the time
the time
The Time formed in 1981 under the guidance of Prince. He recorded a song of Morris Day’s and in return helped Day record and put a band together consisting of Jesse Johnson, Terry Lewis, Monte Moir, Jimmy Jam, Jellybean Johnson, and eventually Jerome Benton who joined as a comic foil to Day.
They opened for Prince on his Controversy and 1999 tours. Their first two records yielded hits such as Cool, Get It Up, 777-9311, The Walk and Gigalo’s Get Lonely Too.
Both albums were certified gold.
Even Prince was taken aback by the group’s success. In 1986 he told a Detroit radio interviewer, “They were, to be perfectly honest, the only band I was afraid of. They were turning into, like, Godzilla.”
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movie time
After the end of Prince’s 1999 tour, bandmates Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis were fired. A month or so later Monte left the band, shortly before the filming of Purple Rain began.
The Original members did reunite in 1990 for Prince’s 2nd movie Grafitti Bridge, which to some was a continuation to Purple Rain story. Jill Jones, Mavis Staples, George Clinton and Ingrid Chavez were also part of the cast.
In 2001 the touring version of The Time (minus Terry, Jimmy and Jesse) also appeared in the movie Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back directed by Kevin Smith. They performed Jungle Love. The cast included Will Farrell, Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Jason Mewes and Elizabeth Shannon.
on time
In 2008 the orignal band members played the 50th anniversary of the Grammy Awards with Rihanna, playing a medly of Jungle Love and Rihanna’s Umbrella and Don’t Stop The Music.
Later that year they played a 3 week residency in Las Vegas at the Flamingo Hotel and other various other dates over the course of a couple years.
In 2011, unable to use the name The Time, the band released their Condensate album as The Original 7Ven.
A touring version of The Time now known as Morris Day and The Time continues to tour with longtime members Tori Ruffin on guitar and Ricky “Freeze” Smith on bass and of course Jellybean on drums. After years of touring Monte left the band in late 2019 to spend more time writing and recording.
prime time
Saturday Night Live
The Tonight Show w/ Jay Leno
The 50th Grammy Awards w/Rihanna
American Bandstand
Soul Train
CBS-2020 Grammy Tribute to Prince
Jimmy Kimmel Live
Arsenio
Soul Train Music Awards
Top of the Pops…
media quotes
I can’t count the number of times I’ve referenced this song ["The Pleasure Principle" by Monte Moir/performed by Janet Jackson] and accompanying music video in my life so far. This has been on my list of impossibly perfect songs since it was first released, and my appreciation for it has only grown over the years. Monte Moir would have been a legend for me if he had only written this one song and then retired. However, there are so many others . . . oh, and he also happened to be the keyboard player for a little band called The Original 7ven, formerly known as The Time. Yes, we’re all cooler now.
Today “If You Were Here Tonight” endures as a high water mark of sophisticated 80s soul. You can hear it’s echoes in contemporary artists from various genres. It’s been reinterpreted by musicians like reggae artist Wayne Wonder and English crooner Matt Gross. It’s iconic keyboard riff even found its way into Rihanna’s 2016 hit “Work”.
Nearly four decades later, the track remains a standout moment in O’Neal’s catalog and a masterclass in understated emotion. It’s enduring resonance lies in its deceptive simplicity-a sparse musical backdrop highlighting the singer’s impassioned delivery as he pours out his yearning for an absent lover.
I learned the power of this song while Deejaying at a Pub one night, and the crowd went crazy. The song had the writing talents and production skills of Monte Moir, who graced O’Neal with a ballad about lost love that still holds up today. Moir also provides O’Neal with two strong albums in the ballads “Do You Wanna Like I Do” and “Look at Us Now.”
Written with Monte Moir, “The Pleasure Principle” is a frantic, energetic dance tune that features Jackson hitting an incredibly high note at the song’s peak. There are fantastic pounding keyboards, skipping drum machines, and engaging background vocals—a prime example of 1980s urban-synthpop.