On Time

A Princely Life in Funk

By: Morris Day, David Ritz

Narrated by: Ron Butler

A memoir by Morris Day of The Time centering around his lifelong relationship and association with Prince"A vital, illuminating, and wildly entertaining autobiography." -Billboard

"Great book! Great storytelling!" -LENNY KRAVITZ

"Lean, slick, cooler than Santa Claus, and surprisingly tender, this book not only traces Day's history in Minneapolis funk, but doubles as an intimate recollection of his time with Prince." -BEN GREENMAN, author of Dig If You Will The Picture



Brilliant composer, smooth soul singer, killer drummer, and charismatic band leader, Morris Day has been a force in American music for the past four decades. In On Time, the renowned funkster looks back on a life of turbulence and triumph, chronicling his creative process with an explosive prose that mirrors his intoxicating music.

A major theme throughout the book is Morris's enduring friendship and musical partnership with Prince, from their early days on the Minneapolis scene to selling out stadiums and duking it out as rivals in Purple Rain. Eventually, Morris went on to release four albums with a new band of his very own, The Time; however, before long, increasing tensions between the two performers set them down separate paths. Through the years, the fierce brotherly love between Morris and Prince kept bringing them back together-until pride, ego, and circumstance interfered. Two months before Prince's untimely death, the two finally started to make amends. But Morris never could have imagined it would be the last time he'd ever see his friend again.

Critic reviews

"Great book! Great storytelling!"—Lenny Kravitz

"[An] entertaining memoir... fans of Prince - and The Time - will be thrilled with this insider view."—Publishers Weekly

"An enticing read... [L]argely a memoir but also, in part, an entertaining commentary."—Soul Tracks

"What if Prince came back and he and Morris got down to settling old scores and giving away secrets? Morris makes it happen, and I devoured this great book!"—Paul Shaffer, author of We'll Be Here for the Rest of Our Lives

"What time is it? It's time for everyone to read Morris Day's memoir. Lean, slick, cooler than Santa Claus, and surprisingly tender, the book not only traces Day's history in Minneapolis funk, but doubles as an intimate recollections of his time with Prince."—Ben Greenman, author of Dig If You Will The Picture: Funk, Sex, God and Genius in the Music of Prince

"A breezy, hard-to-put-down book."—Minneapolis Star-Tribune

"[Day]'s quite a vivid storyteller and the Day/Prince interplay not only works, but it keeps things moving forward. At times, it's a challenge to put On Time down."—Twin Cities Pioneer Press

"A vital, illuminating and wildly entertaining autobiography."—Billboard

"Fortunately, Morris Day's memoir arrives in the same month as his old friend's. Day grew up a few blocks from Prince and played drums in his first band. The two remained close for decades...Day's book has him in conversation with Prince's ghost, arguing about how to tell the story, and gives us details about Prince that he never got to tell his memoirist...Day has a front-row seat for the life of one of the greatest musicians of all time and his book is a worshipful telling of what Prince's rise looked like from his vantage."—New York Times Book Review

Very good

Learned a lot about the relationship he had with Prince, the good and the not so good.

Loved it!!!

very open, honest, and informative, as well as entertaining. It seems he left no stone unturned.

Excellent job

I loved the back and forth of Morris and Prince The guy reading it had me thinking it was REALLY THEM!I was just caught up in their/his story!

On Time By Morris Day, David Ritz is Excellent!

This is a realistic story about the friendship, and musical collaboration between, Prince and Morris Day. Morris, and Prince knew each other for decades. Music brought them together, and as you will see it also tore them apart. I appreciate, the honesty, and how the reader actually hears how Prince would have answered, Morris.
I am a former concert promoter with, Music CEO
William "Pablo" Davis. He managed The Deele,
Midnight Starr, and we promoted numerous artist.
I met, Morris Day, and The Time. I was introduced to, Prince by, William "Bootsy" Collins. We remained friends until his passing.
Morris Day, is a very talented artist, and you may be surprised to learn how controlling, Prince could be.
At the end of the day I like this book. Morris, didn't exploit their friendship as so many others who have collaborated with, Prince have done.
I encourage everyone who wants to know the truth about their music, friendship, and the real, Prince to listen to this book.

I loved the angle taken in the story

This book felt like I was sitting down with an old friend, just having a coffee and shooting the breeze. I didn’t feel like it was self-serving. It just felt like truth.

One Word. “YES”

Great storytelling. I’m glad I took the “Time” to listen. I’ve been a fan of Prince and The Time since elementary school. They are the soundtrack of my life. Morris, Sheila, Vanity, Apollonia, Andre, Dez, Lisa, Wendy, Fink, Brownmark, Brenda, Susan, Jellybean, Monte, Jill Jones, Jerome, Jimmy, Terry, Jessie, Bobby Z, Eric Leeds, NPG, and 3rd Eye Girl. My “Purple” family.

OMG!! LUV LUV LUV

What a way to get know the MORRIS DAY!! I have always and will always be a FAN😁

Excellent 💯

I Enjoyed listening to "On Time: A Princely Life In Funk" via @audible 😎💯🎙🎸🎹🎶
I must admit that I didn't know that you and Prince were so close and still are close 💜
So many things I didn't know about Prince and Michael that you shared in your memoir. And may I say that I was very Intrigued about ..."the cloak of silence..." from chapter 22 (Deep Thinker) - Wise!!!!!!
Love the dvd release of "Rave Un2 The Year 2000" 💜💯🤗 Didn't know that it was a double of you swinging onto the stage. And the other movies "Under The Cherry Moon" , "Graffiti Bridge" and "Purple Rain" I have in my movie library 🎥🤗 I also remember the Awesome Musicology Concert at The University of Illinois Assembly Hall in 2004 Prince gave us a Free "Musicology" CD 💿 💜🤗 Love your quotes throughout the chapters and the stories about Morris, MD and Prince 💜 Your memoir is very Exciting 🤗 and Emotional😪. Thank you, Morris for sharing your life with us 🙏 "Music that comes from the past keeps me in the present yet pushes me into the future." Morris Day 😎

Great Book

I feel it would have been better to hear Morris Day read his own book. That would added even more power to the story and message.

"Brotherly Love"

I enjoyed hearing of the history of Morris and Prince in this type of conversational setting. I didn't get it at first, but after a few chapters I understood why the story is told this way. The ups and downs their relationship shared over the decades stood the test of time.