“I never had as much fun as I had with the original seven… and it ain’t over yet,” Morris Day says wistfully on the spoken intro to his old band’s comeback record, Condensate. Morris Day and The Time – here renamed The Original 7ven because, well, mentor Prince’s copyright-related peccadilloes have gotten the better of him in recent years – may not have released an album together in 21 years, but you wouldn’t know that from listening to Condensate. Not only […]
Posts tagged "Terry Lewis"
Award Show Sundays: Jam & Lewis Are In Control
So, several of us on the site have been talking about doing an article on the best work of Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis. I think the reason we haven’t gotten it started yet is because it’s such a daunting task. Since their days in the Time, this Minneapolis twosome has been racking up the writing and producing credits for…well, everybody. A quick sampling of the artists that have benefited from their golden ears: Alexander O’ Neal, Mariah Carey, Karyn […]
The Blerd & Gonzo Cover Convo: “I Didn’t Mean to Turn You On”
Hey y’all, and welcome to our latest column! For this column, my buddy Gonzo and I have decided to take a look at songs that have become more popular as covers than they did in their initial incarnations. For our inaugural post, we’ve decided to look at one of the biggest hits of the Eighties-“I Didn’t Mean to Turn You On”. Originally released in 1984 by Cherrelle, the song was a huge hit on the dance and R&B charts. However, the […]
Jheri Curl Fridays: “The Finest”
Before Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis became known as the team behind Janet Jackson’s astronomical success , they produced a series of R&B bangers for a range of artists including Patti Austin, Cheryl Lynn, and their Minneapolis homeboy Alexander O’ Neal. Their first solid success as a production team came at the top of 1983 with The S.O.S. Band’s “Just Be Good to Me”. That band had been more or less stuck in one hit-wonderville since their huge disco smash “Take Your Time (Do […]
Blerd’s Notes: A Guide to the Music of Prince: The Side Projects
Besides being an overall bad-ass, another thing Prince is well-known for is his stable of side projects.The desire to be known as a developer of talent in addition to being known as a talent himself ran strong in the little guy, and Prince started spitting out proteges almost as soon as he became a hit artist. Some of the artists went on to create great music (if not have lengthy careers), while other artists came and went in the blink […]
Award Show Sundays: Can You Stand the Rain?
I could write an entire article about the disappearance of the R&B group (matter of fact, I think I will at some point), but back in the late Eighties, there was no shortage of solid multi-member units. Check out the list of nominees for Best Album by a Duo, Group of Band at the 1989 Soul Train Music Awards. You had Guy’s influential debut album, which set the stage for the burgeoning hip-hop/R&B fusion. There was “Who?”, the solid debut […]
America, Have You Heard?? The Time is Back!!
Those of you who watched the Prince tribute on the BET Awards last night would not be wrong for wondering what happened to his many proteges. To that, I ask one question: WHAT TIME IS IT??? As my man Jason Mewes would say (OK, he’s not really my man), “Morris Day and the Motherfuckin’ Time” are back and preparing a new album for release this year. All of the original members are along for the ride, including super-producas Jimmy Jam […]