Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis: Top 50 Songs

Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis Top 50 Songs

Jimmy Jam was born James Samuel Harris III on 6/6/1959 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Terry Lewis was born 11/24/1956 in Omaha, Nebraska. The two met while in high school in Minneapolis. In 1981, they joined The Time and toured as Prince’s opening act. Click here to see other best-of lists from performers and here to see other best-of lists from songwriters and/or producers. A year later, they began their journey toward record production and songwriting when they met music executive Dina R. Andrews of SOLAR Records. They began working with the S.O.S. Band, Cherelle, and Alexander O’Neal. They got their big break when they produced Janet Jackson’s 1986 Control album and ended up regularly collaborating with her.

Awards:

Top 50 Songs Dave’s Music Database lists are determined by song’s appearances on best-of lists as well as chart success, sales, radio airplay, streaming, and awards. DMDB Top 1%: 1. Janet Jackson “That’s the Way Love Goes” (1993) 2. Boyz II Men “On Bended Knee” (1994) DMDB Top 2%: 3. Janet Jackson “Miss You Much” (1989) 4. Janet Jackson “All for You” (2001) 5. Janet Jackson “Nasty” (1986) DMDB Top 5%: 6. Janet Jackson “Love Will Never Do Without You” (1989) 7. Janet Jackson “Again” (1993) 8. Janet Jackson “Escapade” (1989) 9. Janet Jackson “Together Again” (1997) 10. The Human League “Human” (1986) DMDB Top 10%: 11. Michael Jackson & Janet Jackson “Scream” (1995) 12. Janet Jackson “Control” (1986) 13. Janet Jackson “Rhythm Nation” (1989) 14. Johnny Gill “Rub You the Right Way” (1990) 15. Janet Jackson “Doesn’t Really Matter” (2000) 16. Janet Jackson “What Have You Done for Me Lately” (1986) 17. New Edition “If It Isn’t Love” (1988) 18. Ralph Tresvant “Sensitivity” (1990) 19. Janet Jackson “Come Back to Me” (1989) 20. Janet Jackson “When I Think of You” (1986) 21. Janet Jackson “Any Time, Any Place” (1993) 22. Janet Jackson “If” (1993) 23. Mary J. Blige “No More Drama” (2001) 24. Janet Jackson “Someone to Call My Lover” (2001) DMDB Top 20%: 25. Karyn White “Romantic” (1991) 26. Mariah Carey with Joe & 90 Degrees “Thank God I Found You” (1999) 27. Boyz II Men “4 Seasons of Loneliness” (1997) 28. Janet Jackson “Let’s Wait Awhile” (1986) 29. The Time “Jerk Out” (1990) 30. Janet Jackson “Runaway” (1995) 31. Luther Vandross & Janet Jackson with Bell Biv DeVoe & Ralph Tresvant “The Best Things in Life Are Free” (1992) 32. The Force MD’s “Tender Love” <1985) 33. Lionel Richie “Don’t Wanna Lose You” (1996) 34. Herb Alpert with Janet Jackson & Lisa Keith “Diamonds” (1987) 35. Janet Jackson “Alright” (1989) DMDB Beyond the Top 20%: 36. Janet Jackson “Because of Love” (1993) 37. The S.O.S. Band “Just Be Good to Me” (1983) 38. The Human League “I Need Your Loving” (1986) 39. Janet Jackson “You Want This” (1993) 40. Janet Jackson with Q-Tip & Joni Mitchell “Got ‘Til It’s Gone” (1997) 41. Alexander O’Neal “Fake” (1987) 42. Herb Alpert with Lisa Keith “Making Love in the Rain” (1987) 43. Janet Jackson with Blackstreet “I Get Lonely” (1997) 44. Alexander O’Neal “All True Man” (1991) 45. Janet Jackson with Missy Elliott, P. Diddy, & Carly Simon “Son of a Gun (I Betcha Think This Song Is About You)” (2001) 46. Mya “Free” (2000) 47. Mariah Carey “Never Too Far” (2001) 48. Alexander O’Neal & Cherelle “Never Knew Love Like This” (1988) 49. Janet Jackson “State of the World” (1989) 50. Morris Day “Fishnet” (1988) Resources and Related Links: DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Jimmy Jam DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Terry Lewis Dave’s Music Database: “Best-of Lists for Performers” Dave’s Music Database: “Best-of Lists for Songwriters and/or Producers” First posted 5/15/2022.

Janet Jackson “That’s the Way Love Goes” hit #1

That’s the Way Love Goes Janet Jackson

Writer(s): James Harris III, Terry Lewis, Charles A. Bobbit, James Brown, Janet Jackson, John Starks, Fred Wesley Jr. (see lyrics here) Released: April 20, 1993 First Charted: April 23, 1993 Peak: 18 BB, 110 BA, 18 CB, 14 GR, 16 RR, 16 AC, 110 RB, 2 UK, 16 CN, 11 AU, 23 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 2.0 US, 0.21 UK, 3.0 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 1.0 radio, 25.9 video, 134.78 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: In the ‘80s and ‘90s, Janet Jackson was one of the few artists who could compete with big brother Michael’s chart success. Her 1986 Control album was the first in history to produce five top-5 hits. RC She then outdid herself with a record-breaking seven top-ten hits, RC including four #1s, on the follow-up, 1989’s Rhythm Nation. 1993’s janet. produced six more top-10 hits, including the #1 lead single, “That’s the Way Love Goes.” The song had a longer reign than any other chart-topper released by the Jackson family. SG Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, longtime producers with Janet, showcased a style where “samples blurred together seamlessly into a smooth, heady tower of…spacious, luxurious sound.” SG It was a bold choice as a lead single. It’s a “low-key song” SG that’s “pretty brazen in its sexuality” SG and “doesn’t really jump out of the speakers.” SG It is “slow-motion strut-music” SG that “works less as a song and more as an extended groove…but it’s a gorgeous, multifaceted groove.” SG That groove owes a debt to “the drum intro from the Honey Drippers’ “Impeach The President,” a 1973 protest-funk obscurity that went on to become one of the most-sampled tracks of all time.” SG Like many early ‘90s hits, the song is also built on a loop of a classic James Brown song – in this case, 1974’s “Papa Don’t Take No Mess.” Janet listened to it while on Christmas vacation and loved it. She wanted to use it for “That’s the Way Love Goes,” which was initially intended to be a breakup song. The she “had a late-night epiphany and decided that it should be a seduction song instead.” SG Jimmy Jam said, “We were all in very happy relationships, and we were in love, not only with the people we were in relationships with but with life in general. We’d been very successful professionally, and I think we were all feeling very satisfied with our personal lives, and that came out on the album… janet. was about a confident, sexy woman in touch with her feminine side. That was what she was feeling at that time, so our job was to enhance that.” FB Resources: FB Fred Bronson (2007). The Billboard Book of Number One Hits (4th edition). Billboard Books: New York, NY. Page 817. RC Rod Couch (2015). The Top 500 Songs of the Rock Era: 1955-2015. Pages 238-9. SG Stereogum (2/7/2022). “The Number Ones” by Tom Breihan WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 1/22/2024.