One-on-one with R&B producer Jimmy Jam

Celebrating 20 years of hits

Jimmy Jam -- trademark fedora on his head -- holds court at an event in Atlanta. The famed R&B producer is celebrating 20 years in the music business this year.

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- Jimmy Jam is having a big year. The producer, born James Harris, and partner Terry Lewis are celebrating a milestone in 2002 -- 20 years in the music industry as owners of Flyte Tyme Productions.

In that time, Jam and Lewis have worked with a diverse group of music's biggest artists, including Sting, Mariah Carey, and their protegee, Janet Jackson. The pair has won Grammys for their producing and their songwriting.

Later this month, they will add to their accolades when they take home an Essence Award, which honors excellence in the African-American community.

Before an event for the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS) in Atlanta, Jam tipped his signature fedora to CNN and spoke about his career in the music industry.

CNN: After 30 years of friendship, how do you and Terry Lewis keep it together professionally?

Jimmy Jam: You have to have the desire to stay together. ... I've known Terry since I was 13 years old. I've never had a desire to be without him in my life, and I think he feels the same way. We're very different people in a lot of ways. But morally, musically, ethically, we are the same. We believe that respect respects respect. Our relationship is based on respect.

We never got into the music business to be famous or to be rich or anything. We got into it because it's what we love doing, and we thought if that doesn't work, we'll go sell shoes or do whatever.

CNN: What would you say is the key to longevity in the music industry?

Jam: To use a sports analogy, in order to get hits you have to be able to get up at bat! I think a lot of people take themselves out of the game through not living smart. Whether it is lifestyle decisions that are wrong; whether it's substance abuse; whether it's breaking the law or whatever.

We figure, at the basics of what we did -- try to do a good quality product, try to turn it in on time, try to keep within the budget --- that those things would continue to get us work even if the records weren't big hits.

Perhaps Jam and Lewis' most famous client is Janet Jackson, for whom they produced "Control," "Rhythm Nation 1814," "janet." and "The Velvet Rope."

And we've had a career with not a lot of low lows or high highs. A lot of times, we've gotten work because people say, "They are nice guys, let's give them a shot" -- not because we are the hottest producers.

CNN: Tell us about your project with rocker Bryan Adams. (Jam and Lewis produced a song, "Here I Am," for the movie "Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron.")

Jam: [After the project was assembled] we realized we had four days to turn the record around. Bryan said he was fine on coming to Minneapolis for working, but at the last minute, because he was finishing up other things in the movie, he asked if we could do it on ISDN lines, which are high-tech phone lines. We basically did the project using MP3 files to send the tracks back and forth and using FTP [file transfer protocol] files.

[Bryan] sang the vocal. We mixed at our studio in Minneapolis. He was listening at his studio at the same time and making suggestions. Then when it came to time to master the record, we actually sent it to mastering over the same FTP file system. We never physically met, and we did the whole thing using today's technology.

CNN: Why are you taking part in this NARAS event?

Jam: Basically, my wife calls this point in my career my sort of music ambassadorship. I'm at a point in my career where I've gone through a lot of things -- mostly positive things. ...

Milestones make you reflect and look back, and when I reflect and look back I see my community -- the music community. [It] has been very supportive of everything we've done over the years and I want to give back to that community. Being a member of the Recording Academy and being a board member has given me the opportunity.

CNN: What do you think of you and Terry receiving an Essence Award?

Jam: We're very honored by it.

Like I say, it's a milestone year. You tend to look back. But we've never been people who've ever looked back. We've always looked to what's next and what the next project is, but I think it is good to reflect upon what you've done over your career. And as you start building, you start looking toward the end of your career and try to figure out what kind of legacy you're leaving musically. It's important to look at that sort of thing. The Essence Award fits right into that.

CNN: What does the future hold for Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis?

Jam: There are people we would still like to work with. For me, I'm just interested in doing more types of things like this event -- bringing along new talent, new producers, new writers and new singers. I think I'm a music advocate at this point. ... So I feel like I want to use my clout in the industry to try to make a difference in people's lives in an educational way. That's what I see as my future.