Alexander o'Neil was the original lead vocalist for The Time while Morris played drums...Prince dismissed Alex and brought Morris in as the frontman...What was up with that? Alex has a far superoir voice!!! though i'm happy with the final product. I know this will ruffle some feathers but I have to ask ...Who thinks Morris got the part because he was of a lighter complex and more likely to appeal to a more diverse audience? Cause Alex had more melanin than the whole band put together... does anyone think warner bros had something to do with this decision?

are ya ready?

Dude, are you serious? I love Alex Baby, but I own everything the Time ever made. Morris Day is a fucking genius.

Alex just didn't have the look of a pimp player and it had nothing to do with light skin it had to do with being overweight.

I've read that Alex ddin't like the money set up and/or contract. Plus he was not given to direction by Prince as readily as Morris was by Prince.

lovemachine said:

hmm..I wonder where Queen is...

lovebizzare said:

don't ask! it'd be like lookin in the mirror and repeatin "candyman"...

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

just wondering what she would say, since she blames jill's age, Prince's girlfriends, wendy & lisa's sexuallity all on Warner Bros., I'm guessing she would blame this on them too
[This message was edited Sat May 3 13:08:06 PDT 2003 by lovebizzare]

lovebizzare said:

maybe.

I love Morris, but it boils down to the fact that Morris was easier to control and handle.

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

But I digress, I think the reason why Alex didn't make it was because of image. Prince was looking for a certain type when he was "casting" members for The Time. Alex didn't fit that image. when I say 'image' I don't mean the color of his skin, I don't beleive that to be a reason, 'cause when Morris left The Time, Jesse was intended to be the new lead, and, as you know, Jesse doesn't have light skin like Morris, but DOES have that playa/pimp type look/appeal.

But anyway, I like Alex, but can you really imagine The Time without Morris Day?
[This message was edited Sat May 3 13:26:53 PDT 2003 by lovebizzare]

VelvetSplash said:

...until '84, that is

lovebizzare said:

Well yeah, no-one can be controlled forever

VelvetSplash said:

true

VelvetSplash said:

Except us Prince fans. We've been hyp-mo-tized!

stymie said:

damn purple music...

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

and kool-aid, can't forget the kool-aid

lovebizzare said:

tho' a lot of us don't drink that shit, damn that 2...

Mo-iss is yella with freckles, and aint nobody bad like Mo-iss, Jerome makes The Time show.

Firstly, it's worth making the point Alex was never a member of "The Time", just the prototype band "Flyte Tyme".

I've seen conflicting reports that Prince disposed of Alex because he was too dark in skintone and conversely that Alex chose to not be part of it himself due to not being a willing Prince puppet.

While I dig Morris and wouldn't wish to of changed anything I think Alex could have played the funny pimp role just as well and of course he can sing Mr Day under the table...

And maybe Alex could see what a controlling prick Prince could be at times...maybe he didn't want ot be controlled

Morris don't look like a pimp at all but he's cuter than Alexander which ain't sayin much Gotta be the control factor - Morris just gets by in the voice department & was willing to imitate Prince inflection for inflection. Alex has a great voice, I'm glad he did his own thing...

MOrris is better looking so he is more marketable. The look had alot to do with the whole Time concept. THe fact that he is light skinned meant - back in the 80s - that he would appeal to more black women as well as some white ones - thats just racism in America and its always beren that way. Hell, it is still that way today to some extent.

Now as far as charism goes, Morris is way better. I dont know about the musical chops but Morris is one kick ass drummer and did co write alot of those classics. There can never be a fair comparison because Morris had the backing of Prince throughout the beginning of his career while Alex didnt.

Could it possibly be as simple as Morris being more capable of acting the part of the persona Prince wanted for the front man of The Time? When talking about Prince's proteges, how often has it really been a prerequisite for the lead singer to be a GREAT lead singer? I don't think Prince didn't want a great singer, I just think he didn't want to sacrifice the persona of The Time's lead singer for that.

¢
[This message was edited Sat May 3 21:15:05 PDT 2003 by Supernova]

lovebizzare said:[quote]Handclapsfingasnapz said:[quote]

lovebizzare said:

just wondering what she would say, since she blames jill's age, Prince's girlfriends, wendy & lisa's sexuallity all on Warner Bros., I'm guessing she would blame this on them too


*****
I hate to see a thread go to waste.

So while we're waiting...

Aw man. It's a part of The Great Warner Bros.PLAN!

Think about it. Warner Bros. Records was created in 1958. Prince was born in 1958.

Larry was a Warner Bros. artist. They told him to chill until 1998. The year JW's thought the world was ending.

The told Prince to create three groups with 6 members each.(Uh, well 3X2=6) And tour and spread the evil 666 message.

They said put the light skinned person as the lead singer in each band.

Prince Rogers Nelson. Six letters per name. 666!

(Count Floyd voice) Oooh how evil and scary!

Stay tuned for Whoomp!(There It Is)2003 Featuring Foghorn Leghorn.

"Son look a here. A look a here look a here."
[This message was edited Sun May 4 4:33:21 PDT 2003 by cranshaw62]

My two cents ..Prince didn't want to be embarrassed in the singing departement so he chose to put together a fun act with silly dance moves and all. He didn't want a serious singer as a bandleader because he might be overshadowed (I don't mean this as a diss because Morris is doing a cool job playing the pimp). That is also why all of his girlbands and projects were great in playing their roles and horrible in singing (Vanity 6, Appollonia, Carmen electra...).

Supernova said:

I know for a fact that the look the "light skinned" thing or Warners didn't have anything to do with not hiring Alex. Alex is a very strong personality. A good person but a very strong personality. Alex is also a leader and would not fit in the idol maker mold. No, he wouldn't act the part that Morris became. That was part of the conflict. Alex would not have even been considered if it were a matter of skin tone or a certain look. Alex is an incredible singer and personality but not one to be molded. I do know that much.

Weren't there originally two bands, "Flyte Tyme" and "Champagne", and wasn't Morris originally in Champagne with P? In that case the whole thing was a big shuffle. Alex didn't get shafted. "The Time" just evolved out of various members of the two groups. No?

wasitgood4u said:

Yeah, Morris was in "champagne".


Terry, Jimmy, and Jellybean were in "Flyte Tyme", I beleive.