It was late 1998. I worked for the Suncoast Motion Picture Company, which sold movies and related merchandise. I’d recently transferred from the flagship Mall of America store to the Southdale Mall in Edina. The commute was longer, but I didn’t mind for a couple reasons. The one I’ll articulate here pertains to the clientele.
The Mall of America location was great for people watching. At the time, tourists came from around the world to see the spectacle of the largest mall in the Western Hemisphere. But Southdale, due to the prestige of Edina, attracted a number of celebrities. I was thrilled to learn Janet Jackson (whom I’ll call Ms. Jackson cuz I’m nasty) shopped there when she was in town. And she bought her movies from Suncoast.
The Suncoast where I was now a manager.
In 1998, I was still that small-town kid who’d grown up in a town so tiny it was technically a village. I’d never met a celebrity, and the prospect of meeting Ms. Jackson, someone whose music I absolutely loved, hyped me to a ridiculous degree. I’m embarrassed to admit that I was on the lookout on many shifts.
I grew up loving her albums Control and Rhythm Nation 1814, the latter of which I owned. Back in 1990, I knew everything about that album. You see, I didn’t have many albums as a kid, so when I got a new one, I poured through the liner notes, sitting cross-legged on my bedroom floor beside my cassette deck. I memorized the lyrics, tracked the music labels, and learned about every musician or other person connected with the production of the album.
If you’re familiar with Janet’s music, the headline of this post is beginning to make sense.
Back to 1998. I’m working the checkout in our third-floor location, when two well-dressed men came in. I offered the usual greetings, made small talk, and helped them as best I could.
These two gentlemen were Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. And they were aware that I didn’t recognize them.
It must have been an unusual experience, especially in the Minneapolis area. Here’s why.
When it comes to the Minneapolis music scene, it didn’t get much bigger than this duo. They formed the band Flyte Tyme, which became The Time under the influence of Prince, and the group would go on to help define the Minneapolis sound in the early 1980s.
After being fired from the band, they started Flyte Tyme Studios, and their partnership went on to earn more than 100 gold, platinum, multi-platinum, and diamond albums. Over their storied career, they’ve worked with some of the biggest names in the biz, including Lionel Richie, Herb Alpert, TLC, Michael Jackson, Aretha Franklin, Boyz II Men, Usher, Patti LaBelle, Mary J. Blige, Chaka Khan, Mariah Carey, Bryan Adams, Spice Girls, Vanessa Williams, Rod Stewart, Gwen Stefani, and New Edition. I particularly loved George Michael’s “Monkey” and The Human League’s “Human” songs. But those weren’t the only memorable tracks.
Forty-one of their songs reached the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100. They won five Grammys and got an Oscar nom for their work with Janet Jackson on the song “Again” for the movie Poetic Justice.
And speaking of Ms. Jackson, they won a Grammy for producing her album Control. Their follow-up collaboration, Rhythm Nation 1814, dominated the charts with seven hit singles and became one of the biggest albums in the world from 1989-91.
Most of that album work had been done at Flyte Tyme Studios, a convenient 5-minute drive from Southdale.
As I look back upon their visit to my store, I like to imagine these world-renown producers were taking a shopping break from their busy studio schedule. Perhaps, the perfect movie would be a nice diversion, or provide some inspiration for the their next movie project. Little did they know they were talking to a guy who knew every beat and could sing every lyric from Rhythm Nation 1814, many of which they’d written.
A guy’s whose memory was about to betray him, despite his brain containing most of the information I just shared.
They eventually introduced themselves, likely looking for that spark of recognition on my face. They didn’t see it. They could have said their were Rupert Woppleheimer and Gerry Hickelhooper as far as my brain was concerned.
Probably thinking I was mostly a movie guy, because a music guy would have been at the Sam Goody downstairs, they mentioned the recent movie How Stella Got Her Groove back. “Yeah, yeah, I’d heard of it,” I must have said, even if it wasn’t a movie that interested me. Well, they’d done the soundtrack.
It still wasn’t clicking.
They might have described one or two other projects – I don’t recall. Dear lord, I hope they didn’t mention their affiliation with the Time or work with Janet Jackson. If I didn’t pick up those cues….hoo boy.
Anyway, frustrated, and I hope, somewhat amused, they completed their purchase, and then we all went about our days.
I don’t recall when I actually made the connection. I think I was working for Best Buy’s Music team, 2003-2008. We’d spend many wonderful hours talking about new albums or musicians or producers, etc (it very well could have been during a discussion about Damita Jo, another Janet album they worked on). I just remember having an epiphany like the mother in Home Alone when she realizes Kevin is missing. I probably lost some music cred that day, and I can imagine some former colleagues reading this and shaking their heads.
I wrote this post because I needed to do some writing today, and this recollection inspired me and made me laugh. Sometimes, that’s just what you need to keep your writing momentum going. If you’re interested in another bit of celebrity-related self-deprecation, be sure to check out My Writing Freaked Out A Rock Star.
I hope this inspires you to find your own ways of keeping your momentum. Good luck with your writing!
Mike
Enjoy what you just read? Leave a comment or like the post, and we’ll ensure that you see more like this!
© Michael Wallevand, March 2024