Boyz II Men
Boyz II Men is an American vocal harmony group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, best known for emotional ballads and a cappella harmonies. Formed in 1985, they have been a trio composed of baritone Nathan Morris, tenor Wanyá Morris, and tenor Shawn Stockman since 2003. During the 1990s, Boyz II Men was a quartet with bass singer Michael McCary, who left the group in 2003 due to health issues after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.
The group first saw commercial success in 1991 with the release of their singles "Motownphilly" and "It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday," both of which peaked within the top five of the Billboard Hot 100. Their 1992 single, "End of the Road" peaked atop the chart and set a then-record for spending 13 weeks at the position. Boyz II Men later broke this record twice more with the singles "I'll Make Love to You" and "One Sweet Day" which, at 14 and 16 weeks respectively, set records for most weeks at number one. When "On Bended Knee" took the number one spot away from "I'll Make Love to You," Boyz II Men became the second musical act, after the Beatles, to replace themselves atop the Billboard Hot 100. These achievements gave Boyz II Men recognition as Billboard magazine's biggest boy band from 1987 to 2012.
Boyz II Men continued to perform as a trio despite McCary's departure. Their latest studio album, Under the Streetlight, was released in 2017. Boyz II Men have received four Grammy Awards. They also became the first group contestants to win The Masked Singer where they competed as "Buffalos" in season twelve.
History
1985–1990: Group formation and beginnings
The group, originally named Unique Attraction, was formed in 1985 by Nathan Morris and Marc Nelson at the Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts along with fellow schoolmates George Baldi, Jon Shoats, and Marguerite Walker. In 1987, Wanyá Morris, who sang in the school's choir along with the members of Unique Attraction, joined the group and became a permanent member as a freshman. In 1988 Baldi, Shoats and Walker left the group due to graduation. They then recruited Shawn Stockman after seeing him perform a solo in the school's choir. After an encounter in a school bathroom, Michael McCary started singing along with the group and eventually became the group's new bass singer. With their permanent lineup of members, the group rehearsed in the high school's bathrooms, in the corners of their schools, and other local areas. At CAPA, they were mentored by LaDeva Davis.Finding inspiration in New Edition's harmonies and routines, they eventually renamed the group "Boyz II Men," after New Edition's "Boys to Men," from the 1988 album Heart Break. After performing at a Valentine's Day party at school in 1989, they snuck into a concert put on by local radio station Power 99 at the Philadelphia Civic Center. They planned to find Will Smith backstage and perform for him. However, while looking for Smith, they happened to cross paths with New Edition member Michael Bivins, who, along with bandmates Ricky Bell and Ronnie DeVoe, had just announced they were forming a New Edition spin-off trio, Bell Biv DeVoe. After they sang New Edition's "Can You Stand the Rain" for him, Bivins and everyone in attendance, including other celebrities, were impressed. He then gave the group his number and told them to call him. Nate eventually called him, and he agreed to manage and help produce the group.
The delay before recording their own material and reported personality conflicts led founding member Marc Nelson to leave the group, making Boyz II Men into the quartet that found international fame: Michael McCary, Nathan Morris, Wanyá Morris, and Shawn Stockman.
1991–1993: ''Cooleyhighharmony'' and "End of the Road"
Boyz II Men's first album, Cooleyhighharmony, was released on Motown in 1991 and was produced by Dallas Austin and the Characters. Cooleyhighharmonys drum-heavy new jack swing sound and multi-layered sampled backdrops were similar to that of Bell Biv DeVoe's own work, but featured classic-soul styled vocals in place of BBD's rapping and brassier singing. This style was dubbed "hip hop doo-wop" by the group and Bivins, who presented Boyz II Men and adolescent R&B group Another Bad Creation to the public as BBD's protégés.From the beginning, Boyz II Men featured all four members as leads, avoiding the usual R&B group arrangement of one or two lead singers and a team of background singers. The multiple-lead arrangement became a Boyz II Men trademark, and it became typical to hear Wanyá Morris' vibrato-heavy tenor, Shawn Stockman's tenor voice, Nathan Morris' baritone, and Michael McCary's bass trading bars in each song.
The album's liner notes identified unique nicknames for each group member. These nicknames were devised in collaboration with Bivins in an attempt at marketing. Wanyá was "Squirt," Shawn was "Slim," Michael was simply "Bass," and Nathan assumed the name "Alex Vanderpool," after a soap opera character who brandished a nerdy style.
Boyz II Men's first single, the Dallas Austin-produced "Motownphilly," featured a rap cameo by Michael Bivins that tells of how he met Boyz II Men. The single's release was accompanied by a music video that presented the group in hip-hop style. Cooleyhighharmonys second single was an a cappella cover of a classic Motown tune, G.C. Cameron's "It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday" from the 1975 film Cooley High, while "Uhh Ahh" served as the third single.
Cooleyhighharmony achieved major success, selling over nine million copies and winning the Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals at the 1992 Grammy Awards. Boyz II Men were also nominated for Best New Artist, along with British singer-songwriter Seal, fellow R&B group Color Me Badd, and dance group C+C Music Factory, but the Grammy was awarded to singer-songwriter Marc Cohn. "Motownphilly" and "It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday" were number 1 R&B hits and top five U.S. pop hits.
In 1992, Boyz II Men joined MC Hammer's high-profile 2 Legit 2 Quit Tour as an opening act. While traveling the country, their tour manager Roderick 'Khalil' Rountree was murdered in Chicago, and the group's future performances of "It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday" were dedicated to him. As a result of this unfortunate experience, the song helped advance their success.
While touring during 1992, Boyz II Men returned briefly to the studio to record the single "End of the Road," co-written and produced by Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, for the soundtrack to Eddie Murphy's film Boomerang. This song, released as a single on June 30, 1992, became Boyz II Men's biggest hit. It reached the number one position on the Billboard Hot 100 on August 15, remaining for a record-setting 13 weeks, until November 14, 1992. The success of "End of the Road" instantly transformed Boyz II Men from up-and-coming R&B stars into mainstream music celebrities.
A revamped Cooleyhighharmony was reissued during 1993, with "End of the Road" added as a special bonus track, but "End of the Road" initially appeared only on the Boomerang soundtrack. Later, the track was included in a collection of singles produced by Michael Bivins called "East Coast Family, Vol. 1". Shortly after the release of this compilation, Boyz II Men and Michael Bivins parted ways professionally. Boyz II Men continued to work with Babyface and other high-profile record producers over the next several years.
1994–1996: ''II'' and "I'll Make Love to You"
After releasing a Christmas compilation, Christmas Interpretations in 1993, Boyz II Men returned to the studio for their highly anticipated sophomore effort. In 1994, II was released. II sold more than copies in the United States alone, becoming one of the best-selling albums ever released by an R&B group act, and one of the biggest albums of the decade. II later won two awards at the 1995 Grammy Awards, including Best R&B Album.Most of the tracks on II were written and produced by Tim & Bob—Tim Kelley and Bob Robinson, Babyface and the successful team of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. Several of IIs tracks became major singles, among them Jam & Lewis's "On Bended Knee", and Babyface's "I'll Make Love to You" and "Water Runs Dry".
"I'll Make Love to You" broke "End of the Road's" 13-week record at number 1, by spending 14 weeks at the top of the chart. "On Bended Knee" replaced "I'll Make Love to You" at number 1, making Boyz II Men the second act ever to replace itself at number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart after the Beatles.
In 1995, the group appeared as backing vocalists on "HIStory" from Michael Jackson's Grammy-nominated ninth album of the same name.
In 1995, Motown issued The Remix Collection, a compilation of remixes of various Boyz II Men songs from Cooleyhighharmony and II. The group itself had opposed the release of the collection because they felt the compilation did not represent Boyz II Men's best work. After the label released the album without their permission, there was a dispute between the company and the group. Boyz II Men initiated their own recording company Stonecreek, and they arranged for Stonecreek's distribution by Epic Records, not Motown.
1997–1998: ''Evolution'' and label conflicts
Boyz II Men's third studio album, Evolution, was released during 1997 to mixed reviews and sold three million copies, far below the stratospheric success of IIs and Cooleyhighharmony. Only one of Evolutions singles, the Jam/Lewis-penned "Four Seasons of Loneliness", reached number 1 on the Hot 100 chart. The second single, the Babyface-helmed "A Song for Mama" was a Top 10 success, but the follow-up "Can't Let Her Go" underperformed.The global tour began in 1997 to promote Evolution was successful in terms of ticket sales, but behind the scenes, Boyz II Men was wracked by conflicts, with their record label and internal conflicts among the members of the group. Making matters worse, health problems began to take their toll on the group. While on tour to support the Evolution album, Wanyá Morris developed a polyp on his vocal cords, and the group was forced to postpone part of the tour until he recovered. McCary's multiple sclerosis meant that he was unable to participate in most of the group's dance routines.
Boyz II Men were nominated for 2 Grammys in 1998: Best R&B Album for Evolution and Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group for "A Song for Mama".