John Benitez

John Benitez a.k.a. "Jellybean Benitez" (born March 10, 1959 in New York City) is a noted DJ, remixer and music producer of Puerto Rican descent who is also known for producing the first hits and for his relationship with pop singer Madonna.

Related Topics:
March 10 - 1959 - New York City - DJ - Remix - Producer - Puerto Rican - Pop singer - Madonna

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Benitez's mother imigrated from Puerto Rico in the early 1950s and settled in the South Bronx section of New York. She raised three children as a single mother, Benitez being the second child. Growing up he enjoyed listening to music, usually playing his sister's record collection. His sister nicknamed him jellybean because he was always eating that type of candy. Benitez attended De Witt Clinton and John F. Kennedy High Schools but dropped out before graduating.

Related Topics:
Puerto Rico - 1950s - South Bronx - Jellybean - De Witt Clinton - John F. Kennedy

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Relocating to Manhattan in 1975 exposed Benitez to disco nightclubs, which sparked his interest in DJing. He was soon performing at a nightclub called Experiment 4 and in 1980 Benitez enrolled and attended The Bronx Community College, where he studied Marketing and Sales Promotions.

Related Topics:
Manhattan - 1975 - Disco - Nightclubs - 1980 - Bronx Community College

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Benitez was soon an in-demand DJ, which led to work at Electric Circus and Studio 54. In 1981 he was hired as the resident DJ of the club Funhouse. Benitez also hosted a weekend dance radio show at WKTU.

Related Topics:
Electric Circus - Studio 54 - 1981 - Funhouse - Radio

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Benitez started to remix singles, such as Jimmy Spencer's The Bubble Bunch, The Rockers Walking on Sunshine and Afrika Bambaataa's Planet Rock. Stephen Gray of the group Breakfast Club went to Benitez for a remix. This led to Benitez being introduced to Grey's bandmate at the time, Madonna. A romantic relationship developed between the two that lasted about two years. Benitez became involved with producing and remixing a bulk of the tracks on Madonna's self-titled debut album in 1983, including Everybody, Physical Attraction, Borderline, Lucky Star and Holiday.

Related Topics:
Remix - Afrika Bambaataa - Planet Rock - Breakfast Club - 1983

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Eventually Benitez remixed songs for such artists as La India, Whitney Houston, Jocelyn Brown, Patti Austin, James Ingram, Hall & Oates, Billy Joel, Pointer Sisters, Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney.

Related Topics:
La India - Whitney Houston - Jocelyn Brown - Patti Austin - James Ingram - Hall & Oates - Billy Joel - Pointer Sisters - Michael Jackson - Paul McCartney

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Among the motion picture soundtracks for which he created and mixed tunes are Back to the Future, Top Gun, Flashdance and Footloose.

Related Topics:
Soundtrack - Back to the Future - Top Gun - Flashdance - Footloose

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Benitez produced and released music under the Jellybean moniker; in total he has placed nine songs in the Top 10 of the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart, including three #1s. He has employed many vocalists to sing on his productions including Madonna, Elisa Fiorillo, Steven Dante, Adele Bartel, Richard Darbyshire and Niki Harris. Two of his dance hits crossed over to pop radio and hit the Hot 100 Top 20: "Sidewalk Talk" in 1986 (#18) and "Who Found Who" in 1987 (#16).

Related Topics:
Hot Dance Music/Club Play - Elisa Fiorillo - Steven Dante - Adele Bartel - Richard Darbyshire - Niki Harris - Hot 100 - 1986 - 1987

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Currently, Benitez owns Jellybean Productions, JB Recording and JB Publishing. In 1995, he founded H.O.L.A. (House Of Latin Artists) Recording which developes hip hop and R&B music by bilingual artists and releases the recordings in both English and Spanish.

Related Topics:
1995 - Hip hop - R&B - English - Spanish

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