Alexander O'Neal is an American R&B singer, songwriter and arranger from Natchez, Mississippi.
Tabu Productions was an American record label founded by Clarence Avant in 1975. It focused on R&B and funk.
James Samuel "Jimmy Jam" Harris III and Terry Steven Lewis are an American R&B/pop songwriting and record production team. Their productions have received commercial success since the 1980s with various artists, most extensively Janet Jackson. They have written 31 top ten hits in the UK and 41 in the US. In 2022, the duo were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the Musical Excellence category.
The Time, also known as Morris Day and the Time and The Original 7ven, is an American funk rock band founded in Minneapolis in 1981. They contributed to the development of the Minneapolis sound, an eclectic fusion of funk, R&B, new wave, synth-pop and dance. Led by singer-songwriter Morris Day, the band members are known for having been close associates of musician Prince, and are arguably the most successful artists who have worked with him, achieving success with singles such as "Get It Up", "The Bird", "Cool", "777-9311", "Jungle Love" and "Jerk Out".
The Family was a band formed by Prince, and one of the first signed to Prince's record label, Paisley Park Records. The band reformed as fDeluxe in 2011. This band should not be confused with a 1970s Minneapolis R&B band of the same name.
Sounds of Blackness is a vocal and instrumental ensemble from Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota who perform music from several genres music including gospel, R&B, soul, and jazz. The group scored several hits on the Billboard R&B and Hot Dance Music/Club Play charts in the 1990s. Cynthia Johnson of Lipps Inc. and Ann Nesby are the group's most prominent alumni.
Garry George "Jellybean" Johnson is an American drummer, guitarist, songwriter, producer and musician based out of Minneapolis, Minnesota. As the drummer for The Time, Johnson worked alongside famed producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, and recorded with and/or produced many notable artists including Alexander O'Neal, Cherrelle, New Edition and Janet Jackson, with whom he had the 1990 #1 single, "Black Cat".
The Minneapolis sound is a subgenre of funk rock with elements of new wave and synth-pop, that was pioneered by Minneapolis, Minnesota-based musicians Prince and André Cymone in the late 1970s. Its popularity was given a boost throughout the 1980s by Prince and groups he organized or produced, including the Time, Vanity 6, Apollonia 6, Sheila E., the Family, and the offshoots from his band the Revolution, Wendy & Lisa and Brownmark. After leaving the Time, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, Morris Day, and Jesse Johnson all moved on to successful careers. Minnesota acts indirectly associated with or not associated with Prince also utilized this musical style, including Ta Mara & the Seen, Mazarati and the Jets.
Jerome Benton is an American musical performer, backup dancer and comedic actor. He can be seen in music videos by Janet Jackson and Prince, but he is known for his association with Morris Day and The Time.
Funk rock is a fusion genre that mixes elements of funk and rock. James Brown and others declared that Little Richard and his mid-1950s road band, the Upsetters, were the first to put the funk in the rock and roll beat, with a biographer stating that their music "spark[ed] the musical transition from fifties rock and roll to sixties funk".
Lo-Key? is an American hip hop/R&B band that formed in Kansas City, Missouri and Minneapolis, Minnesota. Their single, "I Got a Thang 4 Ya!" (1993), reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot R&B Singles chart, and No. 27 on the Hot 100.
Cynthia Johnson is an American singer, songwriter and television personality. She is best known as the lead singer of the band Lipps Inc. with the worldwide smash hit "Funkytown".
Spencer Bernard is an American songwriter, record producer, and musician. He is a long-time associate of hitmakers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis and a part of the Flyte Tyme Productions crew. Throughout his career he has done session work for Janet Jackson, Cherrelle, Nona Hendryx, and New Edition. He also wrote songs for his wife Lisa Keith, Janet Jackson, and many others. He first joined Flyte Tyme while the bass player for Minneapolis-based band King's English.
Sands of Time is the sixth album by the R&B band the S.O.S. Band, released on the Tabu label in April 1986. It was produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. This would be the last album to feature original lead singer Mary Davis before she left the group to embark on a solo career.
Hearsay is the second solo studio album by American recording artist Alexander O'Neal. It was released on July 29, 1987 by Tabu and Epic as the follow-up to O'Neal's critically and commercially successful studio album Alexander O'Neal (1985). Hearsay explores similar genres to those of Alexander O'Neal including pop, R&B, soul, post-disco, funk, and adult contemporary music, while also incorporating a newer genre, new jack swing. The songs were recorded from 1986 to 1987 in sessions that took place at Flyte Time Productions, Inc. Studio A & B in Minneapolis, Minnesota, assisted by R&B songwriting and record production team Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. It features contributions from guest musicians, including Cherrelle, David Eiland, and Lisa Keith, and is generally regarded as the culmination of the smoother, more adult-oriented sound of O'Neal's early work.
Fragile is the debut studio album by American singer Cherrelle. It was released on April 8, 1984 by Tabu Records and was the first of four records for the label.
Change of Heart is the fifth studio album by the Italian/U.S. ensemble Change. It was released in 1984 and reached number one hundred and two on the US Billboard Album Chart, fifteen on the US Billboard Black Albums chart, and number thirty-four on the UK Albums Chart. Change of Heart includes the singles "Change of Heart", "It Burns Me Up", "You Are My Melody" and "Say You Love Me Again".
Just the Way You Like It is the fifth album released by the R&B band The S.O.S. Band on the Tabu label in August 1984. It was produced mostly by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis with additional production from the band themselves.
This Thing Called Love: The Greatest Hits of Alexander O'Neal is a compilation album by American recording artist Alexander O'Neal, released in 1992 by Tabu Records. It includes tracks from three of O'Neal's previous studio albums: Alexander O'Neal (1985), Hearsay (1987) and All True Man (1991).
Jam & Lewis: Volume One is the debut studio album by American R&B production duo Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. It was released through their label Flyte Tyme Records in conjunction with BMG on July 9, 2021.
