The Time was a funk and dance-pop ensemble formed by Prince.{1} The band was assembled under a clause in Prince's contract with Warner Bros. that allowed him to recruit and produce other artists for the label. Inspired by the 1980 film [The Idolmaker,] about the life of music promoter and producer Bob Marcucci.{2} Prince decided to put together a pop-funk group that would serve as a pet project and an outlet for further hits and material in the vein of his own early albums while he himself went on to explore other genres and styles in his own career.

By 1981, Prince had built The Time partially from an existing Minneapolis band named, Flyte Time, which featured Jellybean Johnson on drums, Jimmy Jam and Monte Moir on keyboards, and Terry Lewis on bass. To these were added Jesse "FunkFunk" Johnson on guitar, and Jerome Benton, who was a promoter drawn from another local band called, Enterprise. Benton played percussion instruments and added voices and .....MORE.....(full The Time biography) ←