Morris Day‘s Longtime Drummer, Jellybean Johnson, Dies at 69
Morris Day’s longtime drummer and collaborator, Jellybean Johnson, has died, according to a post shared on social media by singer and actress Sheila E. Johnson was 69 years old. The cause of death has not been publicly announced.
Johnson, a foundational figure in the Minneapolis Sound, was instrumental in shaping the iconic funk of the Time and a frequent associate of Prince. His passing marks a meaningful loss for the music community, prompting an outpouring of grief and remembrance from fellow musicians and fans.”This is a hard one…Jellybean was a musical genius…playing guitar in this band because he was a guitar player first and drummer second. Oxygen for him was the inhale and exhale of playing his guitar. I can barely get this out….his children and family members need our support and love.Please send it their way,” Sheila E.wrote.
Born in Minneapolis, johnson’s career spanned decades, establishing him as a highly respected and sought-after musician. While best known for his work with The Time, he also performed with Prince and Rihanna, leaving an indelible mark on multiple genres.He co-founded the Minneapolis Sound Museum in 2021, dedicated to preserving the legacy of the influential Minneapolis music scene.
Johnson joined The Time in the early 1980s, quickly becoming a vital component of the band’s signature sound. His dynamic drumming and musicality were key to hits like “Jungle Love,” “777-9311,” and “The Bird.” He frequently enough spoke of his preference for a more organic, feel-based approach to rhythm, a challenge he openly acknowledged when asked to play to a click track during a 2008 Grammy performance with Rihanna. “If you go back and watch that performance,it came off flawless,but,man,that week of practice was hell,” he recalled in a 2024 interview with Dancing to the Drum Machine author Dan Leroy. “I struggled. I’m not gonna lie.”
Beyond The Time, Johnson contributed to numerous projects and collaborated with a diverse range of artists. He returned to the Grammy stage in 2017 and 2020 as part of tributes to Prince, further cementing his connection to the Minneapolis music royalty. In 2022, Johnson and The Time were honored with a Soul Train Lifetime Achievement Award.
“The guys in The Time always trusted me, as far as tempos and all that kind of stuff,” Johnson explained. ”But there were a few times…I remember one time back in ’08, man, I played the Grammys, and Rihanna was on there with [The Time]. And she was just getting huge…I had to play to a click track. I didn’t. I never had to really do that.”
