Jimmy Jam

Lore & Background

Jimmy Jam is the son of Cornbread Harris, a Minneapolis blues and jazz musician. He met Terry Lewis while attending an Upward Bound program on the University of Minnesota campus. In the mid-1970s, Harris formed or joined the 11-piece band Mind & Matter. Lewis had been in the band Flyte Tyme, which Harris joined late in its history and which Prince restructured as the Time in 1981. As members of the Time, they played instruments on all four of the group's studio albums. In 1982, Jam and Lewis were introduced to music executive Dina R. Andrews, who set up their company Flyte Tyme Productions. They were fired by Prince after a freak Minneapolis blizzard left them unable to make a tour date in San Antonio, Texas, during which they were producing music for the S.O.S. Band. The track 'Just Be Good to Me' became a hit and established their reputation. They later rejoined the Time for one album: 1990's Pandemonium.

In Their Own Story

The studio was dark except for the amber glow of the mixing console. Outside, the Minnesota winter pressed its cold fingers against the glass, but inside the room the air was thick with the smell of hot tubes and cheap coffee. Jimmy Jam sat cross-legged on the carpet, a drum machine in his lap, tapping patterns into the grid while Terry Lewis hummed a bass line under his breath. Prince stood by the window, arms crossed, watching them. He said nothing. He never said much in the first pass. He just listened, nodding, his head tilting slightly to the left as the groove found its pocket. Then he turned, walked to the mic, and sang a single phrase—just one line, half-spoken, half-hissed—over the top of what they'd built. Jam looked at Lewis. Lewis looked at Jam. They both knew. That was the song. They didn't need to talk about it. They just hit record and let it breathe.

Reader's Guide

Jam and Lewis are known for early use of the Roland TR-808 drum machine. They produced Janet Jackson's breakthrough album Control (1986), winning a Grammy, and her subsequent albums Rhythm Nation 1814, janet., The Velvet Rope, All for You, and Unbreakable. In 1991, they founded Perspective Records, an A&M-distributed label. They have worked with many artists including Lionel Richie, Herb Alpert, TLC, Sounds of Blackness, Yolanda Adams, Michael Jackson, Aretha Franklin, Boyz II Men, Usher, Mary J. Blige, Chaka Khan, Mariah Carey, Prince, and the Human League. They have produced 16 Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hits and 26 Billboard R&B No. 1 hits. They have won five Grammy Awards and were nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song for 'Again' (1993) and a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Direction (2020).

Did You Know?

• Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the Musical Excellence category in 2022.
• They have written 31 top ten hits in the UK and 41 in the US.
• Their first major success after being fired by Prince was the S.O.S. Band's hit 'Just Be Good to Me'.
• Jam and Lewis have received 11 nominations for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical, more than any other producer.