Benitez's parents moved from Puerto Rico in the early 1950s to the South Bronx section of New York City. His mother raised Benitez and a younger sibling as a single mother. He grew up enjoying music, usually listening to his sister's record collection. His sister Debbie, nicknamed him Jellybean as his initials are J.B. and from the expression "Know what I mean, Jellybean?" Benitez attended De Witt Clinton High School and John F. Kennedy High School, but did not graduate. He relocated to Manhattan in 1975, attending disconightclubs, which sparked his interest in becoming a disc jockey. He worked at a nightclub called Experiment 4 & Electric Circus. In 1980 Benitez enrolled and attended Bronx Community College, where he studied Marketing and Sales Promotion. Benitez worked as a DJ at Electric Circus, Hurrah, Xenon, Paradise Garage and Studio 54. In 1981, he was hired as the resident DJ at Funhouse. He hosted a weekend dance radio show at WKTU.
Personal life
Benitez was Madonna's boyfriend early in her career. He later married Carolyn Effer, a model, but later divorced. They have two daughters, Layla Benitez & Reya Benitez.
Music career
Madonna
Benitez started to remix singles, such as Jimmy Spicer's "The Bubble Bunch," Rocker's Revenge's "Walking on Sunshine," Afrika Bambaataa's "Planet Rock" and Stephen Bray of the group Breakfast Club. Benitez met Bray's bandmate at the time, Madonna. A two-year romance developed. Benitez became involved with remixing Madonna's self-titled debut album in 1983, including the singles "Burning Up", "Borderline", and "Lucky Star." He also produced "Holiday."
Benitez scored two 1980s US pop hits released under the Jellybean name: "Sidewalk Talk", written by Madonna and featuring Catherine Buchanan; and "Who Found Who", featuring Elisa Fiorillo. Nine recordings placed in the Top Ten of the U.S. Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart, including three number ones. Other vocalists who have performed on a Jellybean release include Adele Bertei, Richard Darbyshire and Niki Haris. His 1984 cover of Babe Ruth's "The Mexican" is regarded as a pivotal moment in the electro-hip hop underground scene, and was his first number-one single on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. He was successful in the United Kingdom as an artist in his own right. His hits there included:- "Sidewalk Talk" ; "The Real Thing" featuring Steven Dante; "Who Found Who" with Elisa Fiorillo; "Jingo" and "Just a Mirage" with vocals by Adele Bertei.
Impresario
Benitez continues to deejay globally. He owns Jellybean Productions, Jellybean Soul and Jellybean Music Group. In 1995, he founded the now-defunct H.O.L.A. recording label which developed hip hop and R&B music by bilingual artists and released recordings in both English and Spanish. Voices of Theory signed with this label. On September 19, 2005, Benitez was inducted into the Dance Music Hall of Fame.
SiriusXM
Benitez is now the executive producer of Studio 54 Radio, which is heard exclusively on SiriusXM Satellite Radio. Studio 54 Radio launched August 15, 2011. It features 1970s and 1980s classic dance from Jellybean's personal collection and the vaults and collections of Studio 54 insiders.
Partial discography
Production
Selected remixes
Discography
Albums
Wotupski!?! 1984
Just Visiting This Planet 1987
Jellybean Rocks The House 1988
A Celebration in Sound 2010
Singles
Motion Picture / Television
Benitez composed the theme song to The Ricki Lake Show and The Charles Perez Show. He produced motion pictures and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award and an Emmy for his role as an Executive Producer for HBO's starring Andy Garcia. He served as music supervisor and created and mixed tunes for many soundtracks.
Music Supervisor
Among the motion pictures for which he served as Music Supervisor are:
Soundtrack works
Among the motion picture soundtracks for which he created and mixed tunes are:
Television works
Among the television show soundtracks for which he created and mixed tunes are:
