Black History Month: Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis
Today's Black History Month illustration is of James "Jimmy Jam" Harris III & Terry Lewis, one of the greatest producing duos 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:
Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis with Donnie Simpson demonstrating the mixing board.
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.
My illustration of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis is available as an art print here.
I’ll be back tomorrow with another illustration and story!
-Alleanna
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Further watching, reading, and listening:
Video: Flyte Tyme Studios Tour with Jimmy Jam by Elmo Lovano (43 mins)
Video: Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis on The Secrets of Pop Hits by Red Bull Music Academy (2 hr 36 mins)
Article: Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis: Our Life in 15 Songs by Steve Appleford/Rolling Stone
Essay: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Essay by Jason King
Podcast Episode: Jimmy Jam on Questlove Supreme, Part 1 (1 hr, 51 mins)
Podcast Episode: Jimmy Jam on Questlove Supreme, Part 2 (2 hrs, 10 mins)
Podcast Episode: Jimmy Jam on Questlove Supreme, Part 3 (1 hr, 35 mins)
Sources:
https://www.umusicpub.com/us/Artists/J/Jimmy-Jam-and-Terry-Lewis.aspx
Steve Appleford
https://www.discogs.com/master/16482-The-Time-The-Time
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