In collaboration with partner
Terry Lewis,
Jimmy Jam emerged as one of the most successful producers and writers of the 1980s, his long history of pace-setting R&B, club, and pop hits reaching its apex on a series of smash records for
Janet Jackson. Born
James Harris III in Minneapolis on June 6, 1959, he first met
Lewis in high school, and together they formed Flyte Tyme, a popular Twin Cities band which in 1981 evolved into
the Time, a group led by
Prince protégé
Morris Day. Shortly after the release of
the Time's
Prince-produced eponymous debut LP,
Jam and
Lewis formed Flyte Time Productions. In March 1983, while touring with
the Time in support of
Prince, the duo took advantage of a short break in their schedule to fly to Atlanta to produce a handful of tracks for the
S.O.S. Band's On the Rise LP. After a freak blizzard left
Jam and
Lewis stranded in Georgia and unable to make it to the next
Time show,
Prince dismissed them from the band; fortunately, their
S.O.S. Band track, "Just Be Good to Me," soon became a smash, and their career as producers was well on its way.
In quick succession,
Jam and
Lewis scored R&B hits for the likes of
Gladys Knight,
Patti Austin,
Thelma Houston, and
Klymaxx, their signature sound -- lush yet sleek, street-smart yet urbane -- immediately coming into focus. In 1985 they began their collaboration with
Jackson, who was at the time struggling to step out of the shadow of her famous musical family, most notably pop icon brother
Michael. The album which resulted, 1986's chart-topping
Control, made
Jackson a superstar, its cutting-edge grooves yielding a string of mammoth hits including "What Have You Done for Me Lately," "Nasty," "When I Think of You," "The Pleasure Principle," "Let's Wait Awhile," and the title track. The breakthrough success of
Control earned
Jam and
Lewis a Grammy Award as Producers of the Year, and they followed with
the Human League's chart-topping comeback smash "Human"; hits for
the Force M.D.'s ("Tender Love") and
Herb Alpert ("Keep Your Eye on Me") were quickly forthcoming, and the duo even produced tracks for Pia Zadora.
In 1989,
Jam and
Lewis reunited with
Jackson for
Rhythm Nation 1814, which proved so successful that it even surpassed the sales of
Control. Again, an onslaught of Top Ten hit singles followed, among them the number one triumphs "Miss You Much," "Escapade," and "Black Cat." From there the duo went on to work with
New Edition, not only helming the group's 1989 LP
Heart Break but also producing material for the 1990 solo debuts from members
Johnny Gill and
Ralph Tresvant. A year later,
Jam and
Lewis founded Perspective, a label backed by A&M Records; its inaugural release, the
Sounds of Blackness'
The Evolution of Gospel, won a Grammy. For
Lewis' wife
Karyn White, they also produced 1991's
Ritual of Love, which generated the chart-topping "Romantic."
Jackson's
janet. followed in 1993, debuting at the top of the charts on the strength of the number one hit "That's the Way Love Goes." Work for
Michael Jackson,
Boyz II Men,
Mary J. Blige, and
Vanessa Williams followed before
Jam and
Lewis rejoined
Janet Jackson for 1997's
The Velvet Rope. ~ Jason Ankeny