1. It bothers me that funk has
been relegated by some people
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2. alongside the blues,
bluegrass, and folk
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3. to the fringe in terms
of the great American songbook.
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4. It wasn't that long ago
that funk was front and center
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5. in the popular culture.
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6. And if you need any proof,
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7. Exhibit A,
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8. Morris Day and The Time.
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9. You may recall
their 1984 hit,
"Jungle Love."
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10. Morris Day never intended
to be a band leader,
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11. much less a movie star,
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12. but sometimes life
is about timing.
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13. And his was exquisite.
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14. He was just a
funky little kid
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15. who played
his best friend
a groove,
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16. and became
a character that was
hard to live up to.
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17. And it all happened
at the zenith
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18. of funk's spotlight moment.
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19. Oh!
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20. We are talking
about a time
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21. when just straight funk
was very popular.
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22. I mean it was new to all of us,
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23. every week, man,
it was just
like, you know,
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24. who's king of the hill?
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25. The very heyday of funk
may have been 1984.
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26. Levi Ruffin was
with Rick James,
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27. but they weren't alone
at the top of the charts.
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28. There was
Michael Jackson,
Prince, Cameo,
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29. Kool and the Gang,
The Pointer Sisters,
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30. and Morris Day
and The Time.
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31. You would finally get
a chance to sit down
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32. and talk with some
of these bands
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33. and it was like, Goddamn,
you guys are all right.
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34. I mean it happened
at, uh, the Grammy's.
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35. Everybody
was there, man.
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36. Bootsy Collins,
James Brown,
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37. you know,
The Commodores
and The Gap Band,
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38. and we're top dog
in this bitch, okay?
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39. Understand that shit.
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40. In the world of funk,
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41. there were always
contenders for the crown.
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42. So I'm sitting there
and there's, uh,
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43. Morris Day.
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44. And his agent,
I knew her.
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45. "Levi, Levi. I want you
to meet Morris Day."
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46. I put my hand out, I said,
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47. "Yo, man, nice meeting you,
man, my name's Levi."
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48. Motherfucker said—
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49. he didn't shake my hand.
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50. Motherfucker said,
"I'm cool."
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51. I said,
this motherfucker!
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52. I mean the nerve,
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53. the temerity.
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54. And I said, "I hope
you playing a game
with me, motherfucker."
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55. "I'm cool."
Pfffft.
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56. And the lady that was
with him, she said,
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57. "Levi, come on,
calm down, he's just—
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58. he's just in
character now."
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59. And I said,
"You better get the fuck
out of character,
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60. or I'm gonna
beat your ass."
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61. I mean, fuck that man.
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62. Morris Day
may have been
the biggest character
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63. in the pantheon of funk.
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64. He cultivated cool
from the very beginning
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65. in the projects
of Springfield, Illinois,
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66. listening to a
mix of Motown
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67. and good
old-fashioned gospel.
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68. My grandfather, he was a pimp,
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69. so, uh, when I was a little guy,
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70. my mom used to dress me
just like him.
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71. The church was maybe
three blocks, ya know,
up the street.
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72. So I would just get on my, uh,
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73. Sunday go-to meetin' outfit.
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74. You know, I had two tone
shoes on, pinstripe suit,
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75. chains on, you know,
hat, little cane.
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76. I was, uh,
far better dressed
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77. than any other
kid in the church,
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78. so all the older ladies
was loving me.
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79. A hint of things
to come, if you will.
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80. By his teenage years,
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81. his family had moved
to Minneapolis,
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82. and his musical tastes
had evolved
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83. from the Motown sound
to straight up funk.
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84. Bandstand was just
starting to come on.
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85. I would just sit and watch
and mimic James Brown,
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86. be running around the house
in my Fruit of the Looms.
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87. You know, doing the splits
and hitting the James Brown.
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88. It was jus t all, li ke,
magical back then.
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89. Young Morris
put down the cane
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90. and picked up
the drumsticks.
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91. He fancied himself a
drummer in the beginning.
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92. I started beating up on my
mom's pots and pans.
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93. You know,
beating on her couch.
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94. I started to wear
a little hole on the arm
of the couch there,
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95. and she decided
it was time for me
to get me some drums.
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96. By high school, he was
a left handed drummer
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97. looking for a band.
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98. And that's where
he met a bass player
named Andre Cymone.
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99. He was in a band
called Grand Central,
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100. and it just so happened
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101. they were having trouble
with their drummer,
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102. so they invited me
to come by
and audition.
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103. I set my drums up,
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104. and there was
this weird guy
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105. standing in
a dark corner
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106. staring at me.
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107. He didn't say
shit to me.
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108. He just looked at me
like he was crazy,
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109. and, um, he did that
for the next two
or three weeks
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110. before he really even
said anything to me.
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111. That young man was
Prince Rogers Nelson,
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112. the artist who would
come to define
Morris Day's life.
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113. He had that mystery thing
jumping off at a early age,
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114. then he'd go in and out.
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115. You know, he wanted
to be funny and laugh,
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116. and then
all of a sudden,
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117. right back into
that thing again.
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118. And it wasn't
'til I got
in Grand Central
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119. that I actually
saw him playing.
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120. He was amazing.
I mean, I remember
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121. he had the little
silver toned guitar
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122. and it had
a little fuzz tone
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123. that stuck
inside and stuff.
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124. Jellybean Johnson
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125. was another
childhood friend
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126. and another
left handed drummer
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127. and one of the
first witnesses of the
early Prince artistry.
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128. He was this little dude,
but at 13 he was scary, ya know.
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129. Prince was hitting
Santana guitar solos
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130. and stuff like that.
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131. I was just
mesmerized.
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132. Prince was just
a phenom on guitar,
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133. on keyboards,
playing drums.
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134. Like, he was in
a whole 'nother orbit
than everybody else,
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135. and it was apparent.
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136. James Harris,
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137. also known
as Jimmy Jam,
and Terry Lewis
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138. were both
playing music
in high school
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139. at the time
in Minneapolis.
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140. I mean Prince had,
you know—
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141. no doubt
he had the talent.
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142. And Morris was funky.
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143. And Morris was funky.
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144. He may have
been funky,
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145. but that
wasn't enough.
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146. After high school,
Morris's mother
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147. moved the family
to Maryland,
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148. and the little pimp
started a real job.
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149. I worked a car rental counter
at Montgomery Ward's.
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150. I rented cars
to people.
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151. And, you know,
I'm sitting there,
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152. in this boring
four or five dollar
an hour job,
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153. and then I hear
Prince's record
come on the radio.
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154. That just messed me up.
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155. He did it, you know.
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156. He— he did what we
always talked about.
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157. And I'm sitting there
listening to it,
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158. and I'm telling people,
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159. "That's—
that's my buddy."
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160. You know,
they looking at me
like, "Yeah, right."
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161. In that moment,
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162. Morris Day took
control of his life.
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163. So I got back
to Minneapolis
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164. as fast as I could.
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165. Prince and I had
started hanging out.
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166. We laughed,
we joked,
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167. you know,
we talked shit.
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168. And then
we would play music,
you know, and um...
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169. So one time we was in a studio,
and I fired up a groove.
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170. And Prince heard
something in it,
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171. and he wanted it.
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172. So he's like,
"I'll offer you a music deal
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173. or I'll offer you 20K."
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174. I was like,
"I'll take the deal."
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175. That's how
The Time got started,
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176. and you know,
the rest is history.
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177. The deal came
with some strings.
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178. Prince would put
the band together
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179. and be in control
of everything.
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180. At that time, you know,
I was the drummer in this band
called Flyte Tyme.
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181. Bass was Terry Lewis,
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182. keyboards
was Jimmy Jam.
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183. Morris knew he wanted
to work with us.
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184. Alexander O'Neal from Flyte Tyme
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185. was gonna
be the lead singer,
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186. and I was gonna
be the drummer,
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187. but Alexander wanted more paper.
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188. Alex basically talked
himself out of the group,
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189. uh, by telling Prince
he needed more money
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190. and he needed
a swimming pool
and he needed a house
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191. and he needed
all this stuff.
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192. And Prince
basically was like,
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193. "Okay, you're done."
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194. So we're looking for
a singer, and Prince said,
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195. "Why don't
you do it?"
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196. I was like,
"I don't want to do it,
I wanna play the drums.
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197. I don't wanna sing, man."
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198. I said, "I've never fronted
a band before,
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199. so I don't know
what I would do."
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200. And he said,
"Just put your hand in
your pocket and be cool."
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201. I said,
"I can do that!"
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202. And that was how
we got the song "Cool,"
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203. and then from there
everything just
totally blew up.
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204. Cool was recorded
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205. in Prince's
home studio
in April 1981
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206. and released by
Morris Day and The Time.
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207. Prince just built it
from the ground up.
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208. You know, he's just
gonna be cool.
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209. That's what you're gonna do.
And that's what we did.
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210. Prince had this whole
vision in his mind
how he wanted us to look.
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211. We went to the
vintage stores
and got clothes.
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212. That's how
Morris became,
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213. you know, the famous
Morris Day that he is today.
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214. It was the character
of Morris Day
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215. that began to capture
the public's imagination
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216. in pictures
and music videos.
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217. The Time found
its trademark move
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218. to complement Morris
totally by accident,
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219. courtesy of
Jerome Benton,
Terry's brother.
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220. Jerome was always
kind of a roadie
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221. for Flyte Tyme
in the old days,
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222. so he was
organizing stuff
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223. and making sure
everything
was packed up
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224. and, you know,
that kind of thing.
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225. He's just one of those guys—
you can't help but love Jerome.
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226. And he was at every rehearsal.
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227. We used to rehearse in this
place called The YAASM,
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228. The Young African-American
Society of Men,
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229. or something like that,
I don't know.
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230. Anyway, it was like
this little club.
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231. There was a guy
named Weaver
that ran the place.
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232. Weaver let us
come in during the day
and rehearse.
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233. First day, we witness
Weaver hit this guy...
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234. and knock him
down the street
about ten feet.
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235. And just knocked
him out cold.
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236. So nobody ever wanted
to contest—
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237. No, you didn't
mess with Weaver.
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238. There were two things
that Weaver said
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239. don't mess
with in the club:
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240. he said, "Don't mess
with my juice machine,"
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241. and he said, "Don't mess
with my titty lamps."
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242. - "Don't break 'em."
- "Don't break my titty lamps."
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243. So the titty lamps
were these lamps,
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244. but off the base
of the lamp
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245. was these girls, like,
with titties, right?
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246. So we were like,
"Okay, Weaver, cool."
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247. Jesse was our guitar player,
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248. and Jesse's, like,
in the juice machine every day.
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249. And he'd pour
some water
or something in there
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250. to make it look like
it's the same level.
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251. And we're like going,
"Jesse, stay out the
juice machine."
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252. So you know,
we started rehearsing,
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253. and um, there's a part
in one of the songs
where I say,
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254. "Somebody
bring me a mirror."
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255. On the sides
of this club,
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256. there were all
these big mirrors,
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257. like big mirrors,
like hanging mirrors,
like right?
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258. And next thing we see,
Jerome goes to the wall,
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259. pulls this
big ass mirror,
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260. puts it in
front of Morris.
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261. Morris starts
primpin' his hair
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262. and doing,
you know,
fixing his tie.
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263. And Prince falls out
on the floor laughing.
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264. And he just goes,
"Hahahaha!
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265. We're adding
that to the show.
That's in, that's in."
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266. Terry Lewis:
From that moment on,
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267. he became Jerome
"The Mirror Man" Benton.
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268. Jimmy Jam:
But when Jerome put
the mirror back on the wall,
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269. - titty lamp got broke.
- (glass shatters)
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270. Oh, no!
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271. Jimmy Jam:
I remember they
kind of fixed it,
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272. they tried
to glue it
or whatever.
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273. They turned it,
they put it against
the wall, whatever.
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274. So Friday night,
Weaver walks in.
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275. We said,
"Oh, there's Weaver.
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276. Hey, hey, hey, Weaver.
What's goin' on, man?"
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277. Weaver goes, "Who been
in my juice machine?"
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278. We're like,
"Hey, I don't know what
you're talking about, man."
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279. He says, "And somebody
broke my titty lamp!"
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280. The first tour for The Time,
we called it The Chitlin' Tour,
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281. 'cause it was horrible.
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282. We had this
wrecked ass tour bus.
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283. Prince had this
beautiful, new
all-luxurious shit.
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284. We had this thing
that smelled like gasoline.
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285. Every time
we'd pull up
to a truck stop,
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286. the driver had
the back open
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287. and was
tinkering and stuff.
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288. - Hands were always greasy.
- Hands were always greasy.
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289. We had a little
messed up little VCR.
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290. We'd put
porno tapes on.
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291. One time we was watching
this particular porno
that I didn't like
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292. called "Naked Wish"
or something like that.
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293. - Jimmy Jam: That tape
was on heavy rotation.
- Terry: Yeah.
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294. And there was a killing
in it, you know,
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295. they were, like,
cuttin' people
and stuff like that,
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296. but yet still—
it was a porno.
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297. And I don't like
horror movies, so...
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298. I was looking through
my fingers like,
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299. "Nah,
not 'Naked Wish,'
not 'Naked Wish'."
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300. I had to
stop that shit.
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301. I was like,
"What the hell, man?"
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302. 'Cause that was a great movie.
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303. So I started watching
"The Flintstones."
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304. The pterodactyl,
he was...
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305. doing this thing
like that, you know.
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306. And I was like,
"That's some cool
shit right there."
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307. And that's how the dance,
The Bird, was born.
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308. In 1982, a year
after they started,
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309. Prince put
Morris Day
and The Time
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310. on his tour
as the opening act.
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311. From the very beginning,
there was definitely a tension
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312. between The Revolution
and The Time.
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313. Alan Leeds had some
experience as a tour manager
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314. by the time
he started
with Prince.
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315. His first stint
on the road
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316. was with
James Brown.
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317. Hey, kid, five minutes.
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318. The Time really came
to those shows every night
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319. determined to run
The Revolution off the stage.
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320. That was their goal in life,
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321. is we're gonna kick
them in the ass.
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322. We're gonna show Prince.
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323. And more nights than not,
they did that.
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324. We competed about everything:
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325. the best car,
the best outfit,
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326. the best song,
you know,
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327. the best
stage performance.
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328. It was all
competition driven.
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329. The rivalry
was intense
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330. both on and off
the stage.
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331. Every night after the show,
we had the wildest parties,
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332. because, you know, our parties
were ghetto parties.
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333. You know, if you went
to a Prince party,
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334. it was more
like a, uh, a
suburban party.
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335. Ours was—
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336. ours was a
straight up
basement party.
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337. You know, you come in, folks
would be naked on the bed,
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338. dancin' with
the lampshade
on their head,
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339. and it was
just madness.
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340. One night, I, by mistake,
got off on The Time's floor.
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341. And I took
one step out
of the elevator
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342. and realized...
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343. that I wasn't where
I was supposed to be.
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344. Then I took
another step
and said,
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345. "Maybe I am where
I'm supposed to be."
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346. 'Cause the hallway was,
like, full of cute girls.
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347. So the action
was definitely
on The Time.
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348. You know, what time is it?
It's party time, baby,
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349. and— and they did.
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350. Certainly
the diametric opposite
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351. of the uptight
Prince floor.
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352. So Prince started bringin'
his little ass down there.
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353. He'd come down
with Big Chick.
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354. Jimmy Jam:
Yeah, the bodyguard.
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355. Bodyguard carrying him
or whatever.
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356. - and, um...
- He thought—
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357. He thought that
everybody was gonna stop
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358. and go, "(gasps),
Oh Prince!"
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359. - People didn't care.
- Terry: They didn't care.
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360. And so he would
get upset sometimes.
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361. If nobody cared,
then he would
just leave.
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362. A sense of resentment
on both sides
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363. began to fester,
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364. and soon
created a conflict
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365. that could not
be overcome.
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366. Prince had told us
we weren't allowed
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367. to produce
any outside acts,
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368. but we had gotten the gig
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369. producing the SOS band
in Atlanta.
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370. We got caught
in a snowstorm
down there
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371. and missed a gig
in San Antonio
with The Time.
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372. And of course, Prince comes
to me before the show and says,
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373. "Jellybean,
where's your buddies?"
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374. Prince himself
helped cover
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375. The Time's
missing bandmates,
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376. playing bass
behind the curtains
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377. on the side
of the stage,
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378. as Jerome made
his first appearance
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379. with an actual
instrument out front.
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380. And so we got through
the gig and everything,
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381. but the last two shows,
everybody is there.
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382. You could just feel the tension,
you could feel that...
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383. something's gonna
happen out there.
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384. You know, the tour is over.
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385. The tour ended and maybe
six weeks later,
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386. Terry gets a call
from Prince,
and Prince goes,
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387. "Meet me at
Sunset Sound
at 5:00."
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388. So when
we got there,
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389. we walk into the room.
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390. It's Prince,
Morris, Jesse,
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391. and then
myself and Terry.
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392. So we sit down,
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393. and Prince just goes,
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394. "I told you not to
produce outside bands,
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395. "and you guys produced
the SOS band,
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396. so you're fired."
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397. I was like,
"Pffft, okay,"
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398. and I got up
and walked
out the room.
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399. And you know, the crazy thing
about it, it's Morris's band,
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400. but Prince did the firing.
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401. I know after that meeting
when we got fired,
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402. I know that Morris,
like, just shut down
and just disappeared.
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403. That of course was the turning
point for the whole band,
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404. and it must have been such
a hard time for Morris,
Copy !req
405. because at this point,
Prince controlled
his whole life.
Copy !req
406. I mean,
imagine what it's like
to realize one day
Copy !req
407. that your success is
based upon playing a role
Copy !req
408. that Prince
wrote for you,
Copy !req
409. just as sure as if he
were scripting a film.
Copy !req
410. Not long after
Prince fired
Copy !req
411. Jimmy Jam
and Terry Lewis,
Copy !req
412. they became
big time producers
in their own right,
Copy !req
413. working with artists
like Janet Jackson.
Copy !req
414. And Prince, well,
Copy !req
415. he indeed scripted
that film.
Copy !req
416. He called it
"Purple Rain."
Copy !req
417. The character
Prince had created
Copy !req
418. could not be bothered
to pay attention
Copy !req
419. to the shooting schedule.
Copy !req
420. Morris was being
very uncooperative
Copy !req
421. during the making
of "Purple Rain."
Copy !req
422. There were days
where he just
wouldn't show up.
Copy !req
423. It's not that he couldn't,
he just was being an asshole.
Copy !req
424. And of course Prince
was having a fit,
Copy !req
425. but he's trying to make
a movie, so he's sending me.
Copy !req
426. "Go find Morris.
What's wrong with him?"
Copy !req
427. So Craig Rice,
the A.D. and I,
Copy !req
428. we would have to
actually go out
to find him.
Copy !req
429. We'd have to get in a car
Copy !req
430. and backtrack where he last was.
Copy !req
431. And then I would
call somebody else
and they'd say,
Copy !req
432. "Well, he was
at this house
last night."
Copy !req
433. So we go there first
and find out
Copy !req
434. where he went
and who he went with.
Copy !req
435. Then go the next place,
and then the next place,
Copy !req
436. and then the next place.
Copy !req
437. Once we finally found out
where he was at,
Copy !req
438. we literally
had to physically
Copy !req
439. get him up
and get him
into the car
Copy !req
440. and bring him here
Copy !req
441. and we'll work on him
once he gets here.
Copy !req
442. You know, we'll get
him dressed,
Copy !req
443. we'll get him his lines,
get him into makeup,
Copy !req
444. - and then push him out.
- Action!
Copy !req
445. So that's what we did
more than a few times.
Copy !req
446. To be honest,
I don't really remember
Copy !req
447. all of the,
uh, details of it.
Copy !req
448. I just— you know,
I'm not a workaholic.
Copy !req
449. I don't like getting up
at 4:00 in the morning.
Copy !req
450. I might like going to bed
at 4:00 in the morning,
Copy !req
451. but I don't feel like they was
respecting my time on set.
Copy !req
452. The tension between him
and Prince at this point
was boiling over,
Copy !req
453. so one day we were
in the dressing room,
Copy !req
454. and Morris
finally showed up.
Copy !req
455. And Prince got
in his face, ya know,
Copy !req
456. and Morris shoved him.
Copy !req
457. And inside I'm like, "Yeah,
you should whoop his ass,"
Copy !req
458. you know, but I'm thinkin'
if he do that, I know Prince:
Copy !req
459. we're done, we're gonna
be done totally.
Copy !req
460. So I grab Morris
and pull him back,
Copy !req
461. and Big Chick
grabbed Prince.
Copy !req
462. So, a lot of cussing
going back and forth
and stuff, but uh,
Copy !req
463. you know, Morris also know
he needed to do this movie.
Copy !req
464. Just like I know
we needed to do it.
Copy !req
465. The two old friends
barely needed to act.
Copy !req
466. Their rivalry
in real life
Copy !req
467. spilled out
onto the screen.
Copy !req
468. At the same time,
Copy !req
469. Prince began to plot
the next chapter
Copy !req
470. for his creation,
The Time.
Copy !req
471. Finally, Prince got pissed—
he— he lost his patience.
Copy !req
472. He went out and found new guys
to replace Jam and Lewis
Copy !req
473. and he brought them
into rehearsal.
Copy !req
474. And Morris
wasn't even there.
Copy !req
475. Morris wasn't even
coming to rehearsal.
Copy !req
476. That was the last
nail in the coffin
Copy !req
477. as far as Morris
was concerned.
Copy !req
478. And of course, he went
along with the program
Copy !req
479. and did "Purple Rain"
with the new band,
Copy !req
480. but as soon as the film was
in the can, they were done.
Copy !req
481. They did one show
with that unit,
Copy !req
482. the "Purple Rain"
version of The Time,
at First Avenue
Copy !req
483. to basically
introduce the band.
Copy !req
484. At the end
of that show,
Copy !req
485. Morris stormed
off the stage,
Copy !req
486. everybody else went to the
dressing room to open up
Copy !req
487. a bottle of beer
or whatever.
Copy !req
488. "Hey, good show."
Copy !req
489. Morris didn't
take his coat off,
Copy !req
490. didn't stop and say
a word to the band.
Copy !req
491. He walked
down the steps,
Copy !req
492. through that room,
into his car,
and left.
Copy !req
493. And that was it.
Copy !req
494. That was— that was it.
Copy !req
495. The film was released
in the middle of summer
Copy !req
496. during the heyday
of straight funk in 1984
Copy !req
497. and won an Academy Award
for Best Original Song.
Copy !req
498. The best reviews
may have been
for the character
Copy !req
499. Prince had
dreamed up first:
Copy !req
500. his nemesis in the film
Copy !req
501. and in real life,
Morris Day.
Copy !req
502. I did well within
the movie, so, you know,
Copy !req
503. that was my revenge.
Copy !req
504. Morris Day escaped
the character
Copy !req
505. after "Purple Rain"
and went solo.
Copy !req
506. He also kept acting,
Copy !req
507. or at least
he was offered more
parts to play cool.
Copy !req
508. The original members
of The Time
Copy !req
509. got back together
in 1990
Copy !req
510. and scored a hit
with "Jerk Out,"
Copy !req
511. but the magic of the era
of straight funk was gone.
Copy !req
512. Nearly thirty years
after his breakup
with Prince,
Copy !req
513. they reunited
for one last show.
Copy !req
514. You know, two years ago
he calls us
Copy !req
515. and he says,
"I want you guys
to come and do a show."
Copy !req
516. I'm like, "Dude—
Copy !req
517. send me the money first."
Copy !req
518. So, he sent the money!
I was like, okay.
Copy !req
519. So, anyway,
we do the show,
Copy !req
520. and Prince was
in the audience.
Copy !req
521. You know,
he partied,
Copy !req
522. he blew kisses
to the stage,
Copy !req
523. and he laughed
and all of that.
Copy !req
524. And then after the show,
I'm walking around Paisley Park
Copy !req
525. and I pass this
dark ass hallway.
Copy !req
526. And um, I hear
this clapping like—
Copy !req
527. And true to form,
Prince walks
out of the shadows,
Copy !req
528. and he's like,
"Bravo! Bravo!
You still got it!"
Copy !req
529. And we sat
and we talked and—
Copy !req
530. He gave me a hug.
He said, "I love you."
Copy !req
531. He's never said that.
Copy !req
532. And that was
the last time I saw him.
Copy !req
533. Prince Rogers Nelson died
of an accidental overdose
Copy !req
534. at Paisley Park,
his home in Minneapolis
Copy !req
535. on April 21, 2016.
Copy !req
536. He was 57 years old.
Copy !req
537. This song is dedicated
Copy !req
538. to my friend and brother,
Copy !req
539. Prince Rogers Nelson.
Copy !req
540. One love.
Copy !req
541. Rest in peace,
my brother.
Copy !req
542. Betty Davis only wanted people
Copy !req
543. to listen to her music
and hear what she had to say.
Copy !req
544. When she walked out on stage,
my mouth dropped.
Copy !req
545. This woman
had on fishnet stockings
Copy !req
546. and boots with fur,
Copy !req
547. and the raunchiness
that she was belting out
Copy !req
548. in this deep, gravelly voice.
Copy !req
549. She was giving women
the right...
Copy !req
550. to be as nasty as men.
Copy !req