{"id":3326,"date":"2025-11-22T19:48:51","date_gmt":"2025-11-22T19:48:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/verifiedviral.com\/?p=3326"},"modified":"2025-11-22T19:48:52","modified_gmt":"2025-11-22T19:48:52","slug":"jellybean-johnson-of-the-time-dead-at-69-co%e2%80%91founder-of-princes-band-passes-two-days-after-birthday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/verifiedviral.com\/?p=3326","title":{"rendered":"Jellybean Johnson of The Time Dead at 69 \u2014 Co\u2011Founder of Prince\u2019s Band Passes Two Days After Birthday"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Legendary drummer and Minneapolis Sound pioneer Jellybean\u202fJohnson (born Garry\u202fGeorge\u202fJohnson) passed away on the evening of November\u202f21,\u202f2025, at the age of 69 \u2014 just two days after his birthday.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Career Legacy<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Johnson co\u2011founded the iconic band The\u202fTime with Prince in the early 1980s, serving as its only drummer across all its iterations, including Morris\u202fDay &amp;\u202fThe\u202fTime and The\u202fOriginal\u202f7ven. \u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A key architect of the \u201cMinneapolis Sound,\u201d he blended funk, rock and soul into a signature style that powered hits like \u201cJungle Love\u201d and \u201cIce Cream Castles.\u201d \u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Beyond his band work, Johnson produced Janet Jackson\u2019s No.\u202f1 hit \u201cBlack Cat\u201d and contributed richly to Flyte\u202fTyme Productions, affecting generations of R&amp;B and pop. \u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Circumstances of His Passing<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>His family confirmed that he died suddenly, with the cause of death not yet publicly disclosed. Johnson had just celebrated his 69th birthday on November\u202f19, 2025.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Why His Death Resonates<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Johnson\u2019s contributions helped shape a new musical movement in the 1980s, and his influence extended well beyond his own performances \u2014 shaping how funk and pop merged in the mainstream.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>His passing highlights the fragility of creative legacies: one of the key figures behind The\u202fTime is now gone, leaving behind a body of work and cultural impact that will endure.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>As fans and peers pay tribute, the event also prompts reflection on how influential musicians are honored, remembered and preserved \u2014 including through entities like the Minneapolis Sound Museum, which Johnson helped establish. \u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What to Watch<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Official statements or memorial events from The\u202fTime, Prince\u2019s estate, or the Minneapolis Sound Museum.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Posthumous releases or archival materials featuring Johnson\u2019s work \u2014 whether with The\u202fTime, Flyte\u202fTyme Productions or solo projects.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>How his influence will be celebrated in retrospectives, tributes and music\u2011documentary features in the coming months.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"750\" height=\"607\" src=\"https:\/\/verifiedviral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/IMG_4162.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3327\" srcset=\"https:\/\/verifiedviral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/IMG_4162.jpeg 750w, https:\/\/verifiedviral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/IMG_4162-300x243.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/verifiedviral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/IMG_4162-360x291.jpeg 360w, https:\/\/verifiedviral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/IMG_4162-545x441.jpeg 545w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"632\" height=\"573\" src=\"https:\/\/verifiedviral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/IMG_4161.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3328\" srcset=\"https:\/\/verifiedviral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/IMG_4161.jpeg 632w, https:\/\/verifiedviral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/IMG_4161-300x272.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/verifiedviral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/IMG_4161-360x326.jpeg 360w, https:\/\/verifiedviral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/IMG_4161-545x494.jpeg 545w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 632px) 100vw, 632px\" \/><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Legendary drummer and Minneapolis Sound pioneer Jellybean\u202fJohnson (born Garry\u202fGeorge\u202fJohnson) passed away on the evening of November\u202f21,\u202f2025, at the age of 69 \u2014 just two days after his birthday.&nbsp; Career Legacy Circumstances of His Passing His family confirmed that he died suddenly, with the cause of death not yet publicly disclosed. Johnson had just celebrated his&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3329,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[84,52],"tags":[3384,3380,3378,3377,1833,3379,3381,3382,3383],"class_list":["post-3326","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-celebrity-news","category-trending-now","tag-funk-rock-pioneer","tag-jellybean-johnson","tag-minneapolis-sound","tag-morris-day-the-time","tag-music-industry-news","tag-musician-death-2025","tag-prince-band-the-time","tag-rb-legend-passed","tag-the-time"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/verifiedviral.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3326","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/verifiedviral.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/verifiedviral.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/verifiedviral.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/verifiedviral.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3326"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/verifiedviral.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3326\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3330,"href":"https:\/\/verifiedviral.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3326\/revisions\/3330"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/verifiedviral.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3329"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/verifiedviral.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3326"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/verifiedviral.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3326"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/verifiedviral.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3326"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}