Jellybean

Jellybean is the stage name of John Benitez, a US producer from The Bronx, born in 1957. He is a drummer, guitarist, songwriter, DJ, remixer and music producer of Puerto Rican descent. His work focuses on house, dance, pop and freestyle, and he is closely associated with the New York club and radio scene.

Career

Benitez begins as a DJ in the mid-1970s, working in the disco scene and playing at clubs including New York, New York, Studio 54 and Xenon. He later gains a residency at the FunHouse in 1981, where he works for three years. That venue becomes important in the development of Latin Freestyle, and his live sets there, together with a weekend mixing slot on WKTU, build his reputation in dance music.

He moves from live DJ work into studio mixing and production. One of his early remix jobs is Arthur Baker’s production of Rockers Revenge’s Walking On Sunshine, which reaches number one on the national dance chart in 1982. He then has a long run of dance success, with at least one number one dance hit in each year for seven years.

Work with Madonna and other artists

Through the FunHouse scene, Jellybean meets Madonna Ciccone, who asks him to produce the final track, Holiday, for her first album and to remix Lucky Star and Burning Up. Those releases top the dance chart in 1983. Their working relationship also becomes a personal one. In 1983, he also scores number one dance hits with Hall and Oates, the Romantics and Irene Cara.

He works on music connected to the film Flashdance, beginning a longer period in which he contributes to film soundtracks as well as club remixes. After ending his work with Madonna in 1985, he produces for Whitney Houston, resulting in two number one dance tracks, So Emotional and Love Will Save the Day, and a top-three hit, How Will I Know?. He also works with Michael Jackson, the Pointer Sisters and Madonna among the artists he produces or remixes.

Recording artist

Jellybean debuts as a recording artist in 1984 with the Wotupski?! EP. His reworking of Babe Ruth’s early 1970s recording The Mexican tops the dance chart, as does its follow-up Sidewalk Talk, written by Madonna. His first album, Just Visiting This Planet, is released in 1987 and includes the top-three hits Who Found Who with Elisa Fiorillo and The Real Thing with Adele Bertei. He follows it with Jellybean Rocks the House in 1988 and Spillin’ the Beans in 1991, all of which include top-five dance hits.

Later work and labels

In the early 1990s, his production and remix work slows as he becomes more involved in film soundtrack work and in supporting new artists. In 1995, he co-founds H.O.L.A. (Home of Latino Artists) Recordings, a project designed to develop bilingual artists for simultaneous English- and Spanish-language release in mainstream pop, R&B and hip hop. He also runs Jellybean Recordings, which releases dance tracks including PULSE with Antoinette Roberson’s The Lover That You Are and Jennifer Holliday’s Think It Over. His labels include Jellybean Productions, Inc. and Jellybean Recordings.

He also heads JB Music Publishing, which publishes music by Mary J. Blige, LL Cool J and Boyz II Men. In 2000, he mixes Jellybean’s House Party, featuring tracks from his label including Soul Solution’s All Around the World and Johnny Vicious’ Move Your Body.

Recognition

In December 2016, Billboard ranks him as the 99th most successful dance artist of all time.