Jimmy Jam

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 protege 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.

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