On Time: A Princely Life in Funk

"On Time: A Princely Life in Funk" by Morris Day is an excellent book, an excellent and enjoying read. It is very informative. As a die-hard Prince fan, I make it my business to know everything I can about his life and career, and of all of the important people involved in that. Morris was such an integral part of Prince's life and music. He was there from the very beginning, and was there through most of it. Prince brought Morris Day and The Time to prominence, and turned them into successful superstars in their own right. At times, the memoir is funny as hell. Other times, very poignant. And still, other times, pretty sad. Overall, a great read. I enjoyed reading this book immensely! It was well written. I absolutely recommend this book to anyone who loved Prince as much as I did- and still do; or Morris Day, of course; or to anyone who loves music; or to anyone who had a wonderful friendship/brotherhood/sisterhood with someone special, lost that connection and regained it back. You won't be disappointed in this book, I promise!

I was excited to read this book not for any stories about Prince, but to finally here THEE story about Morris Day. Coming up in the 80s on the east side of Detroit, Morris Day and The Time were like deities. When any of their records came on at a party, the dance floor got ambushed. While Prince was clearly the man, Morris Day had an aura all his own. All of the guys molded our game after him. Everybody wanted to be Morris Day. He had the look, the wit, the charm. He was everything a dude wanted to be, plus Cool. This was all before Purple Rain. Purple Rain brought Morris to the world, but in Detroit, he was already a legend. The book was a swift read and hard to put down. It's well written and chronologically coherent. I really, really appreciate how he did not take any shots at Prince at any time. Anything that can be viewed as a slight is his personal opinion of a given situation with Prince, not of the man overall. He did the dude right. Looking back one would have never guessed that between Rick James, Michael Jackson, Prince and Morris Day, that Morris would be the one shake all of his demons. It's an astounding feat by the one personality big enough to pull it off; Morris Day. YESSS!

What an excellent book!! On Time: A Princely Life in Funk is a fantastic book for fans of Prince and The Time as well as music lovers and historians. The things that really stood out and made this book really exciting to read, was the writing style. There was this easy and casual connection between the authors and fan; music lovers of Prince and Morris Day, which made this book such a joy to read. As I read the book, in one setting, I was taken back to Minneapolis (North Minneapolis as a kid) and the magical 1970s and 1980s when the Prince and Purple Kingdom started to explode with excitement and musical enthusiasm. I still remember the energy that was created by Prince and his band followed by groups or players like Willie Walker and the Valdons, Dave Brady and the Stars, The Family, The Band of Thieves, and of course Flyte Tyme. So, naturally, reading this book brought back great memories for me which made this book an even more enjoyable read. 5 Star Rating for an excellent book by one of the coolest dudes in music.

I found this an interesting read. Actually I listened to the audiobook, which I think is a better experience for the way this book was composed. Day’s life is inextricably linked to Prince, without whom his story (especially the professional story) could not be told. Prince was his friend, big brother, mentor and boss. Even posthumously, Prince dominates and even interjects into the narrative. Though Morris Day is a brand and a superstar in his own right, he freely and humbly pays homage to Prince and recalls the man’s staggering genius and how with a deft hand, he helped launch Morris Day and The Time into the legends we know today. There are two things I appreciate about this book. First, the humor and style match the man that I watched and enjoyed on MTV and in Purple Rain. Second, there is confidence and a self-assuredness, even if Day comes off a little self-deprecating. Who wouldn’t feel dwarfed by being in the presence of of such genius. Though Prince was often capricious in his treatment of Day, I don’t sense bitterness. Nor do I think any less of Prince. Most geniuses are arrogant and controlling. Morris just told his story, in his voice, from his head and heart. Ain’t nobody bad like you!

Thanks to Morris for not only getting this book together but for doing it so brilliantly. Morris puts his story out there and tells it with incredible love, style, wit and passion. This is the book all Prince fans need to read, especially in conjunction with The Beautiful Ones, Prince's own recently published posthumous book. Morris puts Prince formeost in his own story and tells it alongside him, and very caninly allows Prince his own voice to restrospect on their lives together. At no point does it feel like a gimmick, but instead touchingly honest and from the heart. Though its Morris giving the words to him he allows Prince to be who he was at all times, and allows him the space to push back against Morris the way he might truly have done. "On Time" is beautifully done that way and its moving to experience their journey through life. At no point does Morris say this is what you must believe, only this is the way it was and as the audience to the story you may come to your own conclusions. That's one of the more clever ways Prince's voice works in the book, is to allow for and give voice to different ways of looking at the picture. There are a lot of great anecdotes and funny moments throughout, a lot of great music stories and descriptions and most of all, definitely a lot of love as Morris not only uses the opportunity to tell his story but also come to terms with his own feelings regarding Prince, a man he looked to as a brother and someone he misses everyday. Morris' story has the rhythm of music & fans across the board will enjoy it for not only where it takes you, but the style it does it in.

Morris Day was one of the few that knew Prince from the beginning right the way through from the very first band right to the end. And he was heavily involved in the creation of music and bands with him. This book was an autobiography of sorts, but really it was Morris wanting to talk about the friend he knew and, you could tell, missed. I found Morris's life interesting - he is the first person I know that parent's did what mine did (swapped husbands). He was candid and open about the things he has struggled with, including women, and especially being a good father. But what makes this book unique is how he dealt with the Prince side of the book - he wrote it with Prince inside his head. He imagined Prince's responses to what he was saying and writing, and in some ways this book was like being privy to a conversation between them. In a way it invoked Prince's spirit, and is the first book I have read where I felt his presence. And at the end, I was moved to tears when Morris wrote about their last meet up. I felt Morris' pain at the loss of Prince. I also liked how he separated the two parts of himself, the ego/performer and the true him inside, and wrote his ego self also as someone who was critiquing and observing the things he was saying. He also writes as he speaks with his own terminology and it was like I could hear his voice in my head. Both things added humour - which Morris is all about - and helped the reader to understand some of the things the author had gone through. I loved this book and it will definitely be a potential re-read - and not just for the pictures.

molto bello

Une vue rare du fonctionnement interne de Prince & ceux qui l'entouraient, bien écrit avec humour, on entend bien la voix de Morris !

Morris Day somehow did a format of him talking to a Ghost Prince, and it's just weird to read in second person like that. Its chronologically but it kinda feels like reading a counseling session between 2 friends who had a falling out. And weird to have him write a book where he makes it look like Prince talks himself, but that can't be cause he's dead. Which feels a bit wrong

The birth of one of the funkiest friendships in music, as well as Morris hardships in life and his struggle to get rid of the "Purple Rain Morris" and find his real identity as a musician/artist. Well worth the reading!!