The Time is a funk and dance-pop ensemble formed in 1981. They are close Prince associates and arguably the most successful.
The band was assembled under a clause in Prince's contract with Warner Bros. that allowed him to recruit and produce other artists for the label. Inspired by the 1980 film The Idolmaker, about the life of music promoter and producer Bob Marucci (the svengali figure behind such 50s/early 60s teen idols as Fabian and Frankie ...
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The Time is a funk and dance-pop ensemble formed in 1981. They are close Prince associates and arguably the most successful.
The band was assembled under a clause in Prince's contract with Warner Bros. that allowed him to recruit and produce other artists for the label. Inspired by the 1980 film The Idolmaker, about the life of music promoter and producer Bob Marucci (the svengali figure behind such 50s/early 60s teen idols as Fabian and Frankie Avalon), Prince decided to put together a poppy funk group that would serve as a pet project and an outlet for further hits and material in the vein of his own early albums while he himself went on to explore other genres and styles in his own career.
By 1981, he had built The Time out of an existing Minneapolis funk unit, "Flyte Time" (from the Donald Byrd song), which featured Jellybean Johnson on drums, Jimmy Jam and Monte Moir on keyboards, and Terry Lewis on bass. To this base were added Jesse Johnson on guitar and a lead singer and...
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