What is Mariah really like?
Unless you've just arrived from Mars, everybody knows the Mariah Carey story. Born and raised in New York by her mother, a former opera singer with the New York city opera and a vocal coach, she began singing at the age of four, began writing songs in high school and got her big break singing back up for Brenda K. Starr. She signed with Columbia Records, married the company's chief and didn't live happily ever after, but she did become the biggest-selling female recording artist of the 90's and then broke the Beatles record. So, as Rainbow, her current disc, rises to the top to stay awhile, did you ever wonder what Mariah Carey is like to work with? What is the woman who has millions of adoring fans like behind the scenes, in the recording studio? Jimmy Jam and Terry lewis, legends in their own right, tell all.
"We always knew from listening to her records that she was talented," reports Jimmy Jam who along with his partner, Terry Lewis, put Janet Jackson on the music map back in the day and they haven't stopped since. "But we never knew how talented until we got into the studio with her. Not only is she talented, but she outworks everybody. She is the kind of artist you have to tell 'go home, let's do this another day'. We were blown away. When you work with an artist for the first time, there's alway a feeling-out process. Our feeling-out process lasted about 10 minutes. It was great chemistry. We're musicians and it's great to work with someone who understands all the elements of melody and harmony. It makes it great because there's no weakness anywhere. You're working with someone on top of her game and we're on top of our game and together we hit it off very well."
Terry Lewis talks about their work with her Rainbow, but takes it to a more personal level. "From a personal standpoint, Mariah's kindness stood out the most. She's a very caring person. We are a family business. A personal relationship is more important to us than a business relationship and, after working with Mariah, I can say she is part of our family now. She is a workaholic and definitely the 'mother of her career'."
And like the energizer bunny, her career keeps going and going and going. (Fresh magazine)
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