Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis

Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis

Artist

Superproducer duo Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis met during their teenage years at a summer camp. Jimmy had cut his teeth writing and producing for a band called Mind & Matter. Terry meanwhile was part of a rival group called Flyte Tyme which they would eventually name their production company after.

At one point, the two tried out for Prince and became members of the band The Time, but after a snowstorm caused them to miss a Time gig while they were producing tracks for The S.O.S. Band, the two were fired from the group. Fortunately, their songs for S.O.S. became smash hits, and their career as producers was off to a running start.

The two would most famously be responsible for helping shape the illustrious career of pop princess Janet Jackson from her 1986 breakthrough album Control even up to her 2015 comeback album Unbreakable.

The hits would keep coming with Jam & Lewis racking up hit-after-hit for New Edition, Cherrelle, Alexander O'Neal, Mary J. Blige, Mariah Carey, Usher, Rod Stewart, Chaka Khan, and even Michael Jackson.

Jam & Lewis are rarely seen in public without 2-piece suits and their trademark fedoras, which have become iconic for them, also being worked into the logo of their Flyte Tyme production company.

The two have earned over 100 gold, platinum, and diamond RIAA certifications; an Academy Award nomination for “Again” from Poetic Justice; and five Grammy wins, including one for Producer of the Year, a category they were nominated in 11 times over their career. With 16 #1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, 26 #1s on R&B, no other production duo has scored more #1 hits and theirs have the distinction of spanning 3 consecutive decades, and they continue to actively produce and innovate.