Jellybean Johnson, a Minneapolis musical trailblazer and founding member of Prince-affiliated band the Time, died Friday, Nov. 21, just two days after his 69th birthday.
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Born Garry George Johnson in Chicago, Illinois, the multi-instrumentalist moved to Minneapolis at age 13. He began drum lessons that same year, teaching himself to play guitar two years later. By the age of 28, Jellybean Johnson was “a seasoned musical savant,” according to vocalist Susannah Melvoin, who performed alongside Johnson in Prince’s side project The Family.
“Jellybean was the master of loving you like no brother could !” Melvoin wrote in a social media tribute. “My big brother, who watched over me and anyone who he loved !”
Morris Day, lead singer of Morris Day and the Time, called Jellybean Johnson “a consummate musician” in a statement to Rolling Stone.
“All he ever wanted to do was play and talk music,” Day said. “Even after our concerts, he would find a local pub, get on stage, and Jam with the house band. I’m certain he’s up in heaven now with Prince assembling an All-Star lineup of some of the baddest musicians to ever do it. Bean will forever be missed.”
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Jellybean Johnson Helped Put Minneapolis on the Map
It didn’t take Jellybean Johnson long to find fellow music lovers in his North Minneapolis neighborhood. Those new pals included Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis, Day, and, of course, Prince.
“We would have this huge festival in the summertime, and all the rival bands and neighboring bands would come in to play in front of thousands of people out in the parking lot,” Johnson recalled during a 2021 interview with Fox 9 KMS. “So we cut our teeth doing that as youngsters.
Prince brought his friends with him after signing his first record deal at age 18, forming the Time and anointing Johnson as the drummer.
“Prince told Morris [Day], ‘You go back and get Jellybean, and we’ll do the band,” Johnson said.
After the Time split, the towering 6’4 musician found work as a producer. He worked with many big names, including Janet Jackson, with whom he co-produced the 1990 No. 1 hit “Black Cat.”
Featured image by Scott Dudelson/Getty Images
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