I remember at the height of “Human”‘s success, someone (I’m fairly sure it was Donnie Simpson on BET’s “Video Soul”, but I’m not 100% positive) remarking that it was the “hardest” sounding slow jam that he’d ever heard. That’s the truth. Slow jams were…well, soft. “Human” was sensitive, but the beat kicked. Producers Jimmy Jam… Read More “Human” by The Human League (1986)
“Home Again” exists in a weird musical space. To this day, you don’t hear many songs by men, about the platonic relationships between men. Men expressing feelings towards other men (unless they are related by blood or are sexual in nature) is still pretty taboo–so taboo that I even started a podcast talking about it… Read More “Home Again” by New Edition (1996)
Jon Secada is one of those dudes who was huge for a minute, but mention his name to anyone under 35 and you will get universal blank stares. “Heaven Is You” comes from his third English-language album, 1997’s Secada. Jon shored up his R&B bona-fides by working with Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, who’d spent… Read More “Heaven Is You” by Jon Secada (1997)
“Got ‘til It’s Gone” has to be one of the least safe lead singles to be released as the first single from a highly anticipated pop project. Janet Jackson was coming off the twin triumphs of 1993’s janet and a 1995 greatest hits collection when she began to prepare what became The Velvet Rope. For… Read More “Got ‘Til It’s Gone” by Janet Jackson feat. Q-Tip & Joni Mitchell (1997)
There were many new images Janet Jackson presented to the public on Control, including that of sexy Janet. Even though she’d been married and divorced by the time her breakthrough album hit the shelves, I can’t imagine that very many people thought of Penny from Good Times as a sexual being. “Funny How Time Flies… Read More “Funny How Time Flies (When You’re Having Fun)” by Janet Jackson (1986)
The S.O.S. Band were the first act that Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis did consistent production for. 1986’s Sands of Time was the sixth S.O.S. album overall, and the third to benefit from Jam & Lewis’s involvement. There will be other S.O.S./Jam & Lewis team-ups on this list, and I’ll go further in depth on… Read More “The Finest” by The S.O.S. Band (1986)
Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis were so at the top of their game in 1987 that they could rip themselves off and still sound fresh. “Fake”, the first single from Alexander O’Neal’s sophomore effort, Hearsay (one of the all time classic ’80s R&B records), is a musical descendant of Janet Jackson’s “Nasty”. It’s a little… Read More “Fake” by Alexander O’Neal (1987)
“Encore” was the second and last #1 R&B record for Cheryl Lynn (you’ll hear about the first when we get to the “G”s). It was also the very first #1 R&B record produced by Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis (who probably have at least one song placement in every letter of the alphabet on this… Read More “Encore” by Cheryl Lynn (1983)
I have a lot to say about The Velvet Rope, the Janet Jackson album that “Empty” appears on. So much to say that I’ve considered drafting a proposal and sending it to the folks at 33 ⅓ (the folks that put out books about records). The Velvet Rope was a ridiculously daring album, graphic in… Read More “Empty” by Janet Jackson (1997)
On the Heart Break album, “Crucial” was one of the more incidental tracks. Despite most of the album being produced by Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, the LP version of “Crucial” was helmed by former Time drummer Jellybean Johnson. It was a decent Minneapolis funk song. Not bad, but not a standout. Remixed and issued as Heart… Read More “Crucial (single remix)” by New Edition (1989)
Five Star Jamz 