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Dance Pioneer John ‘Jellybean’ Benitez Looks Back on Madonna’s ‘Holiday,’ Remixing Paul McCartney & Breaking New Genres in the ’80s
Dance Pioneer John "Jellybean" Benitez looks back on producing Madonna's "Holiday," remixing Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson and more.
Not only did it earn Madonna her first top 20 Billboard Hot 100 hit and signal the ascendance of her globe-conquering career, but it marked the commercial breakthrough of a DJ/producer who would help define the sound of dance music in the mid ’80s: John “Jellybean” Benitez. Around that time, the music industry was just beginning to realize the audience-boosting power of an officially sanctioned remix, and Benitez – a Bronx-born DJ who hosted 14-hour sets at Manhattan’s Fun House nightclub on Saturdays – possessed an instinctual understanding of what worked. As word spread throughout the music biz about his keen ear for sounds that connected with young listeners, Benitez became a go-to remixer, working with everyone from David Bowie to ZZ Top to Sting to Fleetwood Mac.
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