Morris Day and the Time have been blocked from using their famous name on tour, recordings or on merchandise.
Prince Rogers Nelson, who died of a drug overdose on April 21, 2016, formed The Time in Minneapolis in 1981.
Morris Day (his real name) was the lead singer of The Time since its formation. The funk band is best known for its hit singles “The Bird”, “Cool”, and “Jungle Love”, among other tracks.
Former members Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis went on to produce hits for Janet Jackson, Alexander O’Neal, a solo Morris Day (“Fishnet”), and others.
Day, 64, expressed his disappointment and frustration over the estate’s decision in a Facebook post.
“I’ve given 40 years of my life building up a name and legacy that Prince and I came up with. A name that while he was alive, he had no problem with me using. However, now that Prince is no longer with us – suddenly the people who control his multimillion dollar estate, want to rewrite history by taking my name away from me, thus impacting how I feed my family.”
The Prince estate said Day’s post was “not entirely accurate” without going into detail.
A representative for the estate told Vulture magazine they had “amicable discussions” with Day over the use of his name and was “surprised and disappointed” to see his post.
Day played Prince’s rival in the cult classic film Purple Rain (1984), but he quit The Time the following year after an argument with Prince.
