Sheila E. paid tribute to Jellybean Johnson, the former drummer for the Prince-founded funk rock band The Time, amid news of his death at the age of 69.
The ’80s icon took to Facebook Friday evening, where shared a picture of Johnson and remembered the musician as her “dear friend.”
“With a heavy heart, my dear friend Jellybean passed away a couple of hours ago,” she wrote to her 1.2 million followers. “We are devastated by this news. I’m praying for his family and all the kids. He was a kind human being extremely talented and funny. He had a great sense of humor and an awesome guitar player.”
As the singer went on, she expressed regret over forgetting to call Johnson on his birthday, which was Wednesday. “I’m so sorry,” she added. “I love u bean. Rest in peace and power.”
Sheila E. wasn’t the only friend to pay tribute to Johnson, as Susannah Melvoin, who performed with Johnson in Prince’s other side project, The Family, also shared her heartbreak on social media.
In a post uploaded to Instagram, Melvoin wrote, “I’m absolutely heartbroken! My beautiful brother Jellybean Johnson has passed. This band was and is the kind of Family that believed we all rightfully belonged together in love, music and kindness. Jellybean was the master of loving you like no brother could! My big brother, who watched over me and anyone who he loved!”
Per Melvoin, she first met Johnson when she was 19, noting the latter was already “a seasoned musical savant at 28” during their introduction.
“He’d been in The Time and was masterfully put into a band that became what we lovingly and rightfully call The Family,” she continued. “He went from being behind the drums to playing guitar in this band because he was a guitar player first and drummer second. Oxygen for him was the inhale and exhale of playing his guitar.”
Before signing off her note, she called Johnson’s passing “a huge loss,” sending love to his children and family members.
Johnson, whose real name was Garry George Johnson, was born on Nov. 19, 1956 in Chicago before moving to Minneapolis as a child. In his youth, he self-taught himself skills on the drums and guitar, eventually leading to his recruitment by Prince for The Time, which was formed 1981.
Johnson also worked as a producer, notably working on Janet Jackson’s 1990 No. 1 single, “Black Cat.”
In 2022, he founded the Minneapolis Sound Museum, with the goal “to educate, celebrate and create, while also providing an environment to learn, gather and showcase artistry that preserves and fosters the Minneapolis Sound genre.”
TMZ was first to report Johnson’s death.
