Janet Jackson's album Control was one of the biggest hits of 1986 – and the Grammy-winning beginning of a legendary partnership between Jackson and the album's producers, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. Jam and Lewis would go on to produce a string of number-one singles for Jackson and many others as well over the proceeding decades, including Mariah Carey, George Michael, Boyz II Men and Usher.

Now, after more than 40 years of making music, Jam and Lewis are releasing their debut record: Jam and Lewis: Volume 1. The album, while a Jam and Lewis marquee, zeroes in on the deep collaborative relationships the pair has cultivated throughout its career, including guest appearances from Morris Day and Jerome Benton of The Time (alongside The Roots), Boyz II Men, Mary J. Blige, Tony Braxton, Usher, Mariah Carey, Babyface and The Sounds of Blackness.

Ahead of its release, the pair sat down with Morning Edition's Rachel Martin, a lifelong Janet Jackson fan, to talk about how it (finally) came to be.

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