James Samuel "Jimmy Jam" Harris III (born June 6, 1959) and Terry Steven Lewis (born November 24, 1956) are an American R&B/pop songwriting and record production team. Their productions have received commercial success since the 1980s with various artists, most extensively Janet Jackson. They have written 31 top ten hits in the UK and 41 in the US. In 2022, the duo were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the Musical Excellence category.
History
Jimmy Jam is the son of Cornbread Harris, a Minneapolis blues and jazz musician. Jimmy Jam met Lewis while attending an Upward Bound program on the University of Minnesota campus.
In the mid-1970s, Harris formed or joined Mind & Matter, an 11 piece band.
Lewis had been in the band Flyte Tyme, which Harris joined late in its history and which Prince restructured as the Time in 1981.), including Condensate which the group recorded as the Original 7ven.
In 1982, Jam and Lewis were introduced to music executive Dina R. Andrews, who was then an employee of Dick Griffey's SOLAR Records, where they would be mentored by record producer Leon Sylvers III.
The pair were fired by Prince after a freak Atlanta blizzard left them unable to make a tour date during which they were, unbeknown to Prince, producing music for the S.O.S. Band. However, one of the Atlanta tracks, "Just Be Good to Me", became a hit and established the duo's reputation. an A&M Records distributed label that has since been closed and then reactivated. Later that year, their newly minted label experienced success with the Minneapolis-based gospel/R&B group Sounds of Blackness. Their debut single, "Optimistic", served as a groundbreaking anthem stressing positivity and encouragement. The song served as a summer and fall anthem and began propelling Jam and Lewis' label. Other successes followed with Sounds of Blackness as well as releases from labelmates Mint Condition, Lo-Key? and Solo. In 1992, Perspective released the soundtrack for the film Mo' Money, which starred Damon Wayans, Stacey Dash and Marlon Wayans. Executive produced by Jam and Lewis, the soundtrack featured songs by Mint Condition, Ralph Tresvant and Caron Wheeler, as well as a duet by Janet Jackson and Luther Vandross.
In 2003, Jam and Lewis moved their recording operations to Santa Monica, California naming it Flyte Tyme West, due to more opportunities for work and collaboration. In 2006, they won a Grammy for Yolanda Adams' song "Be Blessed", from her 2005 album Day By Day. In 2007, Jam and Lewis produced the two-time Grammy Award-winning CD Funk This for Chaka Khan, which included the Award-winning R&B duet "Disrespectful", with Mary J. Blige.
The production duo reunited with the Time at the 50th Grammy Awards on February 10, 2008, in a medley that included the artist Rihanna, and featuring "Jungle Love". In June and July 2008, all of the original members of the Time (Morris Day, Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis, Jesse Johnson, Jerome Benton, Jellybean Johnson, and Monte Moir) reunited once again for a series of shows at the Flamingo Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.
In a career that has spanned more than four decades, Jam and Lewis have worked with a multitude of artists, including Lionel Richie, Herb Alpert, TLC, Sounds of Blackness, Yolanda Adams, Jordan Knight, Michael Jackson, Aretha Franklin, Boyz II Men, Usher, Johnny Gill, Patti LaBelle, Mary J. Blige, Chaka Khan, Mariah Carey, Prince, Mýa, Bryan Adams, Snoop Dogg, Spice Girls, Vanessa Williams, George Michael, Melanie B, Rod Stewart, Kelly Price, Gwen Stefani, New Edition, Eric Benét, Pia Zadora, SOLO, and the Human League.
! scope="col" style="width:2.5em;font-size:90%;"| UK Dig.<br />
|-
! scope="row"| Jam & Lewis: Volume One
|
- Released: July 9, 2021
- Label: Flyte Tyme, BMG
- Formats: CD, digital download
| 17 || 17
|}
Singles
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:23em;" | Title
! scope="col" rowspan="2" | Year
! scope="col" colspan="3" | Peak chart positions
! scope="col" rowspan="2" | Album
|-
! scope="col" style="width:2.5em; font-size:90%;" | US<br>R&B<br>
! scope="col" style="width:2.5em; font-size:90%;" | US<br>Adult<br>R&B<br>
! scope="col" style="width:2.5em; font-size:90%;" | US Gospel Airplay<br>
|-
! scope="row"| "Til I Found You"<br><span style="font-size:85%;">(featuring Sounds of Blackness)</span>
| 2019
| — || 22 || 21
| rowspan="3"|Jam & Lewis: Volume One
|-
! scope="row"| "He Don’t Know Nothin’ Bout It" <br /><span style="font-size:85%;">(featuring Babyface)</span>
| 2020
| 16 || 4 || —
|-
! scope="row"| "Somewhat Loved"<br /><span style="font-size:85%;">(featuring Mariah Carey)</span>
| 2021
| — || 12 || —
|-
|align="center" colspan="6" style="font-size:8pt"| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.
|}
Charts
They have produced 16 Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hits, and 26 Billboard R&B No. 1 hits.
They have had 41 songs reach the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100, and 31 in the top 10 in the UK.
In 1993, Jam & Lewis were nominated with Janet Jackson for an Academy Award for Best Original Song for "Again", from the movie Poetic Justice.
In 2020 Jam & Lewis were nominated with Sheila E. for an Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Direction for the TV special Let's Go Crazy: The Grammy Salute to Prince.
Grammy Awards
Jam & Lewis have won five Grammy Awards. They have received more nominations for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical than any other producer, with 11 nominations. They won the award in 1987 at the 29th Grammy Awards, in the first year they were nominated.
|-
| align="center" rowspan="3"| 1987
| Control
| Album of the Year
|
|-
|"What Have You Done For Me Lately"
| Best R&B Song
|
|-
| Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis
| Producer of the Year, Non-Classical
|
|-
| align="center" rowspan="3"| 1990
| Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814
| Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocals
|
|-
| "Miss You Much"
| Best R&B Song
|
|-
| Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis and Janet Jackson
| Producer of the Year, Non-Classical
|
|-
| align="center"| 1991
| "Alright"
| Best R&B Song
|
|-
| align="center" rowspan="2"| 1994
| "That's the Way Love Goes"
| Best R&B Song
|
|-
| Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis
| Producer of the Year, Non-Classical
|
|-
| align="center"| 1995
| Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis
| Producer of the Year, Non-Classical
|
|-
| align="center" rowspan="2"|1996
|HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I
| Album of the Year
|
|-
| Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis
| Producer of the Year, Non-Classical
|
|-
| align="center"|2001
| Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis
| Producer of the Year, Non-Classical
|
|-
| align="center" rowspan="3"| 2002
|All For You
| Best Pop Vocal Album
|
|-
|"All For You"
| Best Dance Recording
|
|-
| Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis
| Producer of the Year, Non-Classical
|
|-
| align="center"|2003
| Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis
| Producer of the Year, Non-Classical
|
|-
| align="center"|2004
| Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis
| Producer of the Year, Non-Classical
|
|-
| align="center" rowspan="3"| 2005
| Confessions
| Album of the Year
|
|-
|Damita Jo
| Best Contemporary R&B Album
|
|-
| Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis
| Producer of the Year, Non-Classical
|
|-
| align="center" rowspan="3"| 2006
| Love. Angel. Music. Baby.
| Album of the Year
|
|-
| "Be Blessed"
| Best Gospel Song
|
|-
| Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis
| Producer of the Year, Non-Classical
|
|-
| align="center"| 2007
|20 Y.O.
| Best Contemporary R&B Album
|
|-
| align="center"| 2008
|Funk This
| Best R&B Album
|
|-
| align="center"| 2016
|Forever Charlie
| Best R&B Album
|
|-
|}
References
External links
- Flyte Tyme Productions
- SoulMusic.com
- BBC Interview, May 2005
- Le groupe SoulRnB.com consacré à Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis