On Time: A Princely Life in Funk

In this entertaining memoir, musician Day tells of his career and his friendship with his musical mentor, Prince. Interweaving “the voice I’m hearing of Prince” within the narrative (at times to distracting effect), Day writes of growing up in 1960s Illinois, before he and his mother and his siblings moved to Minneapolis to escape his abusive stepfather. There he met a 15-year-old guitarist named Prince and formed a funk band called Grand Central. Prince landed a record deal on his own in 1978, and three years later Day formed the Time. Competitive tensions mounted, as Day recalls wanting Prince “to hear that we weren’t just funky but so goddamn funky that he’d have to think twice about how to outfunk us.” Day appeared in Prince’s film Purple Rain, but they had a falling out that lasted until just before Prince’s death (“Since Prince and I both believed in Jesus, you’d think a come-to-Jesus meeting” would have been easy). Day candidly shares his descent into drug abuse and his philandering (“The higher I get, the more adoration I crave”) and writes honestly about Prince’s desire to control him and his musical career. Fans of Prince—and the Time—will be thrilled with this insider view. [em](Oct.) [/em]