The sound craved by Prince: The Flyt Tyme horns

“A lot of people have suggested that Prince was jealous of the Flyt Tyme horns,” says Robert ‘Bird’ Martin, “but I don’t think jealous is the right word. Envious is more accurate, and there is a difference between the two. We simply had something that Prince didn’t have in Grand Central.”

Martin, who first helped to put the Wars of Armageddon together, which shortly thereafter became known as Flyt Tyme, played trumpet in the band that competed against Grand Central and other local groups for musical supremacy on the North Side of Minneapolis and beyond. 

Martin also chose the name Flyt Tyme, inspired by a 1973 song of the same name by legendary jazz trumpeter Donald Byrd. “I just changed the spelling a little,” Martin chuckles, “swapped out the ‘i’s for ‘y’s.”

“Our horns separated us from the other bands of the day,” adds tenor saxophonist Jimmie ‘Chipmunk’ Anderson, who, along with Martin, David ‘Batman’ Eiland (alto saxophone), and “Big” Bob Johnson (trombone]”, eventually rounded out Flyt Tyme’s original horn section. “We were blowing people out of the water.” 

The band was influenced by the Tower of Power, Kool & the Gang, Chicago, the Ohio Players, and Blood, Sweat & Tears, among others, all of which featured horns heavily in their music. 

“It wasn’t just the hits we played when covering this stuff,” Anderson explains. “We got into the more intricate, dynamic album tracks, things you wouldn’t hear on the radio.”

“That’s right,” Martin interjects. “After all, we had David [Eiland], who, as an alto sax player, was second to none in this town. Everyone was just in awe of his talent. He set the bar so high that he pushed the rest of us to improve. That’s why we rehearsed every day.”

Back in the band’s early days, the horns were frequently positioned at the center of it all. And these guys didn’t just play their instruments; they added choreography. And, of course, there were the costumes. 

“We were a really big attraction. I mean, we were showmen,” affirms Anderson. “Terry [Lewis], Jellybean [Johnson], Joey [Kareem], the rest of the band were behind us or off to the side a bit. Our horn players were at the front of the stage when we first got started. That was all part of our presentation.”

That all changed when Cynthia Johnson joined Flyt Tyme as the new lead singer, occasionally adding her skills on the saxophone as well. But the move also increased the band’s repertoire, opened new doors, and, as Anderson says, “took us to another level, made our show even bigger.”

Over the years, others would be welcomed into the fold with Flyt Tyme, including David Wright, who replaced Martin in the horn section. Several of those in the band’s final lineup, not including the horn players, were absorbed into what became Prince’s most successful side project ever, Warner Bros. recording artists The Time. 

Of course, Flyt Tyme’s legacy lives on today in many ways. However, one that is sometimes overlooked is the influence of those amazing Flyt Tyme horns. 

“Since Prince didn’t have any horns in Grand Central, or those first several years after he signed with Warners, he found a way to create his own,” observes Martin.

Prince’s innovative use of synthesizers to recreate horn parts in many of his early compositions became one of the distinguishing features of the Minneapolis Sound, but also significantly influenced pop, rock and soul music for the better part of the 1980s and ‘90s.

“None of us ever thought about making it in the music business. We just loved to play and were having fun,” Anderson remembers. “And we found the right characters in the Flyt Tyme horns. We just blended so well together. It was the perfect match.”

Flyt Tyme reunited live on stage in 2018 for the Super Bowl VII festivities in downtown Minneapolis, with nearly everyone who was ever in the band taking part in the show. “It was nice to be recognized for our history that night,” says Martin, “We’d come full circle.” 

When reflecting on Flyt Tyme’s legacy in an even broader context, Martin and Anderson agree that sharing their music with others was what it was all about.

“We were trying to put love into the community. And a nice cross-section of people came to see us,” recalls Anderson, “white folks, other folks, other bands even. All who heard about Flyt Tyme’s ‘badass’ horn section.”

Of all the members of Flyt Tyme, only Big Bob Johnson is no longer with us, having passed away in 2023. “Bob is so dearly missed,” says Martin. “He was imposing but still the biggest-hearted, most gentle man you could ever meet.”