Born in 1959, John Benitez, already nicknamed Jellybean by his sister, Debbie, set foot inside Manhattan's Sanctuary club, and a yearning to mix dance music was born. Jellybean immersed himself in the burgeoning disco scene of the mid-70's and was soon in demand as DJ at legendary clubs including New York, New York, Studio 54 and Xenon. In 1981 Jellybean gained a residency at the FunHouse that would last for the next three years. The FunHouse became a key venue for the development of Dance music known as Latin Freestyle. The live DJ shows and a weekend gig mixing Dance music for New York radio station WKTU built a tremendous reputation for Jellybean in the Dance community.
From live work, it was natural for Jellybean to move into studio mixing and eventually production work. One of his early remix projects, the Arthur Baker-produced Walking On Sunshine by Rocker's Revenge, topped the national Dance charts in 1982. This began an incredible run of 7 years in which Jellybean mixed or produced at least one number one Dance hit each year.
Through his work at the FunHouse, Jellybean met a regular dancer and aspiring singer, Madonna Ciccone. She recruited him to produce a final track, Holiday, for her first album and do remix chores for Lucky Star and Burning Up. The results topped the Dance chart in 1983 and studio partnerships as well as a romance were born. Jellybean's other 1983 projects bore fruit in number one Dance hits for Hall and Oates, the Romantics, and Irene Cara. Remixing work on Flashdance tracks was one of Jellybean's first assignment for film music. His success led to extensive work over the next decade on producing film soundtracks as well as remixing individual songs for the clubs.
In 1984, the Wotupski?! EP marked Jellybean's debut as a recording artist. His reworking of the group Babe Ruth's early 70's recording The Mexican topped the dance chart as did its follow-up Sidewalk Talk, written by Madonna. The romance and studio collaboration with Madonna ended in 1985 after Jellybean proved he could produce stunning pop ballads for Madonna (Crazy For You) as well as incendiary dance cuts. Not long after the end of his work with Madonna, Jellybean went to work on tracks by a new pop music diva, Whitney Houston. Jellybean's work with Whitney Houston would result in two more number one dance tracks, So Emotional and Love Will Save the Day and a top 3 hit, How Will I Know?.
Jellybean's first full-length album Just Visiting This Planet was released in 1987 and included two hits that made the top 3, Who Found Who with Elisa Fiorillo and The Real Thing with Adele Bertei. A second album, Jellybean Rocks the House appeared in 1988 and a third, Spillin' the Beans in 1991. All included top 5 Dance hits. By the early 1990's, Jellybean's production and remix work slowed as he became more involved in other aspects of his career. This included film soundtrack work and encouragement of new artists.
In 1995, Jellybean co-founded H.O.L.A. (Home of Latino Artists) Recordings as a unique project to develop mainstream Pop, R&B, and Hip Hop music by bilingual artists for simultaneous release in English and Spanish language markets. This project has borne fruit in a number of musical genres. Jellybean also heads Jellybean Recordings, which has released a number of major Dance hits including The Lover That You Are by PULSE with Antoinette Roberson and Think It Over by Jennifer Holliday. Jellybean's music publishing venture, JB Music Publishing, has published the music of such major artists as Mary J. Blige, LL Cool J, and BoyzIIMen. In 2000 Jellybean amply demonstrated his mixing skills are fully intact as he mixed the album Jellybean's House Party featuring hits from his record label such as Soul Solution's All Around the World and Johnny Vicious' Move Your Body.
The Real Thing
Jellybean Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
They say that time is the only cure
To heal the hurt of a broken heart
I say you never can be sure
No, no, no
If you don't try to make a brand new start
In my mind, love was just a dream
But you gave me the reason to believe
That I should give it one more chance
There's no doubt about it
I can't do without it
This is the real thing
Ain't no way around it
Love has finally found me
This is the real thing
You take me higher than I've ever gone
Yes, you do
And in the way that makes me feel secure, ooh
Your love is the one that warms me to the bone
Yes, you do
And every day you give a little more, wow
When I think about the loves gone by
And what I've been through
I'm convinced this one is right
Now girl, there's nothing left to prove
There's no doubt about it
I can't do without it
This is the real thing
Ain't no way around it
Love has finally found me
This is the real thing
Every minute, every hour
I can feel the power
This is the real thing
Love is not a fiction
Love is not a trick
This is the real thing
Oh it's so easy now
Looking in your eyes, yeah
When love comes so naturally
It's meant to be
Now I found the real love, oh
Du du du, du du du
Let me, oh no
Du du du, da da da da da da, ooh oh whoa whoa whoa
When I think about the loves gone by
And what I've been through
I'm convinced this one is right
Girl, there's nothing left to prove
There's no doubt about it
I can't do without it
This is the real thing (you gotta believe)
Ain't no way around it
Love has finally found me
This is the real thing (now I know)
There's no doubt about it
I can't do without it
This is the real thing (yeah yeah yeah yeah)
Ain't no way around it
Love has finally found me
This is the real thing (I want a same thing with you)
Is this the real thing baby
Real thing (this the real thing, real thing, oh)
Is this the real thing baby
Real thing (can you hear what I'm saying to you girl?)
This is the real thing, baby
Real thing (yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah)
This is the real thing baby
Real thing, this is the real thing
This is the real thing baby
The song "The Real Thing" by Jellybean is about finding true love after going through heartbreak and disappointment in previous relationships. The lyrics explain how the singer was once cynical about love and thought it was just a fairy tale, but now, they have found someone who has changed their outlook and has given them hope for a new beginning. The chorus repeatedly emphasizes that this relationship is the real thing, and the singer cannot live without it.
The lyrics also highlight the power of love and how it can make someone feel secure and warm. The bridge describes the ease of being in love when it comes naturally and is meant to be. The song ends with a declaration of love and a desire to continue the real thing with the person they have found.
Overall, the song has a positive and uplifting message about love and the hope of finding true happiness. It promotes the idea of taking a chance on love and believing in its power to change someone's life.
Line by Line Meaning
They say that time is the only cure
Others believe that only time can heal a broken heart
To heal the hurt of a broken heart
The pain from a broken heart needs time to dissipate
I say you never can be sure
I disagree with the belief that time is the only solution
If you don't try to make a brand new start
Moving on is impossible without trying to start anew
In my mind, love was just a dream
I thought love was unrealistic
Like a fairy tale
I thought of love as fictional
But you gave me the reason to believe
You showed me a reason to believe in love again
That I should give it one more chance
You convinced me to give love another opportunity
There's no doubt about it
It's unquestionably true
I can't do without it
I can't survive without love
This is the real thing
This love is genuine
Ain't no way around it
There's no avoiding the fact
Love has finally found me
I've finally found true love
You take me higher than I've ever gone
You make me feel better than I ever have
And in the way that makes me feel secure, ooh
You make me feel comfortable and safe
Your love is the one that warms me to the bone
Your love makes me feel warm and cozy inside
And every day you give a little more, wow
Every day, you show me a little more love
When I think about the loves gone by
When I reflect on the past relationships
And what I've been through
And the hardships I've faced
I'm convinced this one is right
I'm positive that this relationship is the right one
Now girl, there's nothing left to prove
We don't need to prove anything to each other anymore
Every minute, every hour
At all times
I can feel the power
I can feel the strength of our love
Love is not a fiction
Love is not just imaginary
Love is not a trick
Love is not a deceitful act
Oh it's so easy now
Being in love is effortless now
Looking in your eyes, yeah
When I look into your eyes
When love comes so naturally
When love flows so effortlessly
It's meant to be
Our love is meant to be
Now I found the real love, oh
Now I've found true love
Is this the real thing baby
Do you think our love is genuine?
Real thing
True love
Can you hear what I'm saying to you girl?
Do you understand the depth of my love for you?
This is the real thing
Our love is real
This is the real thing baby
Our love is genuine
This is the real thing
Our love is true
Lyrics © JELLYBEAN MUSIC GROUP, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Antoinette Colandreo, Arnold Roman
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@francishodge5189
I agree John Jelly bean benitez another legendary 80s Soul Funk Jazz fusion music producers
Quincy jones
Nile Rogers
The Bee Geee
Like Jam and Lewis
La and baby face
Kashif
Nick Martinellli
John jelly bean benitez etc
Old skool forever
Old skool forever
@benjerry6442
OMG!!!!!!!!OMG!!!!! (jumping up and down like an excited four year old) I totally forgot about this. This was my favourite track for like 3 years.......how could I................its been nearly 30 years...oh I'm soooooooooo freaking happy.
@luannepatrick2053
My teenage yrs....awesome time of my life.....school dances...matinée...😁😁
@ItsMeJoshLee
Sacrilege!🤣
@tommypillay743
You party on bro
@thomasbrunn4182
leave it in church dope
@mikesam888
Man, this tune was my jam - brings back such amazing memories. Love this extended remix!! 1988, first year uni, clubs couldn’t play this track enough! Loved Jellybean’s whole album…Just visiting this Planet, which spawned other incredible dance tracks like Who Found Who and Jingo! As a mobile DJ at uni, this album was one of my staple “go-to”vinyls!
@Boet1
Love this song, one of my all time favourites. Steven Dante killed it, what a voice.
@nonstopDJUC
over 35 years and I see myself still enjoying this awesome track :)
@mcollins1307
Great song, still listening to this in 2022. Love this extended version, still have it on vinyl ❤️
@francishodge5189
Uk own very underrated Steven Dante teamed up with the legendary John Jelly bean benitez The Real thing