Morris Day claims Prince estate barring him from using ‘Time’ name

(FOX 9) - The time may have come when musician Morris Day will need to be marketed by another name. 

In an announcement made on his official Facebook page – which is still using the name Morris Day and The Time – he said, "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. I literally put blood, sweat and tears into bringing value to that name… However, now that Prince is no longer with us – suddenly, the people who control his multi million dollar estate, want to rewrite history by taking my name away from me, thus impacting how I feed my family. So as of now, per the Prince Estate, I can no longer use the Morris Day & The Time in any capacity."

Since the posts were made, Prince’s estate – which is administered by Comerica Bank & Trust – has responded in a statement by saying, "the Prince Estate was surprised and disappointed to see his recent post. The Estate is open to working proactively with Morris to resolve this matter. However, the information that he shared is not entirely accurate."

The Time were fronted and formed by Morris Day in Minneapolis in 1981. Known for being part of the "Minneapolis sound" of pop and funk throughout the 1980s, the band were also featured in the Prince film "Purple Rain" when Day famously tells Prince, "What don’t you stay a while and see how it’s done?" 

However, Prince always retained the legal rights to the name The Time.