JIMMY JAM & TERRY LEWIS: TURNING A HITMAKING LEGACY INTO TOURING

Moderated by: Gary Guidry, Black Promoters Collective

Gary Guidry opened by calling the session a personal dream. A church drummer turned promoter, he said Jam and Lewis were the people he thought he would grow up to be, before he moved to the business side.

Roots in Minneapolis and a Partnership that Lasted

“For us it started in Minneapolis,” Jimmy Jam said. “We played clubs, everywhere. Live music was our school.” Jam began as a drummer until Terry told him, “You are a drummer, you should be able to play keyboards,” nudging him toward the role the world now knows.

Terry described growing up in Omaha, then hustling snow shoveling money after moving to Minneapolis. “I put a bass on layaway at Montgomery Ward,” he said. “When I finally got it out, that was it.”

Their bands crossed often. Terry’s band Flight Time became a local institution. Jam played in several groups but always joined Terry in the studio. “Whenever we recorded, I called Jam,” Terry said. “He was always part of the records.”

They eventually became The Time under Prince and Morris Day. Being a local cover band had trained them well. “Learning everyone else’s hits taught us how records are built,” Jam said. He also DJed, watching which songs filled a dance floor and which emptied it. “Our roots were in live performance long before we had a hit.”

Their partnership rules are simple. “In fifty years, we have never had an argument,” Terry said. “Arguments are about winning and losing. I never want my partner to lose. We have disagreements instead. A disagreement is something you solve together. The best idea wins, not my idea or his.”

Fired by Prince, Saved by the S O S Band

Jam and Lewis wanted to write and produce for others, which clashed with Prince’s rules. While on the 1999 tour they sneaked to Atlanta to cut songs for The S O S Band at Clarence Avant’s request. A light snow shut the airport, and they missed a date with TheTime.

Later in Los Angeles, Prince confronted them. “He said, did you produce The S O S Band,” Jam recalled. “We said yes. He said, you are fired.” Jam walked out, Terry tried to reason with him, but the decision held.

They went straight to another studio to mix “Just Be Good To Me” with engineer Steve Hodge. “We told him we had just been fired,” Jam said. “He said, that is messed up, but this song is a smash.” When the huge S O S Band track came out of the speakers, they knew their future had shifted.

That record crystallized their blend of “funky bottom, pretty top.” Jam brought pop chords in the style of Chicago and the Carpenters. Terry came from Parliament Funkadelic. “We finally found a way to put a pretty melody over a relentless bass,” Jam said.

From the start they chose to tailor each artist. “Every act should sound the most like themselves,” Jam explained. “The common thread is in the stitching. If you look closely you can tell it is Jam and Lewis, but the suit is made for that artist.”

Janet Jackson: Control and Letting the Artist Speak

Their work with Janet Jackson came when A & M executive, John McClain, asked who else on his roster they wanted to produce. Both men independently pointed to Janet. “We said we want to do Janet and we want the whole album,” Jam said.

They saw a strong, witty personality from her television appearances that her records did not reflect. They brought her to Minneapolis with one friend and a Thomas Guide. She drove herself around, without security, and started to grow into her own life while they hung out for several days.

When she finally asked when they would start work, they showed her the opening lyric to what became “Control” about doing what her parents told her and wanting her own voice. “She said, this is what we have been talking about,” Jam recalled. “We said yes. She asked if everything we talked about would become songs. We said yes. Nobody had asked her for her ideas before.”

Control was recorded loudly and roughly by Jam and Lewis, then polished by Steve Hodge. “It sounds the way it does partly because we made mistakes,” Jam said. “But her stories are what made it powerful.”

New Edition, Johnny Gill and the Branches that Followed

MCA executive Gerald Busby asked which male singer he should sign. Jam and Lewis recommended Johnny Gill. They expected to produce his solo project. Instead, Johnny was placed into New Edition, which split the group. Two members wanted him, two did not.

Jam and Lewis gathered everyone in a room. Jam told Johnny, “You will not sing lead on this album. It is Ralph’s group. How do you feel about that” Johnny replied, “I am a team player, whatever you need.” That answer relaxed the tension and led to a strong bond between Ralph and Johnny.

They eventually gave Johnny the lead vocal on “Boys to Men,” which later inspired the name for Boyz II Men. The group that impressed Michael Bivins at their audition sang “Can You Stand the Rain,” another Jam and Lewis song.

They also nudged Ronnie, Ricky and Mike toward their own chapter. “We told them, you two rap and Ricky sings,” Jam said. “That is your group.” That idea became Bel Biv DeVoe, whose hit “Poison” would become a classic even though Jam and Lewis did not produce it.

“New Edition is family,” Jam said. “We love seeing all the branches of that tree still moving on the road.”

Inspiration, Slumps and Technology

Terry spoke openly about burnout. “I sat on Jam’s floor and said I did not want to do this anymore,” he said. “Some artists just show up and give you nothing. That kills inspiration.”

A young Usher changed that. “He pulled me back in,” Terry said. Together they made key tracks on 8701 and Confessions. “You can do this on craft,” he said, “but when an artist walks in with ideas and energy, that is when it becomes special.”

They refuse to fear new tools. “There were drummers who would not touch drum machines and they disappeared,” Terry said. “We always tried to embrace technology and shape it to fit us and the artist.” Quincy Jones once told him, “You are only as old as your ability to accept and process new things.” That line still guides their choices.

Why They Are Stepping Onstage Now

At their Songwriters Hall of Fame induction, Jam and Lewis named three unfinished goals. Work with Babyface. Finish a Jam and Lewis album. Play their catalog live. They have now done all three, with the live chapter still growing.

“We have our own hits to play,” Jam said. “We know how they should sound. We can take you from The Time and S O S Band to Janet, New Edition, Usher and beyond. It is musical time travel.”

Terry said being onstage again makes him feel young. “It is full circle,” he said. “You get energy from the crowd and send it back. In the studio you chase perfection. Live is about the moment. You can make a mistake, laugh and keep going.”

Shows often feature surprise guests from their circle. The focus, however, is on the songs and on the crowd. They also add brief stories that change how people hear familiar tracks.

Jam summed up what he wants people to feel when they leave. “Togetherness,” he said. “You see every kind of person in the room. For two hours everybody is one. We need that. Music is the divine art. We are just the delivery system. If we can leave music in a better place, we will leave the world in a better place.”

Key Takeaways

• Live experience shaped their instincts long before the first hit.
• Their partnership is built on solving disagreements rather than winning arguments.
• They tailor sound to each artist instead of stamping one style on everyone.
• Asking artists for their real stories, as with Janet and New Edition, creates lasting work.
• Inspiration and curiosity, not fear, guide how they face technology and industry change.
• The new Jam and Lewis live show aims to connect generations in one room through songs they already love.