The musical journey of Jellybean Johnson

“That was Mom’s way of making sure I was serious about all this,” said Jellybean Johnson, explaining how as a preteen he literally tore to shreds the first “budget” drum kit his mother bought for him. “The drums were a Christmas present. By Christmas night, I’d already destroyed them. So I went back to beating on her pots and pans. And the coffee table.”

In 1968, around the time he turned 12, the neighborhood gangs were heavily recruiting Johnson, so his mother decided to relocate the family from the West Side of Chicago to North Minneapolis. And he’s called the city home ever since.

“Over the years, I’ve often thought about how different life would have been for me if we had stayed down there,” Johnson revealed, crediting his mother for getting them out of Chicago. “There I was just trying to survive. Moving up here was a blessing from God. The right place and the right time. I found myself around kids that shared the same interests and dreams as me.”

Among those he met were an aspiring saxophonist known as David ‘Batman’ Eiland and a fellow left-handed drummer in the person of Morris Day. And Johnson also took note of a precocious youngster, approximately 18 months his junior, who went by the name of Prince.

It was with Eiland that Johnson formed Wars of Armageddon, which soon became Flyt Tyme, the principal rival to Prince’s high school band, Grand Central. 

A few years after Prince signed with Warner Bros. Records, he would pair both Day and guitarist Jesse Johnson with his former adversaries from Flyt Tyme to create what Prince later said was “the only band I was ever afraid of ”—The Time. Keeping the beat for The Time was, of course, Jellybean Johnson, whom Prince frequently referred to as “the best drummer in R&B.” 

More than four decades later, Johnson continues to hold it down for the outfit that is now billed as Morris Day and The Time. That said, he’s done a whole lot more. 

After the “original 7ven” members of The Time disbanded in 1984, Prince brought Johnson into the fold of the first group he ever signed to Paisley Park Records—the all-time fan favorite, The Family. 

Plus, as an integral part of Flyte Tyme Productions from the mid-80s to the early-90s, Johnson wrote and/or produced hits for the likes of Alexander O’Neal, Janet Jackson, Nona Hendryx, New Edition, and Mint Condition. That includes Jackson’s classic rocker “Black Cat,” which made it to number-one on the Billboard Hot 100 and charted in more than a dozen other countries, reaching the top 10 in Ireland, Australia, Canada, Norway and South Africa among others.

Moreover, Johnson’s percussion, songwriting, and production skills are not the only thing he brings to the table. He is a sensational guitarist, responsible for some of the most memorable solos in Minneapolis Sound history on songs such as O’Neal’s “Innocent” and Jackson’s “You Can Be Mine.”

Regarding his 40-plus year tenure with The Time, who are out on the road regularly, Johnson marvels at the response they receive whenever they take the stage.

“We do a lot of shows with bands from our heyday,” he notes, “and the way people embrace us compared to the others…we’re second to none. It’s an amazing feeling.” 

If you’re not fortunate enough to catch ‘Bean,” as he is affectionately known, performing with Day and the rest of the “fellas” across the nation, you just might see him here at home with St. Paul & the Minneapolis Funk All-Stars, fDeluxe, or his very own Jellybean Johnson Experience. Or, for that matter, with any number of younger performers who’ll invite Johnson up to play, showing proper respect to whom one might just call the eldest statesman of the Minneapolis Sound. 

“I have a lot of what I call musical nieces and nephews around town,” Johnson said, “younger people that may have seen me play growing up or learned about me from their parents. I’ve always been in the trenches with them, trying to teach them all the things that I’ve learned along the way.”

A 2022 Soul Train Legends Award honoree, Johnson’s most recent undertaking is his vision for the Minneapolis Sound Museum, a 501(c) organization seeking a permanent home that will become a living tribute to one the most influential forces in the history of popular music. It’s what he hopes his legacy will be, although Johnson is quick to deflect. 

“This is not about me. This is for all of us. Sure, Prince is the originator, but he had help. Think about all the talent that has come out of this city. No one has a music scene like we do. And it was all started by some kids over North. 

“The Minneapolis Sound means so much to the world. We just want to tell that story.”