Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis

4 songs 2 albums

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.