A self-confessed nerd, James “Jimmy Jam” Harris read liner notes and knew every studio, engineer, producer, and writer, researching connections to see where things overlapped. “Our first hit was S.O.S. Band’s ‘Just Be Good To Me.’ When we were going to mix,” says Harris. “I said we’ve got to get Steve Hodge at Larrabee Sound. We had never even met Steve when he did the first record for us, [but] I saw his name on liner notes of a bunch of records I liked. We ended up working together for almost 20 years.”
He watched every Billboard chart and knew every radio station. Says Harris, “[It] is not about waiting for things to happen but preparing for things to happen—that was my philosophy.” As labels encouraged radio press, Harris offered input about stations playing their music. “Now it’s social media, a different way of doing things,” he says, “but my favorite thing is music discovery. Every day I discover somebody new.” If you want to work with a certain artist, Harris suggests looking for their publisher, label, or someone on their team, and exploring whether you have a song that connects with them or adds something that’s missing. “Use your energy in a productive way, aiming towards what you really want.”
Learning came from doing.Drumming in his father’s band at 12 years old, Harris says, “that was my first professional gig. Much of our education about writing or producing came from playing in local bands growing up… Terry always says you don’t learn until you get booed. You gotta make the wrong song choice or something—that teaches you the right things. [Terry] calls that ‘seasoning.’” Harris says Olivia Dean is the best example of great new music, adding, “I’m beginning to hear more of that, rather than the instant microwave popcorn theory of doing stuff.”
Risks came from ignorance. “We didn’t know what not to do. Specific cities had specific sounds: Detroit with Motown, Philadelphia with Philadelphia International. Minneapolis was a hybrid because we got New York, Chicago, L.A. records. Mixing a funky beat with rock guitar [and] putting a string ensemble on top of it was kind of a ‘why not do that?' We didn’t know better. Choices made were a bit out of ignorance—it wasn’t trendy. Our influences were pop because there was [only] one black radio station and it only had a couple mile radius. James Brown [and] Motown stuff got played, but we were listening to Seals & Crofts, Bread, America, and Chicago.”
Songwriting is about good conversations. “Janet [Jackson] is a great example. We thought we could bring something to the equation she didn’t have: attitude, beat-driven [sound], and aggression. After talking about what she wanted, we showed her lyrics (that became ‘Control’). That’s when she realized conversation was becoming music” (eight albums together produced five award-winners). “It’s a series of problem-solving, figuring it out, trying to put people in a position to succeed,” says Harris.
The ‘ceremony of listening’ is making a comeback. Buying vinyl and a turntable for his son, Harris says, “He loved it. It wasn’t that it necessarily sounded better, but appreciation for having to do a little work, watching the record spin, blowing the needle—you have liner notes in front of you, you can see where it was recorded, who engineered it—that’s the way I grew up. I see people fall in love with vinyl, so I’m encouraged.”
Multi-award-winning Songwriter and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Inductees, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis’ evolving charity single “Someday Has Begun” (from The Next Verse) supports 100billionmeals.org, including contributions from Stevie Wonder, H.E.R., Taylor Dayne, Michael Macdonald, Giveon, and more. 2026’s sellout residency at Las Vegas’ Voltaire (with surprises from Yolanda Adams, Stokeley Williams, Chanté Moore, Lettuce) “Nothing But Hits” returns in August, with additional fundraising efforts planned.
Contact Jo-Ann Geffen, JAG Entertainment - jgeffen@jagpr.com
Visit Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, jamlewis.com
