne, Matt. "Prince: The Man and His Music." Faber & Faber, 2012.
The Ventriloquist Act
Prince creates The Time as both a side project and a deliberate rival. He writes every song, plays most of the instruments, and produces every track. Then he hands the music to Morris Day and the band, who learn the parts and perform them live as if they wrote them. It's the most elaborate ventriloquist act in pop music.
Sources
Hahn, Alex. "Possessed: The Rise and Fall of Prince." Billboard Books, 2003.
Nilsen, Per. "DanceMusicSexRomance: Prince, the First Decade." Firefly Publishing, 1999.
TAP TO REVEAL: How much of The Time's music did Prince actually play?
“We were basically learning how to make records by watching Prince make our records. Every session was a masterclass, even if we weren't the ones playing.”
— Jimmy Jam (James Harris III), as recounted in Matt Thorne, "Prince: The Man and His Music" (Faber & Faber, 2012)
The Students Become the Masters
Two members of The Time, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, are paying close attention to Prince's production process from the inside. They're learning every trick: how he programs drums, how he layers synths, how he builds a song from nothing. Within a few years, they'll take those lessons and become the most successful production duo in R&B history, making Janet Jackson's Control and Rhythm Nation.
Sources
Hahn, Alex. "Possessed: The Rise and Fall of Prince." Billboard Books, 2003.
Thorne, Matt. "Prince: The Man and His Music." Faber & Faber, 2012.
The Time: The File
777-9311, The Time (1982)
From The Time's second album What Time Is It?, "777-9311" is a funk workout built entirely by Prince and handed to The Time to perform. The groove is classic Minneapolis Sound: Linn drums, Oberheim synths, and a bass line that won't let you sit down. Morris Day delivers the vocal like he owns it, which is the whole illusion working perfectly.
777-9311, The Time (1982)
The lyrics are a phone number and a dare: call this number and something will happen. Morris Day sells it with the confidence of a man who knows exactly what's on the other end of the line. The simplicity is the genius. Prince could write a song about a phone number and make it sound like the most important invitation you've ever received.
What pseudonym did Prince use when producing The Time's albums?
The Time isn't Prince's only secret project. Next episode: a girl group called Vanity 6, a song called "Nasty Girl," and Prince pulling the strings behind yet another act he created from scratch.
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