Multi-instrumentalist and producer Jellybean Johnson, who is best known as the drummer for the beloved R&B group The Time, has died. He was 69.

“The family of Jellybean Johnson is deeply saddened by the passing of their beloved husband and father. Passing just shortly after his 69th birthday this past Wednesday, November 19, on the evening of Friday November 21, 2025,” Johnson’s family said in a statement to Fox9 in Minneapolis.

“Jellybean was an innovator of what became known across the world as the Minneapolis Sound,” the statement said. “The only drummer the Time ever had from inception to the current day. Jellybean loved his family his friends and the city of Minneapolis.”

The Minneapolis Sound Museum, which Johnson helped co-found, also released a statement about his passing.

“I

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