Here’s how Yolanda Adams’ “Open My Heart” became a hit, thanks (in part) to one of our very own!

Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis are legendary producers, having worked with a variety of big-name artists throughout their career. The Minneapolis-based production duo recently spoke about Yolanda Adams’ “Open My Heart” and how its success almost didn’t happen.

They recount the moment the album dropped and the record execs chose a couple of other singles due to it being “...the summer time and it (the single) needs to be something up-tempo.” Jam and Lewis then credit Elroy Smith, our Director Of Urban Content, at that time working in Chicago, with the being the first Program Director in a major radio market to play it, despite it not being the album’s single when it debuted.

What happened next is what caused the song to blow up. Jimmy Jam explains how the station’s phones rang with people asking about that record which prompted them to put the record execs on notice that “Open My Heart” was the record to push.

Here’s more on their conversation below!