Minneapolis producer and great musician Jellybean Johnson, best known as the drummer of the Prince-affiliated act The Time, has died at the age of 69.
The cause of death has not been revealed. TMZ announced the news, reporting that his family confirmed he passed away on Friday night (Nov. 21).
Garry George, also known as “Jellybean” Johnson, a self-taught multi-instrumentalist, joined The Time in 1981 after being recruited by Prince. The two had been acquainted since high school, and the band grew out of the Flyte Tyme community in Minneapolis.
It all happened in the year 2018 when he conversed with Australian Musician, “The drums are physical and violent for me; the guitar is spiritual and emotional.” He joked, “When you live in this cold, you spend winters inside learning to play.”
Johnson’s contributions to The Time and Prince’s later band, The Family, were vital in forming what became recognized as the Minneapolis Sound, merging funk-rock, new wave, and synth-pop elements. For example, he played a memorable 1984’s Purple Rain stylized version where he represented himself in different versions.
If you look in some previous years like in the ’80s and early ’90s, The Time placed five songs in the top 10 on the Hot Black Singles chart , the precursor to Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. Among their hits were “777-9311,” “Jungle Love,” and “Jerk-Out,” which surged to No. 1 in the year 1990.
His production credits included Janet Jackson’s 1990 Hot 100 No. 1 “Black Cat,” and he enjoyed steady demand as a skilled session musician.
Remembering Johnson in a related social media post, Sheila E. — who shared a long friendship and multiple Prince-era collaborations with him said she was writing “with a heavy heart.”
“A couple of hours ago, my close friend Jellybean died,” Sheila E. wrote. “We are deeply devastated. I’m praying for his family and children. He was warm, incredibly skilled, humorous, and a brilliant guitar player.”
She ended her tribute with, “Your birthday was just yesterday, and I forgot to call you, I’m so sorry. I love you, Bean. May you rest in peace.”
It all happened in the year 2008 when Johnson spoke about appearing with The Time and Rihanna during the Grammy Awards. This is where he was required to drum along to a click track. After “30–40 years” of following his own timing, adjusting was tough. “It looked perfect on stage, but the practice week was hell.
Johnson’s passion for preserving musical history led him to co-found the Minneapolis Sound Museum in 2021, dedicated to the culture and legacy of the Minneapolis Sound. A year later, he and The Time were awarded the Soul Train Lifetime Achievement Award.
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