Born in Minneapolis, the group featured lead-singer
Morris Day, keyboardist
Jimmy Jam Harris, bassist and co-lead vocalist
Terry Lewis, keyboardist
Monte Moir, guitarist
Jesse Johnson, and drummer
Jellybean Johnson, all from two Twin Cities funk units,
Flyte Tyme and Enterprise.
The band's first Warner Bros. album, 1981's The Time, was created almost single-handedly by
Prince (who wrote and played on tracks he produced under the early pseudonym
Jamie Starr).
By 1982, the year of 777-9311, from '82 Warner Bros. album What Time Is It?, the group had already established itself as one of the hottest bands working the live circuit.
The original members reunited in 1990 for the album Pandemonium on Paisley Park label and released the single Jerk Out. Despite expectations, the reunion only brought moderate success.