Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis

They are one of the greatest writing and production teams in soul music history, and all that greatness came together on the day they were fired by Prince.

Jimmy Jam (James Samuel Harris III) and Terry Lewis first met at a Minnesota music summer camp as teenagers. They quickly became friends and musical “mutual admirers,” and continued to run into each other in various bands in which they played in the Minneapolis area. Lewis formed the local band Flyte Tyme, and Jam later joined, as the band developed a reputation as the best R&B band in the area. Local musical icon Prince helped the band get signed to Warner Brother, and added Morris Day as lead singer.

The Time was an instant success, scoring scored a string of hits in the early 80s such as “Cool,” “777-9311” and “Jungle Love,”  but with Prince musically dominating the group’s albums, keyboardist Jam and bassist Lewis felt they weren’t getting the opportunity to flex their musical muscles.

With help from popular SOLAR producer Leon Sylvers, Jam & Lewis began stretching their wings, working outside of The Time with Klymaxx. But their big break came when the “Black Godfather,” music executive Clarence Avant, teamed them with an up-and-coming act called the SOS Band for a production session.

The pairing of Jam & Lewis with SOS spelled the end of the duo’s membership in The Time, as Prince fired them for working outside of the band. Now free – for better or worse – Jam and Lewis focused on their production work and immediately had a smash with the SOS Band’s “Just Be Good To Me,” a #2 hit.

The unique funk sound that Jam & Lewis delivered, complete with an upfront 808 beat, was the fresh sound of R&B for the next decade. Writing and producing for a who’s who of artists such as Alexander O’Neal, Cherelle, Human League, Herb Alpert, Cheryl Lynn, Mariah Carey, and particularly Janet Jackson, Jam & Lewis landed over 40 Top Ten hits, and several awards.

The duo started their own music label, Perspective Records, and released hit albums on Sounds of Blackness, Solo, Mint Condition and more. In addition to being Grammy Award winners, they also became influential in the organization, with Jam serving as Chair of NARAS, the Grammy organization.

Jam & Lewis have never stopped working, continuing to produce mostly adult R&B acts through the first two decades of the 21st century. And in 2021, after nearly 40 years in the spotlight, they finally released their debut album, Jam & Lewis, Vol. 1, a well-received album on which they worked with many of their favorite artists.

By Chris Rizik