NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame this year will induct Eminem, Dolly Parton, Lionel Richie, Carly Simon and two guys in sunglasses who have scored more No. 1s on the Billboard Hot 100 than all of those other acts combined.
Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis are the rare songwriting and producing team to get into the prestigious hall, and they hope it will lead to more artists like them being inducted.
鈥淪ongwriters are like farmers,鈥� said Jam. 鈥淲hen you go to a nice restaurant, the chef is like the artist and you thank him for the meal. But where did he get the food from? Without the farmer, he doesn鈥檛 have any food to cook. And that鈥檚 the way songwriters are to me.鈥�
The duo's chart-topping pop hits include Janet Jackson鈥檚 鈥淲hen I Think of You;鈥� Mariah Carey鈥檚 鈥淭hank God I Found You;鈥� George Michael鈥檚 鈥淢onkey;鈥� Boyz II Men鈥檚 鈥淥n Bended Knee;鈥� Janet and Michael Jackson's 鈥淪cream;鈥� and Mary J. Blige鈥檚 鈥淣o More Drama.鈥� They have five Grammys and went into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2017.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know if you could ever recognize songwriters enough. I mean, they are the fuel that fuels everything,鈥� said Lewis. 鈥淭here are great songwriters out there that never get the shine that they deserve.鈥�
One song in particular might typify the Jam and Lewis range 鈥� which combines a folk sample from Joni Mitchell, the hip-hop of Q-Tip and Janet Jackson's R&B voice. 鈥淲e鈥檙e kind of at a crossroads or an intersection of a lot of different music,鈥� said Jam.
Jam and Lewis started out in competing bands and became part of Prince鈥檚 band, The Time, in Minneapolis. After parting ways with The Purple One, the duo established a recording studio and production company. Their collaboration with Janet Jackson on her monster albums 鈥淐ontrol鈥� and 鈥淩hythm Nation 1814鈥� solidified them as hitmakers.
The Rock Hall on Saturday will also induct Eurythmics, Duran Duran, Judas Priest, Harry Belafonte, Elizabeth Cotten and Pat Benatar. Jam anticipated that one act closely associated with the duo would be the one who inducts them but didn't go into specifics, raising speculation that it will be Janet Jackson.
They credit music executive Clarence Avant and an earlier songwriting powerhouse duo, Gamble & Huff, for showing the way forward. They hope to do the same with their induction: 鈥淚t鈥檚 wonderful and hopefully shines a spotlight on other people like us who do what we do that are deserving.鈥�
They grew up listening to different genres. Jam was a pop fan, soaking in Seals and Crofts, America and Chicago. Lewis leaned more toward Parliament-Funkadelic and Earth, Wind & Fire. 鈥淭erry liked the funky bottom. I like the pretty top,鈥� said Jam. You can hear that combo throughout their career, starting with their first hit,
They鈥檙e responsible for more than 50 Billboard No. 1 songs on the pop, R&B and dance charts for everyone from Rod Stewart and Sting to Patti LaBelle. They tailor the song to the artist and choose for themselves a non-nonsense wardrobe of black suits and sunglasses. Next year, they celebrate their partnership hitting its 50th anniversary.
鈥淲e鈥檙e kind of at a point of our careers where we don鈥檛 have anything to prove, but we still have a lot to say,鈥� said Jam. 鈥淲e just want to leave music in a better place, whether it鈥檚 through technology, whether it鈥檚 through the songs we make, whether it鈥檚 the people we influence that are making music now.鈥�
Turn on the radio and you will likely immediately hear the influence of Jam and Lewis. Famed Swedish producer Max Martin channeled the duo while crafting hits for Britney Spears, the Backstreet Boys and NSYNC. Charlie Puth is a fan, and
One thing Jam and Lewis would like to see change is more recognition for the folks behind the tunes. Lewis worries that music today is often seen like a utility, a faceless service like water or electricity that's taken for granted. Jam misses the days when a record sleeve included tons of information about the music makers, like the name of the engineer and mixer.
鈥淭he reason we鈥檙e writers and producers now is because we could look at records back in the day and instantly see who produced it and who wrote it,鈥� said Jam.
These days, it's hard to find credits on streaming sites and the duo think that's a problem. 鈥淲hat it does is it devalues the music because it communicates the idea that music just comes out of nowhere. It doesn鈥檛 come out of nowhere. There鈥檚 people in this,鈥� Jam said.
After decades of making music for other people, Jam and Lewis last year made their debut album as artists, featuring Babyface, Toni Braxton and Mariah Carey. They plan on more such albums and hope to perform live next year, too.
The goal then 鈥� as it always has been for these men who push the sonic envelope 鈥� is to build a musical bridge in this time of divisions.
鈥淚t's all about taking people 鈥� young, old, white, Black, straight, gay, Democrat or Republican, whatever 鈥� and for the time we鈥檙e on stage, bring all of them together,鈥� said Jam. 鈥淚f you could do that, that to me is the magic of music.鈥�
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Mark Kennedy is at
Mark Kennedy, The Associated Press
