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Jellybean Johnson, the original drummer for popular 1980s band The Time and also the producer for other iconic artists, has died at the age of 69.<\/p>\n
TMZ reports<\/a> that family members say Johnson, whose real name was Garry George Johnson, died suddenly Friday night. A cause of death has not been reported.<\/p>\n \u201cWith a heavy heart … my dear friend Jellybean passed away a couple of hours ago,\u201d percussionist Sheila E wrote on Facebook<\/a>. \u201cWe are devastated by this news. … He was a kind human being, extremely talented and funny. He had a great sense of humor and (was) an awesome guitar player.\u201d<\/p>\n Parade reports<\/a> Johnson moved to Minneapolis in his youth. He took drum lessons and learned guitar, enabling him to later begin working with Prince.<\/p>\n He was a member of The Time when the movie \u201cPurple Rain\u201d was released in 1984. The band portrayed Prince\u2019s rivals in the film and had two hits from the movie, \u201cJungle Love\u201d and \u201cThe Bird.\u201d<\/p>\n He continued to work with Prince after The Time broke up, joining The Family. The group released only one album, which included the original version of \u201cNothing Compares 2 U.\u201d The song, written by Prince, would become a huge hit for Sinead O\u2019Connor when she covered it in 1990.<\/p>\n As a producer he worked with Janet Jackson on her No. 1 single \u201cBlack Cat,\u201d Deadline reports<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cMinneapolis lost a legend,\u201d Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey wrote on social media<\/a>. \u201cJellybean Johnson wasn\u2019t just a pioneer of the Minneapolis Sound \u2014 he was the sound. Every time we met, he carried that rare mix of talent, kindness, & unmistakable swagger. We\u2019ll honor his music, impact, and reminder to always \u201cput some jelly on it.\u201d<\/p>\n