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I watched the Grammy Awards last night, but it wasn't Amy Winehouse nor Kanye West I wanted to see perform. My heart belongs to Morris Day and The Time, whose performance I eagerly awaited. I mean, how much fun was it watching Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis, Jerome Benton, Morris Day, Jesse Johnson, and the rest of the original Time group perform, just like they did 20 years ago, with the same energy and infectious smiles they have always had?

Have these guys aged like the rest of the hit-makers of the early '80s? Hell, no! BETTER. They still made me get up and do the Jungle Love in front of my horrified kids. Hang on. I have to do it one more time. Oh ee, oh ee, oh. (Deep breath.) Dammit, my rhythm still sucks.

Now, it is important that I disclose a few things about my relationship with these guys, so that you know I am not being a biased friend, but more a fan of the group that along with Prince put Minnesota music on the Map.

I first came to know these guys when I was in my late teens looking for a summer job. Through the kindness of mutual friends, I was able to land a job with American Artists (Jesse Johnson's management company), as the head of the Jesse Johnson Fan Club. Like most people starting out as a glorified gopher, I basically answered phones and made sure that Jesse was always happy and taken care of. The one difference was that I had... kind of dated... John McClain, a top executive at A&M Records and the brilliant man behind Jesse's bread and butter. So, while I was making sure that Jesse's favorite chicken wings from Runyon's were being delivered to his house — hot — I was also fielding phone calls from fans and accepting extravagant deliveries from my "friend" John.

John would come into town to do business with Jesse, but he was also overseeing a project that he put together: a Janet Jackson album produced by Jesse's former band-mates Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. So instead of spending my weekends going to shopping malls, like my friends, I was flown off to California, where I handled Jesse's fans while — better still — being treated like a princess by my... uhh... friend John.

Rough life? No! Confusing? Absolutely. I was dating the man that was responsible for making or breaking all of my bosses. So, I did what any normal young woman would do in this position: I made sure that my bosses knew that I was NOT going to take advantage of the situation. I continued to answer phones, make photocopies, set up Jesse's schedule, and so on. But as soon as John would call, I took full advantage of being treated like a real Jewish Princess.

Well, after a long and hard reality check, I realized that I was very young — too young to be involved in a serious relationship with anyone, so my time as John's girl slowly came to a halt. And although I quit the gopher job, I did stay friends with Jesse and the rest of the crazy crew who went on to make Janet Jackson a household name and establish themselves as the top production team of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, otherwise known as Flyte Tyme Productions.

To this day, I still keep in contact with Jimmy, who married the beautiful Lisa and has three ridiculously gorgeous kids; Terry, who also married his love Indira and is proud papa to a whole team of great kids; and Jerome Benton, who drives a limo for celebrities in Los Angeles when he is not performing — and who SHOULD HAVE HIS OWN REALITY SHOW ON VH-1!

What is so bizarre to me is that Terry's oldest son was my son's Senior buddy when he was a little tyke, and his daughter and my daughter have been friends since kindergarten without even knowing that their parents knew each other way back in the '80s, when life was big, crazy, and whole lot of Jungle Love!!! Until NOW...

As far as John goes... I am told that he has continued to be successful in the music business and that it is HE who I have to thank for my fondness and appreciation of Orchids and Louis Vuitton.