Morris Hayes

Morris Hayes

Born: November 28, 1962
in Arkansas, USA
Morris Hayes is a talented musician, producer, and band leader. As a keyboardist, Hayes has worked with superstars such as Prince, George Clinton, Elton John, Whitney Houston, and Stevie Wonder. He was one of the 2013 inductees into the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame.

Morris Kevin Hayes was born in the small town of Jefferson (Jefferson County), just outside Pine Bluff (Jefferson County). He was inspired by the religious music he heard in church as a child. He majored in art at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB). When a rhythm and blues (R&B) band on campus lost its keyboard player, Hayes—who had learned to play a bit in high school—offered to fill in. Although he was still learning to play the keyboard, he played well enough to take the spot.

After graduating from college, Hayes played in churches and with various bands, moving to Chicago, Illinois; Memphis, Tennessee; and then to Texas. He cofounded a group called the Bizness, which former Prince and the Revolution bass player Mark Brown heard. Brown asked the group to come to Minneapolis, Minnesota—which had a vibrant music scene—and record a demo. Hayes recorded the demo and then joined Brown’s band, Mazarati.

When Brown’s group disbanded around 1991, Hayes remained in Minneapolis. When the keyboardist for the popular group the Time quit, Hayes replaced him and toured with the group in Asia. After the completion of the tour, Hayes formed another group called G Sharp and the Edge. This group performed as the house band in the popular Minneapolis club Glam Slam, which was frequented by Prince (who would later purchase the club). Prince signed the group to open for him on his “Diamonds and Pearls” tour in 1992.

After the tour ended, Prince asked Hayes to join his band, the New Power Generation. Hayes played in the band for ten years. In 2003, he left for a scheduled six-week gig with funk and soul jazz saxophonist Maceo Parker. Instead, he stayed for two years before rejoining the New Power Generation as the leader of the band in 2005.

Hayes has also performed with a long list of major artists, including Sheila E., Chaka Khan, Herbie Hancock, Kanye West, Elton John, Babyface, Carlos Santana, Kenny Loggins, Lenny Kravitz, Alicia Keys, Will.i.am, Mary J. Blige, Maroon 5, Ani Di Franco, Questlove, Kool Moe Dee, Sheryl Crow, Gwen Stefani, Erykah Badu, Amy Winehouse, Bono, The Edge, and Macy Gray.

Hayes has received numerous honors for his work, including inclusion in the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame in 2013. Hayes is involved in a nonprofit called No Worries Now, which helps children with terminal illnesses by organizing proms for them. The organization also helps fund osteosarcoma research. Hayes is the owner and CEO of Ill Street, Inc., a music production company through which he has written for various films and television shows such as Flavor Flav’s Under One Roof, Martin Lawrence’s You So Crazy, and Laurel Avenue on HBO.

Movies for Morris Hayes...

Prince: Budapest
Title: Prince: Budapest
Character: Keyboards
Released: August 9, 2011
Type: Movie
Prince performs at Sziget Festival as part of his Welcome 2 America Euro Tour 2011.
bee
Prince - Welcome 2 America : Live at the Forum
Title: Prince - Welcome 2 America : Live at the Forum
Released: April 28, 2011
Type: Movie
This is Prince performing with his 2011-era lineup of the New Power Generation, including Shelby J., Liv Warfield, Elisa Fiorillo, and Morris Hayes, additional keyboardists Renato Neto and Cassandra O’Neal, bassist Ida Nielsen, drummer John Blackwell, and dancers Maya and Nandy McClean (The Twinz). Captured midway through his marathon “21 Nite Stand” on April 28, 2011 at The Forum in Inglewood, California, this performance documents the spontaneity and incendiary energy of that historic portion of the Welcome 2 America Tour!
bee
Prince : Welcome 2 America - MSG New York
Title: Prince : Welcome 2 America - MSG New York
Character: Self - Keyboards
Released: December 29, 2010
Type: Movie
Prince at his best, performing all his mega hits, to a booked out Madison Square Garden in New York, on the 29th December 2010.
bee
Prince - Montreux Jazz Festival (Late Show)
Title: Prince - Montreux Jazz Festival (Late Show)
Released: July 18, 2009
Type: Movie
The late show from 07/18/2007. Tracklist: 01. Prince Introduces Band Members 02. When Eye Lay My Hands On U 03. Stratus (Long Portion) 04. Drum Solo By John Blackwell 05. Stratus (Short Version) 06. All Shook Up [Elvis Presley] 07. Peach 08. Spanish Castle Magic 09. When You Were Mine 10. Little Red Corvette 11. Somewhere Here On Earth 12. She Spoke 2 Me 13. Eye Love U, But Eye Don’t Trust U Anymore 14. Love Like Jazz 15. All The Critics Love U In Montreux - Housequake 16. Break 17. In A Large Room With No Light 18. Purple Rain 19. Epilogue
bee
Prince - Montreux Jazz Festival (Early Show)
Title: Prince - Montreux Jazz Festival (Early Show)
Released: July 18, 2009
Type: Movie
The early show from 07/18/2009. Tracklist: 01. When Eye Lay My Hands On U 02. Little Red Corvette 03. Somewhere Here On Earth 04. When The Lights Go Down 05. Willing And Able 06. Eye Love U, But Eye Don’t Trust U Anymore 07. She Spoke 2 Me 08. Drum Solo By John Blackwel l 09. Love Like Jazz 10. All This Love 11. Empty Room 12. Elixer 13. In A Large Room With No Light 14. Curtain Call 15. Insatiable 16. Prince Introduces Band Members 17. Scandalous 18. The Beautiful Ones 19. Nothing Compares 2 U 20. Epilogue
bee
Prince: Montreux Like Jazz
Title: Prince: Montreux Like Jazz
Released: July 18, 2009
Type: Movie
A two-DVD set of Prince at the 2009 Montreux Jazz Festival that serves as a reminder for those that forgot, Prince is still one of, if not the, greatest live musician alive. This set captures both of the shows performed on July 18, 2009 in a stunning pro-shot video. The quality is good enough for an official release, of which one was talked about and planned before Prince once again dropped the ball on preserving his musical legacy. It's absolutely asinine that this was not released to the world, it's that good. So Prince once again misses out on giving his fans what they want and leaves it to the bootleggers to do it right.
bee
Prince: 21 Nights in London
Title: Prince: 21 Nights in London
Character: Self - Keyboards
Released: June 7, 2008
Type: Movie
A documentary film about Prince's 21 Night Stand at the O2 Arena in London. England.
bee
Prince: Rave un2 the Year 2000
Title: Prince: Rave un2 the Year 2000
Released: June 5, 2000
Type: Movie
"Rave un2 the year 2000" celebrates the joy of life as PRINCE performs music from his critically acclaimed album Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic, as well as selections from his vault of smash hits and pop classics. Filmed at Paisley Park Studio in Minneapolis, where a multi-piece band, including legendary bass player Larry Graham and members of the Family Stone, join Prince in this spectacular historic event. Special guests include Lenny Kravitz, Rosie Gaines, Maceo Parker George Clinton, Morris Day and The Time.
bee
Prince: Beautiful Strange
Title: Prince: Beautiful Strange
Character: Self
Released: August 28, 1998
Type: Movie
Listen to this intimate conversation between The Artist Formerly Known As Prince and Mel B. as they cover the subject of musical inspiration, freedom and influences. At home in his Paisley Park Studios, the Artist gives one of his most revealing interviews.
bee
Prince: Love 4 One Another
Title: Prince: Love 4 One Another
Released: January 27, 1996
Type: Movie
A television special produced for VH1
bee
Prince: The Sacrifice Of Victor
Title: Prince: The Sacrifice Of Victor
Released: September 8, 1994
Type: Movie
Available for The 1st Time! Exclusive footage taken from one of Prince and the N.P.G.'s infamous aftershow parties! Act II Aftershow - Bagley's Warehouse, London : 8th September 1993 (am)
bee
Prince and the N.P.G. Present... 3 Chains o' Gold
Title: Prince and the N.P.G. Present... 3 Chains o' Gold
Released: August 16, 1994
Type: Movie
In Egypt, princess Maytes father is assassinated by seven men, leaving her with the sacred three chains of gold. She decides to seek out the help of Prince in USA, and sends him a tape of her dancing. Prince immediately falls in love with her, but is frightened by the commitment. He tries to escape through having sex with others, but his heart isn't in it. His heart belongs to Mayte...
bee
Prince: The Beautiful Experience
Title: Prince: The Beautiful Experience
Released: February 12, 1994
Type: Movie
This promotional movie for 1-800-NEW-FUNK features a collection of unreleased music videos and live performances from the artist.
bee
Prince: The Hits Collection
Title: Prince: The Hits Collection
Released: December 14, 1993
Type: Movie
The Hits Collection is a collection of music videos released in 1993 to accompany the Prince's greatest hits collection, The Hits/The B-Sides. Being a single VHS cassette/DVD, the collection is only an hour long and excludes many tracks from the audio release
bee
Title: Late Show with David Letterman
Released: August 30, 1993
Type: TV
Late Show with David Letterman is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and is produced by Letterman's production company, Worldwide Pants Incorporated and CBS Television Studios. The show's music director and band-leader of the house band, the CBS Orchestra, is Paul Shaffer. The head writer is Matt Roberts and the announcer is Alan Kalter. Of the major U.S. late-night programs, Late Show ranks second in cumulative average viewers over time and third in number of episodes over time. The show leads other late night shows in ad revenue with $271 million in 2009. In most U.S. markets the show airs at 11:35 p.m. Eastern/Pacific time, but is recorded Monday through Wednesday at 4:30 p.m., and Thursdays at 3:30 p.m and 6:00 p.m. The second Thursday episode usually airs on Friday of that week. In 2002, Late Show with David Letterman was ranked No. 7 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time. CBS has a contract with Worldwide Pants to continue the show through 2014; by then, Letterman will surpass Johnny Carson as the longest tenured late-night talk show host.
bee
Prince: The Ryde Dyvine
Title: Prince: The Ryde Dyvine
Released: December 19, 1992
Type: Movie
An ABC TV Special that aired on December 19th 1992
bee
Title: The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
Released: May 25, 1992
Type: TV
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jay Leno that initially aired from May 25, 1992 to May 29, 2009, and resumed production on March 1, 2010. The fourth incarnation of the Tonight Show franchise made its debut on May 25, 1992, three days following Johnny Carson's retirement as host of the program. The program originates from NBC Studios in Burbank, California, and is broadcast Monday through Friday at 11:35 PM in the Eastern and Pacific time zones. Unlike Carson or his predecessor Jack Paar, Leno only once utilized a guest host, preferring to host the series by himself. On April 26, 1999, the show began broadcasting in 1080i HDTV, becoming the first American nightly talk show to be shot in high definition. The show is shot in 16:9 aspect ratio. The series, which followed the same basic format as that of his predecessors, ran until May 29, 2009, after which Leno was succeeded by Conan O'Brien. NBC signed Leno to a new deal for a nightly talk show in the 10:00 pm ET timeslot. The primetime series, titled The Jay Leno Show, debuted on September 14, 2009, following a similar format to the Leno incarnation of Tonight.
bee
Title: Soul Train
Released: October 2, 1971
Type: TV
Soul Train is an American musical variety show that aired in syndication from 1971 to 2006. In its 35-year history, the show primarily featured performances by R&B, soul, and hip hop artists, although funk, jazz, disco, and gospel artists have also appeared. The series was created by Don Cornelius, who also served as its first host and executive producer. Production was suspended following the 2005–06 season, with a rerun package airing for two years after that. As a nod to Soul Train's longevity, the show's opening sequence contained a claim that it was the "longest-running first-run, nationally syndicated program in television history," with over 1,100 episodes produced from the show's debut through the 2005-06 season. Despite the production hiatus, Soul Train will continue to hold this honor until at least 2016, if and when its nearest competitor, Entertainment Tonight, completes its 35th season.
bee
Title: Today
Character: Self
Released: January 14, 1952
Type: TV
Today is a daily American morning television show that airs on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It was the first of its genre on American television and in the world, and is the fifth-longest running American television series. Originally a two-hour program on weekdays, it expanded to Sundays in 1987 and Saturdays in 1992. The weekday broadcast expanded to three hours in 2000, and to four hours in 2007. Today's dominance was virtually unchallenged by the other networks until the late 1980s, when it was overtaken by ABC's Good Morning America. Today retook the Nielsen ratings lead the week of December 11, 1995, and held onto that position for 852 consecutive weeks until the week of April 9, 2012, when it was beaten by Good Morning America yet again. In 2002, Today was ranked #17 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest Television Shows of All Time.