#jimmy jam and terry lewis

[velmatv]

A brief history of New Jack Swing.

[alleannaharris]

Today's Black History Month illustration is of James “Jimmy Jam“ Harris III & Terry Lewis, one of the greatest producing duo in the history of music.

They’re known for their funky synth heavy grooves and their melodic basslines as well as their dark sunglasses, black suits, and black fedoras.

Both Jam and Lewis grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and they first met in high school (early 1970s) at the University of Minnesota through their Upward Bound program. They grew up listening to different genres. Jam was a pop fan, so he listened to artists such as Seals and Crofts, America, and Chicago. Lewis like artists like Parliament-Funkadelic and Earth, Wind and Fire.

After their time in the Upward Bound program, they stayed friends and played in rival bands against Prince and Morris Day. In the early 80s, Jam convinced Harris to join his band Flyte Tyme. Soon after, Morris Day and Lewis agreed to form the group The Time because of a deal Day made with Prince. While in The Time, they became innovators of the Minneapolis sound, a blend of jazz, soul, R&B, funk, disco, early punk, new wave, and dance.

After The Time’s spot as the opening act on Prince’s Controversy tour was over, Jam and Lewis decided to go to LA and begin creating demos. Their demos eventually landed at Solar Records with Dick Griffey. While Harris and Lewis were busy producing the SOS Band in LA, they ended up missing an important gig with The Time in Atlanta, GA. Because of this, Prince fired them.

After this, they decided to form Flyte Time Productions in 1982. After forming Flyte Tyme Productions, they produced and wrote a string of R&B hits for artists including Gladys Knight, Cheryl Lynn, Force MDs, and Cherelle.

When they were looking for the next artist to work with, they both agreed on the one and only Janet Jackson. While working on her album Control (1986), they continued to refine their songwriting and production skills and also created the basis of the genre “New Jack Swing.”

Here’s a clip of Jam and Lewis in studio with Donnie Simpson:

After the success of Control, they had over three decades of chart topping Billboard singles and albums over various genres. Together, Jam and Lewis have earned more than 100 gold, platinum, multi-platinum, and diamond albums and they have more Billboard number ones than any other songwriting and production team in history.

I’ll be back tomorrow with another illustration and story!

[nextcinemastudios]

Sheila E. Becomes First Female Solo Percussionist on Hollywood Walk of Fame

Sheila E. became the first female solo percussionist on the Hollywood Walk of Fame when her star was unveiled Wednesday, with Ringo Starr by her side. “I am honored, humbled, and blessed to receive this prestigious award,” the musician born Sheila Escovedo told City News Service. “This is a forever moment that I will cherish for the rest of my life.” Grammy and Oscar-winning R&B singer H.E.R.…

[thebossishere]

#JimmyJamandTerryLewis

[thejfblog]

Janet Jackson Top 10

Janet Jackson is one of the most influential pop artists of all time.

(Janet Jackson)

This is a ranking of some of her greatest music videos.

10. “Nasty” (1986)

9. “I Get Lonely” (1998)

8. “When I Think of You” (1986)

7. “All for You” (2001)

6. “Come Back to Me” (1990)

5. “That’s the Way Love Goes” (1993)

4. “The Pleasure Principle” (1987)

3. “Together Again” (1997)

2. “Scream” (with Michael Jackson) (1995)

1. “Rhythm Nation” (1989)

Honorable mentions:

“What Have You Done for Me Lately” (1986)

“Miss You Much” (1989)

“Escapade” (1990)

“Love Will Never Do (Without You)” (1990)

“Doesn’t Really Matter” (2000)

[mitjalovse]

I discuss Patti Labelle's solo career and I continue to be highly scathing about her works despite some of them being, well, quite great. Still, I might reserve most of my criticism for Patti Labelle's 90's opus but I think the reason for that might be that her 80's could've been hard to top during the time I mentioned, so she settled into a pattern in the latter period. She made many records in the vein of Flame, which are nice, i.e. there's nothing wrong with them, yet this is also a problem. She and her collaborators are professional on them, which could be another issue. I agree, should she pull of something else instead? A good question to add here would be – would she be even allowed to do that? If not, why so?

[bookofthelostroyals]

I Still Owe Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis An Apology

When it comes to the Minneapolis music scene, it didn't get much bigger than this duo. Unfortunately, my memory was about to betray me. #amwriting #flytetyme #music

It was late 1998. I worked for the Suncoast Motion Picture Company, which sold movies and related merchandise. I’d recently transferred from the flagship Mall of America store to the Southdale Mall in Edina. The commute was longer, but I didn’t mind for a couple reasons. The one I’ll articulate here pertains to the clientele. The Mall of America location was great for people watching. At the…

[musiquizzz]

The Funniest Janet Jackson Music Quiz Ever! Guess The Song!

[tha-wrecka-stow]

[duranduratulsa]

Now showing on DuranDuranTulsa's Flashback Theater...Purple Rain (1984) on glorious vintage VHS 📼!...remembering Prince 8 years later! #movie #movies #drama #music #purplerain #purplerain40 #prince #ripprince #princeandtherevolution #TheRevolution #wendyandlisa #thetime #MorrisDay #jeromebenton #jilljones #apollonia #ClarenceWilliamsIII #RIPClarenceWilliamsIII #JesseJohnson #bobbyz #brownmark #doctorfink #80s #vintage #vhs #durandurantulsa #durandurantulsasflashbacktheater

[nervoussystemmusicreverence]

The Human League - Human

Music Video

Artist

The Human League

Composer

Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis

Lyricist

Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis

Produced

Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis

Credit

The Human League - Ian Burden - Joanne Catherall - Philip Oakey - Jim Russell - Susan Ann Sulley - Philip Adrian Wright Additional musicians - Paul Rabiger - Keyboard parts, arrangement

Released

September 8 1986

Streaming

[myvinylplaylist]

Janet Jackson: Control (1987)

A&M Records

[danbenzvi]

On The Jukebox: George Michael - “Faith (Remastered Edition)”

[2010 Remaster of the original 1987 release (to which: a remaster to mark the 23rd anniversary is...a choice).  The album very much feels like George deciding to embrace the idea of getting to change up his audience (and going the “grown and sexy” route as a consequence).

Standard package for a remastered edition: the original album all cleaned up and sounding shiny plus a bonus disc featuring bonus tracks (”Fantasy”, live versions of “I Believe (When I Fall In Love It Will Be Forever)” and “Love’s In Need Of Love Today”), instrumentals (”Faith” and “Kissing A Fool”) and remixes (”Hard Day (Shep Pettibone Remix)”, “Monkey (7″ Single Edit)“, “Monkey (A Capella And Beats Mix)” and “Monkey (Jimmy Jam And Terry Lewis Remix)”).

[djevilninja]

Jam & Lewis - The New Style

[djrobblog]

Janet Jackson inducts Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis into the Rock Hall by recreating the iconic look from the album that catapulted her (and them) there.

Janet Jackson inducts Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis into the Rock Hall by recreating the iconic look from the album that catapulted her (and them) there. #JanetJackson #JimmyJam #TerryLewis #RRHOF #Control @JanetJackson

(November 11, 2022).  Two things happened in the winter of 1986 that changed the music world forever.  First, on January 23, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which had been established only a few years earlier, got started by inducting its first class…an undeniable cohort of ten of modern music’s icons whose names had been synonymous with rock and roll since its inception and who, with their…

[rainingmusic]

The Time - 777-9311