Songwriting and producer duo extraordinaire Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis are to be inducted into the Rock & Roll hall of fame on November 5 at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California. The pair hopes with their induction that more artists like them who don’t fit into the mold of the typical nominee will be recognized. Jam and Lewis have had more Number 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 than the other inductees combined.
Following the announcement, according to AP, the pair opened up about what the award meant to them and how they hoped it would be the first step of many to open the door for other artists.
“Songwriters are like farmers,” Jam began. “When you go to a nice restaurant, the chef is like an artist, and you thank him for the meal. But where did he get the food from? Without the farmer, he doesn’t have any food to cook. And that’s the way songwriters are to me.”
“I don’t know if you could ever recognize songwriters enough. I mean, they are the fuel that fuels everything,” Lewis continued. “There are great songwriters out there that never get the shine that they deserve.”
As a duo, unique among the other honorees, they both are grateful for the opportunity to bring recognition to songwriting in the same way that predecessors Gamble & Huff did for them.
“It’s wonderful and hopefully shines a spotlight on other people like us who do what we do that are deserving.”
Jam attempted to explain what he believed the cause of the difficulty to be – streaming sites.
“What it does is it devalues the music because it communicates the idea that music just comes out of nowhere. It doesn’t come out of nowhere. There’s people in this,” he expressed.
Although their career is starkly different from how it was before, Jam explained that they weren’t finished yet. “We’re kind of at a point in our careers where we don’t have anything to prove, but we still have a lot to say. We just want to leave music in a better place, whether it’s through technology, whether it’s through the songs we make, whether it’s the people we influence that are making music now.”
Lewis and Jam’s list of credits are extensive, including “Janet Jackson’s “When I Think of You;” Mariah Carey’s “Thank God I Found You;” George Michael’s “Monkey;” Boyz II Men’s “On Bended Knee;” Janet and Michael Jackson’s “Scream;” and Mary J. Blige’s “No More Drama.”,” In addition to all of the popular songs they’ve spearheaded, they’re members of the Songwriting Hall of Fame and have five Grammys.
Also being inducted this Saturday into the 37th Annual Rock & Roll Hall of Fame will be Pat Benatar, Duran Duran, Eminem, Eurythmics, Dolly Parton, Lionel Richie, and Carly Simon in the performer’s category.
