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Morris Day Talks New Single “Headrush” and Upcoming Episode of ‘Unsung’ | SWAY’S UNIVERSE
Mar 20, 2021
Musical legend Morris Day calls into Sway In The Morning to talk about his new music and upcoming episode of Unsung. He gets into some stories about Prince and much more.
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Morris Day Talks New Single “Headrush” and Upcoming Episode of ‘Unsung’ | SWAY’S UNIVERSE https://youtu.be/JT9_p2BKWIE
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0:00
And there's been ups, there's been
0:01
downs. And I liked it a little too much.
0:03
And that's all y'all get, by the way.
0:05
Ladies and gentlemen,
0:08
it's been a long time waiting. Can't
0:09
wait to see him in person, but we got
0:10
him on the line right now. Heather B is
0:12
here. I'm just as excited.
0:14
This dude right here had swag before the
0:16
name was the word was even invented. He
0:18
was already having swag. Before they
0:20
start saying drip, he was already
0:22
dripping. Drip drip drip. Before they
0:25
start saying flossy, he was already
0:27
flossing. Flossy.
0:29
You want to battle him on drums, he'll
0:31
take you out. He's a musician. He's a
0:33
singer. He's an author. He's an icon.
0:36
It's the one and only Morris Day, ladies
0:38
and gentlemen. MORRIS DAY. WOO!
0:42
WOO! YEAH.
0:47
YOU BETTER OWN ALL THAT. Come on, man.
0:50
Morris, how you doing, brother? I know
0:52
we talked not too long ago, and I was
0:54
sharing with you some stories of how you
0:56
kept me inspired, man. It's great to
0:59
have you on this show. How are you?
1:01
Hey, I'm great, man. I appreciate you.
1:03
It's way uh
1:04
I'm I'm doing great, brother. How you
1:05
doing? Come on, man. We living right
1:07
now, man. We get to talk about your new
1:09
music, HeadRush. You know, you doing the
1:11
things you're doing with Trinidad James.
1:13
We get to talk about On Song. And then
1:15
Heather B is here, and Tracy G is here
1:17
with us as well.
1:18
king.
1:19
Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey. How y'all doing?
1:21
Wonderful. Great. Thank you for joining
1:23
us today. Yeah.
1:26
Yeah, thanks for having me. Absolutely,
1:28
man. Uh look, first of all, I want to
1:30
start with the new thing, okay? Let's
1:32
start with the new before we talk about
1:34
uh the the the amazing legacy you have.
1:37
I I I heard about the single with
1:38
Trinidad James, and I I can't I wondered
1:41
how did Trinidad James get on Morris Day
1:43
radar? That's a good friend of ours.
1:45
Mhm. Yeah. Yeah, well, you know,
1:48
Trinidad, you know, we we had the song
1:50
HeadRush. We did that uh with Snoop
1:52
originally. Uh Snoop and his team
1:55
um came up with the track, and we we put
1:57
it all together. And, um, you know, we
2:00
loved it, but we kind of put it, you
2:01
know, just on the back burner for a
2:03
minute and um, my manager Trinidad came
2:05
up with the idea. He said, "We should
2:07
put Trinidad uh, on this."
2:10
And I said, "Okay, let's check it out."
2:11
So, we sent it to Trinidad and he
2:13
absolutely ripped it up. So, you know,
2:15
then I said, "Okay, now now we got we
2:18
got a single. We got to put this out."
2:21
I I I like that to embrace that. You
2:23
know, I remember, um, um, you know, back
2:26
in the day not everybody was embracing
2:29
rap artists, you know, not every music
2:32
band or band member would embrace rap
2:34
artists. radio wasn't even
2:35
embracing rap artists
2:37
at that time. And and so, you even
2:39
worked with E-40 and, you know, Trinidad
2:42
James. Um, you worked with Snoop. Uh,
2:44
you've always been that way about
2:46
embracing the newer artists.
2:48
Well, you know, th- these days, you
2:50
know, I I've I've kind of, you know,
2:52
wanted to experiment with some different
2:53
things because I you know, I had my
2:55
reservations at first when we we uh,
2:57
when Trinidad's name came up.
2:59
But, um,
3:01
he added such a great creative,
3:04
um, spin on it, man. And and, you know,
3:07
it was it was it was amazing. So, you
3:09
know, I you know, it's it's something
3:11
that I wanted to do on this project. You
3:13
know, we have a
3:15
uh, I don't know if you call it these
3:16
days a EP or a LP. Back in the day we
3:18
only put six songs and we called it an
3:20
album, but now anything under eight
3:23
songs is an EP. So, we got a EP, I
3:26
guess, coming out. But, we got a lot of
3:27
guest artists, you know, we got Snoop,
3:30
we got Trinidad, you know, we got Flo
3:32
Rida, we got, you know, we we got a a
3:34
list of of of artists, you know, that
3:37
doing features with us. And, you know,
3:39
I'm just looking forward to it. I I you
3:41
know, I I was given some of your
3:43
accolades and I'm looking forward to
3:44
hearing it. And you look amazing, by the
3:46
way. I don't know what you drinking,
3:47
goat blood or whatever you doing, but
3:49
what?
3:51
Not the goat. Well, I'm I don't know
3:53
what you got livestock in your backyard.
3:55
What you doing ceremonies? I know you
3:57
folks from the Twin Cities got your
3:59
ways. So, you know, hey.
4:02
Hey, it's the it's the deep freeze, man.
4:05
We in the freezer for 6 months out of
4:07
the year, you know. Oh, I love it, man.
4:10
Uh I'mma ask you one more question that
4:11
I know the the panel want to get on.
4:13
Rich Nice has joined us, too. Rich Nice,
4:15
hey, you know my thoughts. Rich was with
4:17
the Track Masters.
4:19
Um All right.
4:20
Uh one of the things I always
4:22
appreciated about Minneapolis and the
4:24
Minneapolis sound and my brother, my big
4:26
brother is Magoo and Magoo used to be
4:29
with MPG and and you know Magoo. Uh uh
4:33
and so Magoo, we always when I go to
4:35
Minneapolis, I hang out with him more.
4:37
He takes me to the casino. We go play
4:39
poker. I go hang out with his family,
4:41
his beautiful family and and he tells me
4:44
about the upbringing and and the history
4:46
of Minneapolis. And one of the things I
4:47
always found fascinating was the battle
4:51
uh the battle of the bands that they
4:53
used to do at North North High North
4:56
High School field. And this is when
4:58
Prince
4:59
had his band Grand Central and then
5:02
Grand Central would battle against Fly
5:04
Time with David Ellis and Terry Lewis
5:06
band. Is that true?
5:09
Very true, man. There there was a band
5:12
basically uh North Side Minneapolis
5:14
where we grew up on every block it
5:16
seemed. And everybody was really
5:18
talented, you know. Um I don't know if
5:20
it had to do with the weather because,
5:22
you know, 6 months out of the year, you
5:24
didn't want to be outside. So, we were
5:26
inside, man, like woodshedding,
5:28
rehearsing um non-stop and um
5:32
the two bands that usually rose to the
5:33
top was uh
5:35
Prince's band Grand Central, which I was
5:37
the drummer in, and uh Fly Time, Terry
5:39
Lewis and Jimmy Jam's band. And um you
5:42
know, we went head-to-head. Sometimes
5:44
they get us, sometimes we get them. But
5:46
the thing that we got that they couldn't
5:48
get was we always got the write-up in
5:50
the magazines and the newspapers as most
5:53
likely to succeed. And guess what? They
5:55
were right on both fronts.
6:00
Hey man, how bad did it get? Like was it
6:02
you know, was it fights after the battle
6:04
or did y'all used to hang out and and
6:06
drink sodas?
6:07
No, it was it was not like that, but it
6:09
was like, you know, um they would pull
6:12
out, you know, what they've been
6:14
rehearsing and they would we they would
6:16
showcase it when we actually did the
6:17
Battle of the Bands. And we were like,
6:19
"Oh look what they doing. They got
6:20
the whole crowds following them through
6:22
the up the stairs and you know, and then
6:24
so, you know, it was a competition thing
6:26
and then then we'd go back and we'd have
6:28
to pull something out of our hat and to
6:31
to outdo them. So, it was just it was it
6:33
was good friendly competition.
6:35
You know, people often and um talk
6:38
about, you know, the musicianship that
6:40
came out of Minneapolis and a lot of
6:41
folks talk about Prince and the and you
6:43
know, the fact that he played every
6:45
single instrument, the guitar, the bass,
6:47
you know, the the drums. He played
6:48
everything, but a lot of folks don't
6:50
know the name Sonny Thompson.
6:53
Morris. And can you break down who Sonny
6:55
Thompson is or who Sonny Thompson was to
6:58
Prince and and his legacy in
7:00
Minneapolis?
7:02
Well, if if there's a godfather of of of
7:06
uh Minneapolis musicians, especially
7:09
um
7:09
Prince, myself and pretty much everybody
7:12
from North Side, it was Sonny because
7:14
Sonny um I think Prince took a lot of
7:17
cues from Sonny. Sonny played everything
7:20
well, uh like Prince does. Um and he's
7:23
just he's he's still out there. I think
7:24
he's in NPG or one of them bands, but um
7:27
just an awesome musician, man. Um he
7:30
came by my house. My mom had bought me
7:31
this uh
7:33
little drum set with about three three
7:35
drums and one cymbal. And um you know, I
7:38
was trying to get to learn, but Sonny
7:39
came over, man, and and and then just
7:42
played the hell out of them drums, man.
7:44
Just inspired me and and um he was just
7:47
one of those kind of guys, you know, he
7:48
played everything or plays everything
7:50
and and he's a amazing musician and we
7:52
all learned from him. Did he teach
7:55
Prince how to play the guitar, um bass,
7:57
and drums?
7:59
I would say he inspired him. Uh
8:02
teach, I think is you know, I think you
8:05
know, Prince is pretty much self-taught,
8:06
but definitely
8:08
a big inspiration um for Prince.
8:11
Okay, man. Morris Day is here, man. The
8:13
man looking good. He probably talking to
8:15
us on the phone with a suit on.
8:17
I'm sure.
8:19
What you got on, Morris? What you got
8:21
on? Hey, well, you know, I got one of
8:23
them them pimp sweaters on, you know,
8:25
THAT THAT YOU
8:26
KNOW, I'M SAYING.
8:29
LIGHT. I LOVE IT, MAN. UNSUNG, by the
8:32
way, is premiering Sunday at 9:00 p.m.
8:34
8:00 p.m. Central on TV1 and Morris is
8:38
going to
8:39
you know, tell you what you don't know
8:40
about the Morris Day story. Have to be
8:42
you want to jump in? Yeah, I got to jump
8:45
in on Morris. Again, thank you so much
8:47
for joining us and I'm sure you became
8:49
aware since Sway mentioned Prince of
8:51
that classic Dave Chappelle episode
8:53
where they tell these
8:55
Charlie Murphy true Hollywood stories.
8:57
And I'm wondering from you though,
8:59
Morris, as a legend yourself, was there
9:01
anyone that you bumped into or ran into
9:04
whether it was life on the road or a
9:06
moment in the studio where you just was
9:08
like, "Wow, I can't believe this is
9:09
happening right now." Another legendary
9:11
artist.
9:13
I felt that way
9:15
about pretty much
9:17
you know, everybody I've met, you know,
9:19
Tower of Power was, you know,
9:22
you know, I loved the drummer Dave
9:23
Garibaldi when I got an opportunity to
9:26
meet them, you know, Ohio Players, uh
9:29
you know, I felt that way um
9:32
Earth, Wind & Fire, all these people
9:33
that I listened to man. Yeah. Yeah. And
9:35
then you look up and and you're able to
9:38
be on the same show with them and and
9:40
and talk to them and just, you know,
9:42
tell them you're like,
9:43
"Man, you have no idea, you know, how
9:45
many times I listened to your your
9:47
records and, you know, how much I admire
9:49
what you did." So, it's, you know, you
9:52
know, a lot of times when I'm out on
9:53
tour, every day is like that, getting to
9:55
meet people who are legends to me. Mhm.
9:58
Mhm. Morris Day is here. A new song 2
10:01
Hard Rock is already out. Make sure
10:03
y'all go stream that, download it, do
10:05
what you got to do featuring Trinidad
10:06
James, Precy G. Yeah, Morris. Thank you
10:10
again so much for being a part of this
10:12
show. Obviously, the Grammys um just
10:15
passed a couple days ago and since
10:17
you're joining us, it made me think of
10:19
when you and Bruno Mars did such an
10:22
electric tribute to Prince a couple
10:24
years ago at the Grammys. I believe that
10:26
was 2017.
10:28
And um now we have Bruno Mars who killed
10:30
it again with our brother Anderson
10:32
.Paak, Silk Sonic at this Grammys. And
10:35
two conversations happened um around
10:39
those times. Like a year after you and
10:41
Bruno Mars performed, there was a
10:43
question on social media regarding if
10:47
Bruno Mars was a cultural appropriator.
10:50
And then that came up again during these
10:53
Grammys. And I also remember when Bruno
10:55
Mars initially started with Uptown Funk
10:57
and I love the way that you clearly
11:01
inspired his music. And I'm a Bruno Mars
11:03
fan, but what would you say, since
11:06
you've worked with him,
11:07
to someone who believes that he's a
11:10
cultural appropriator? There have been
11:12
some people who said because he has um
11:15
he's able to use his um the racial
11:18
ambiguity to cross genres. And a lot of
11:22
times um a black artist does not get
11:25
their full flowers because someone else
11:29
is just sexier for mainstream appeal.
11:34
That's uh that's funny right there. You
11:36
know, I don't that's it to me that's
11:38
over analyzing um the situation. Um I I
11:43
think Bruno Mars is the real deal. Um
11:45
he's a smart dude. He borrows, you know,
11:48
uh from people but he's able to back it
11:50
up. So,
11:51
um you know, I can't hate on him for
11:53
that. Um
11:54
you know, I I you know, I when we did do
11:56
the Grammys, I was shocked to see how
11:58
well he played the guitar and um he just
12:01
continues to to me to shine and and he's
12:04
getting better and better. So, you know,
12:06
I I think some people are being over
12:08
analytical
12:09
um as far as he's concerned but maybe
12:11
that's just me.
12:13
Okay. That's fair enough. Yeah, I'm with
12:16
you on that. Uh Rich Nice, you want to
12:18
dive in this?
12:19
Absolutely. Grand rising to you, sir,
12:22
Mr. Morris Day. First, I want to give
12:24
you some flowers, sir, and let you know
12:26
that you inspired so many hip-hop
12:28
artists. Uh your show everyone has
12:30
borrowed from your show from Joe Ski
12:32
Love to Kwame to Big Daddy Kane me
12:34
myself. You hear Sway talking about how
12:36
much you inspired things that he did.
12:38
Hip-hop really was inspired by by what
12:40
you did and I don't know if you know
12:42
that. I want to just let you inform you
12:43
that you inspired a lot of hip-hop
12:45
artists in their stage shows.
12:47
Appreciate that.
12:49
Yes. Um
12:50
I want to talk about 7801 Autobahn Road.
12:55
And for those that don't know, that's
12:56
Paisley Park.
12:58
And uh I was blessed to have an
13:00
opportunity to be there for about 3
13:01
weeks in 1990 uh with Motown Motown and
13:05
the Motown review uh rehearsals. And
13:07
this is right around the time of your
13:09
Pandemonium project. And and
13:12
Prince had a studio my few studios but
13:14
one studio in particular
13:16
had a mannequin
13:18
with a yellow outfit that he wore on MTV
13:21
later on in 1991 but in 1990 this outfit
13:25
was on a mannequin.
13:26
And it was uh a yellow outfit where the
13:28
where the butt was exposed.
13:31
And I'm curious, was that common in the
13:34
studio cuz I know there was a
13:35
you know, there's a purple piano that
13:37
everybody wanted to play and a ping-pong
13:38
table everybody wanted to play.
13:40
Was it common to have outfits on
13:42
mannequins in the studio while you guys
13:44
recorded?
13:45
Well, now I can't say that that was
13:48
common, but I know that he did have you
13:50
know, the room upstairs which was like
13:53
a seamstress room. I mean, it looked
13:55
like you know, they were making clothes
13:57
for Macy's or something or or or
13:59
Bloomingdale's or something up there,
14:01
you know, he had like
14:03
mannequins up there with sewing machines
14:05
and people up there making outfits for
14:07
him and stuff like that. So, I know you
14:09
know, that they had that, but I I I
14:11
don't I can't say that it was normal for
14:13
you know, the mannequins to be in the
14:15
studio.
14:18
What is one of your funniest moments of
14:20
being at Paisley Park? I'm sure there
14:22
was many cuz you you spent so much time
14:23
there.
14:25
Well, you know, funny in hindsight, you
14:27
know, is
14:28
is and and and this you know, I
14:31
I'm not trying to offend anybody, but
14:33
funny in hindsight was
14:35
when
14:36
when the brother tried to convert me to
14:39
a Jehovah's Witness, you know, that was
14:41
pretty funny to me and I
14:43
I was um
14:44
in there, you know, I I and I you know,
14:46
flew myself in um to record with him,
14:50
you know, because we had decided we were
14:51
going to do some more music together.
14:54
And we're in the studio and um
14:57
you know, we we got the tape going and
14:59
the brother hits the stop button
15:01
and there's this uh
15:03
there's this silence, you know.
15:06
And I'm like, "Uh what's up, man?" And
15:08
um
15:08
he's like, "You know, he said, I can't
15:11
he said, I can't do this with you unless
15:13
we're brothers you know, not just
15:16
brothers um
15:17
like blood brothers, but unless we're
15:20
brothers in the faith." And I said,
15:22
"Well,
15:23
what are you talking about?" And he
15:25
said, "You know, let's go into my
15:26
office." So, we went to the office.
15:29
And now, mind you, I flew in, I'm hotel,
15:33
everything out of pocket. And he's
15:35
sitting there and he's like,
15:37
"I need you to convert, you know, to
15:40
Jehovah's Witness." And I said, um
15:43
"What? I didn't come here for that, man.
15:45
I said, I came here to do some music."
15:48
I didn't come here for that. T-shirt
15:51
alert.
15:52
That wasn't on the schedule.
15:54
Yeah, it wasn't on the schedule. So, you
15:56
know,
15:57
and you know, like I said, no offense to
15:58
anybody of the religion, but I was like,
16:00
you know, I'm not here for that. So,
16:02
he's like, "Well," he said, "then we
16:03
can't do anything, you know." So, that
16:05
was it. I I ended up going to the
16:08
airport, going back home, and just
16:10
trying to figure out what just happened.
16:12
At At what stage was this? At what stage
16:14
was this? At what stage of your careers
16:15
was this?
16:17
That was
16:18
pretty much
16:20
right after we had done the Musicology
16:24
tour. We did some some spot dates with
16:26
him on that, and it was right after
16:28
that.
16:29
It was right after that. I got a chance
16:30
to interview him on that Musicology
16:32
tour. So, um
16:35
Funny in hindsight, I get it. Morris Day
16:37
Funny in hindsight, you know.
16:39
In hindsight, man. Morris Day is here,
16:42
man.
16:43
That's a celebration. I'mma let these
16:45
callers get in, man. These lines lit up.
16:48
On song is
16:49
is Aaron Sunday on TV1. Make sure you
16:51
watch it, and he has a new song, Head
16:53
Rush, that's out now, featuring Trinidad
16:55
James. Uh Mike in Vegas, grand risings,
16:58
how you doing?
16:59
What up, Mike?
17:01
I'm doing good. How are you guys doing?
17:04
Hello? Good. Good.
17:06
Great, man. What's your question, Mike?
17:08
Oh, my question I got I got a question
17:10
my wife asked me, cuz we're just huge
17:12
fans of you guys. We're huge fans of the
17:14
the morning show, but we're we're huge
17:17
fans of Morris Day and the time.
17:20
Um in fact, quick story, that's how our
17:23
youngest son was born. Y'all can't We
17:26
came out here in 2004
17:28
and set the mood. And
17:32
in December, he was born. You guys came
17:34
out early I want to say early March.
17:37
And that's what set the mood. But, the
17:39
question that I have, my wife is asking,
17:41
she said, "What What keeps um Morris,
17:43
what keeps you going? You know, you've
17:45
been What keeps you inspired? What do
17:47
you listen to now? You know, because
17:49
you've been doing this a long time. And
17:51
I mean, just rolling out the bed and
17:52
playing music. I mean, I know that's not
17:54
you. But, what keeps you going? What
17:56
inspires you?"
17:59
I I just think, you know, it's it's the
18:01
legacy uh that I have and I'm fortunate
18:04
to have. And, you know, we are able to
18:07
go um to these cities and hop up on
18:10
stage and the response that we get is uh
18:12
so overwhelming that it's just in my
18:15
blood to to keep going.
18:18
Okay. And And And Mike, too, let me add
18:20
Morris. I I can't speak for Morris, but
18:22
you um downloading his single HeadRush
18:24
to keep him going, too. He got bills to
18:26
pay, Mike, okay? My man, Mike.
18:29
Give him a round of applause. You're a
18:31
citizen, Mike. I know you got work to
18:32
do. That's That's going to keep him
18:34
going.
18:36
Hey. Come on, man. He got a penthouse in
18:38
Manhattan, property in Malibu.
18:42
Uh look, man, we got somebody from your
18:44
past goes by the name of Jeremy from
18:46
Texas. Grand risings, Jeremy. At least
18:48
he claims he is. Jeremy, how you doing?
18:51
Uh grand risings, people. How's
18:53
everybody? Doing well, man. How do you
18:55
know Morris?
18:56
Well, I don't necessarily know Morris.
18:58
You know how y'all say don't You don't
18:59
want to meet your heroes cuz they'll let
19:01
you down? This is the opposite of that.
19:03
Okay.
19:05
No, I wasn't I wasn't going to smash him
19:07
on the radio. No. I wasn't going to let
19:09
you.
19:10
No.
19:11
No, he's the reason that I was I was a
19:14
12-year-old little white dude carrying
19:15
around a mirror asking my home boys to
19:17
hold it for me.
19:19
Um
19:20
Yeah.
19:22
Um and I used to run a valet company at
19:24
Atlantic Seafood in Alpharetta, Georgia.
19:27
And he used to come in there. And I did
19:29
music at the time. And that man is the
19:31
most humble, the most friendly, the most
19:34
gracious. He was willing to listen to my
19:37
music. He'd always step out of his way
19:39
to shake hands. He was just a He was a
19:41
regular dude, yet a living legend. And
19:45
um
19:45
I was so happy to to have conversations
19:48
with him. I don't think he would
19:50
remember that, but I remember it cuz it
19:51
was Morris Day. Um So, yeah, he was He
19:55
was a great dude, man. That's a That's a
19:56
stand-up dude. He's an inspiration to
19:58
everybody. And he's really one of the
19:59
most humble people in the world. So
20:01
friendly. Not what I would expect from
20:03
somebody that's on that level of
20:05
musicianship. Um So, yeah, I just wanted
20:08
to to call him. He was over here in
20:09
town.
20:10
Thanks for the Thanks for the the great
20:12
meetings, the conversation, the
20:13
inspiration for years. Your music's
20:15
incredible. You're a living legend, man.
20:17
You're You're You're You're great.
20:19
Appreciate that, brother. Uh you know,
20:20
um we should have had you on Unsung,
20:22
man.
20:25
I would have done it. You know the funny
20:27
thing, Morris, is that not too long
20:28
after that, you you played at Chastain
20:31
Park in Atlanta with Boyz II Men. And
20:33
y'all were on first. And I was watching
20:35
and I had to leave and I walked in front
20:37
of the stage and you said, "What up,
20:40
Jinx?" Cuz they knew me as Jinx. Hey,
20:43
man, I still to that day, when I'm
20:45
feeling down, I'm like, man, Morris Day
20:47
hollered at me one day. What I got to
20:48
feel bad about?
20:49
There you go.
20:50
Come on, man.
20:52
Love it.
20:53
Hey, Jeremy, take care, man. Thanks for
20:55
sharing that moment, man. It's amazing.
20:57
You're a citizen, okay?
20:59
A swaying in the morning. Come on, let
21:01
me take one more call, Morris. They
21:03
calling. The lines are blowing up right
21:04
now. They They're from all over. But
21:06
this person is from Minneapolis. She's
21:08
from the home soil. Sharon's on the
21:10
line. Grand rising, Sharon.
21:12
Grand rising, y'all. Grand rising. Hey,
21:15
hey.
21:16
calling. Hey, Sway, Heather B, Tracy G,
21:20
Mr. Morris Day. Love you. We love you.
21:23
I just want to call and say I have such
21:25
a fond memory. I am I'm not too much
21:28
younger than you, but I'm a little bit
21:30
younger, so you was already grown when I
21:32
was a little kid, but downtown
21:35
Minneapolis, there was a beauty salon.
21:38
Um my mom used to take me to the beauty
21:40
salon um when I was probably started
21:42
about going when I was about 10 years
21:44
old. And the hair stylist that my mom
21:48
There was two guys. They owned the shop
21:50
or ran the shop, Michael and Alice.
21:54
And I remember being at the shop on two
21:56
separate occasions. One occasion, I
21:59
remember you were there getting your
22:02
hair done, and I remember man, look at
22:04
his hair cuz, you know, that was the
22:06
thing. Look at his hair. I was like, oh
22:09
my goodness. And then on another
22:11
occasion, um well, I was a little kid
22:14
and I ran up the stairs and I was like,
22:15
"Mom, Mom, that was Morris Day. He's
22:18
getting his hair done here." And she was
22:20
just like looking at me like, "Okay."
22:23
Looking like my daughter is a young
22:24
groupie. She didn't know what to think.
22:26
I was excited. Right. And I'm like Like
22:28
I said, I was 10 years old, so I was a
22:29
little kid. And then um another
22:32
occasion, Prince himself with his
22:34
bodyguard um chicks were coming down the
22:37
stairs. They had these spiral staircase,
22:40
and at one point, they were coming down
22:42
the stairs from getting his hair done.
22:44
And I just remember it all those years
22:46
that, you know, of getting my hair done,
22:48
going to the beauty salon, and seeing
22:50
these men here, and just knowing, you
22:52
know, hair was the thing, you know. Um
22:55
and I know I just wanted to share that
22:57
experience, and I've always remembered
22:59
that, and I always thought about, "Oh,
23:02
you know, I go to the same salon as
23:04
Morris Day. And oh, you know, same salon
23:06
as Prince. You know, just just being a
23:08
little kid seeing them getting their
23:11
hair done and knowing, you know, hair is
23:13
hair was the thing back then as well.
23:15
Now, it still is, but you know, it's
23:17
just an exciting time.
23:19
Yeah. Yeah, hair was very important to
23:22
us then.
23:23
Yeah, but the style was important to
23:25
y'all. You dudes just really stepped
23:27
out. It's like y'all never had a bad
23:29
day, at least that's what we saw.
23:31
Um man, before you go, Morris, it's um
23:34
down the line we got to do a Zoom, man.
23:36
Heather Tracy and I would love to just
23:38
sit and talk with you and and and where
23:39
we can at least see each other if we
23:41
could get a open place, you know, down
23:43
the line. We'd love to have you in
23:44
person come by the show.
23:46
Uh
23:47
two things I wanted to know two things
23:49
that I wanted to know as a fan.
23:51
You know, I was a big Alexander O'Neal
23:53
fan, too.
23:54
And um was he the original lead vocalist
23:58
of Time?
24:01
He was supposed to be. Um yeah, we we
24:03
went through a handful of singers trying
24:05
to get it right. And you know, Alex was
24:07
a natural choice because he had been
24:09
lead singing for Flyte Tyme. And you
24:12
know, he's amazing singer.
24:14
And um you know, so we we brought Alex
24:17
in, tried him on a few songs, and you
24:19
know, of course we dug, you know, what
24:20
he did, but you know, Alex was like, uh
24:23
I'm going to need more paper.
24:25
And um we like, well, we don't have the
24:27
paper right now. We going to get it. We
24:29
we working on the paper, you know, so
24:31
Alex said, well, I can't do it then. So,
24:34
you know, in a way, you know, that was
24:35
disappointing, but it worked out for me
24:37
because then then Prince was like, well,
24:39
why don't you be the lead singer? And uh
24:41
you know, it's history from there.
24:43
There it is. Uh Ashton Stone.
24:46
And then I want to ask you this because,
24:48
you know, I I grew up in Oakland and um
24:50
I grew up listening to bands like, you
24:53
know, Ohio Players, Tower of Power, of
24:55
course.
24:56
Uh Earth, Wind, & Fire, the Commodores,
24:59
Lakeside, you know, all of these
25:00
incredible bands uh, that, you know,
25:03
even the Jackson 5, man. People don't
25:05
give the Jackson 5 the credit they
25:07
deserve as musicians. In In my opinion,
25:11
we always like to ask this question, but
25:13
you come from that band genre.
25:16
If you had to name your top five bands,
25:18
Morris Day's top five bands, performance
25:21
bands, who would they be?
25:24
You know what? I'm glad you said the
25:26
Jacksons. The Jackson 5, you know, I one
25:28
of the first concerts I went to
25:30
and uh,
25:32
man, it was it was electrifying, you
25:34
know, uh,
25:35
you know, and and so I have to say
25:37
Jackson 5, Mhm. if you consider them a
25:40
band, but I guess, you know, uh, Tito,
25:42
Jermaine, and then they had their cousin
25:44
on drums and
25:46
so, you know, Jackson 5, uh,
25:48
I love Tower of Power,
25:50
uh, Cameo,
25:52
um,
25:53
uh, let me see. From there, I you know,
25:56
I guess at the top of the list would
25:58
probably be Morris Day and the Time, so
25:59
that's four. And then, uh,
26:05
I
26:05
And, you know, um, Earth, Wind, & Fire.
26:08
There you go.
26:09
I like that.
26:10
Man.
26:12
Woo! Could you imagine a concert a a a
26:15
a festival with all of these bands? That
26:17
would be incredible. Um, Morris Day,
26:19
ladies and gentlemen, round of applause.
26:21
Morris Day.
26:23
Come on, man. Make sure you watch
26:25
Unsung. I can't wait to see the stories
26:27
you tell. That's on Sunday uh, on TV1 at
26:30
9:00 p.m. and the new song is Head Rush,
26:32
we're about to play right now featuring
26:33
Trinidad James. But, Morris, it's an
26:35
absolute pleasure and honor to have you
26:37
on the show, bro. Yes. Hey, thanks so
26:39
much, Sway. I appreciate y'all.
26:42
We appreciate you. We appreciate you,
26:44
and Morris, you a citizen.
26:46
Yeah. That's Sway in the Morning.
26:49
Yeah, you go.
26:50
Play your song, man. It's Rush.
26:53
Sway in the Morning, Shade 45. Turn the
26:55
camera back.
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