John Benitez, born November 7, 1957 in New York City, is an American musician, songwriter, DJ, remixer, and music producer best known as Jellybean. Growing up amid Puerto‑Rican musical traditions, he taught himself the turntable by borrowing his sister’s record player and began deejaying in 1976 at Charlie’s, a Bronx club, before moving to Manhattan’s Electric Circus and Xenon. His breakthrough came in 1982 when he mixed "Planet Rock" and "Let the Music Play" (1983). In 1983, a Warner Bros. executive introduced him to Madonna, leading to remix work on "Burning Up", "Borderline", and "Lucky Star", and producing her hit "Holiday". His own releases followed: the EP Wotupski !?! (1984), the single "Sidewalk Talk", and the album Spillin’ The Beans (1991). His production credits span artists such as Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, and Paul McCartney. He earned a Golden Globe nomination as executive producer of HBO’s For Love or Country: The Arturo Sandoval Story. In 2016, Billboard ranked him 99th most successful dance artists of all time.
