"The rumblings were out that we were making a record," Day explained, "and he reached out to us and sent a cease-and-desist letter."

Lewis, who handled the negotiations, was more diplomatic: "He has his viewpoint; we have ours. We've been the Time since 1981. I don't understand why there would be any issue with that. I'm not trying to challenge someone for something that they believe they created or owned. I don't understand why it has to get to this point and be this serious. So we'll take the high road."

Johnson thinks Prince has changed over the years. "He's not the person that I grew up with since I was 12," the drummer said. "Who has time to be in court fighting about a name you've done had for 30 years? He's a chronic litigator. He has the money to do it; I don't."