Jimmy Jam (born James Harris III in Minneapolis, Minnesota on June 6, 1959) and Terry Lewis (born November 21, 1956 in Omaha, Nebraska) are an R&B and pop songwriting and record production team who enjoyed great success in the 1980s with various artists, most notably Janet Jackson.

The pair met in high school in Minneapolis and formed a band called Flyte Time, later The Time. In 1981, they were joined by Morris Day and toured with Prince as Morris Day & the Time. The pair were fired from the tour because a blizzard left them unable to rejoin after a short break to produce the SOS Band. However, one of the tracks they were producing, "Just Be Good To Me", became a big hit and made their reputation (as well as the SOS Band's).

After working with artists like Gladys Knight and Luther Vandross they were introduced to Janet Jackson and produced her breakthrough album Control in 1986, for which the duo won a Grammy Award. Their collaboration on her next album, 1989's Rhythm Nation 1814, was even more successful.

Since that time they have founded a record label, "Perspective", and worked with artists including Michael Jackson, Boyz II Men, Mary J. Blige and Janet Jackson.

External Links

• Jimmy Jam biography at Yahoo.com
• Terry Lewis biography at Yahoo.com