Boyz II Men – Setting the record straight
Boyz II Men is a Grammy-winning group founded in 1986 that was originally known as Unique Attraction. Nathan Morris and Marc Nelson from Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts were friends who organized several R&B singing groups that did not last long. The time came when the two were able to sign tenors Wanya Morris and Shawn Stockman and bass Michael McCary. This paved the way for a boy band that would later set unsurpassed records in the music industry.
Later, the group’s name was changed to Boyz II Men, which was taken from one of the New Edition songs at the time. They became popular when they performed an ‘a cappella’ rendition of New Edition’s “Can You Stand the Rain” at a Bell Biv DeVoe concert.
New Edition / BDD member Michael Bivins was impressed by their performance and began making plans to sign them to Motown Records. The original five members were reduced to four when Marc Nelson left the group due to personality conflicts. This was even before the group made their first recording, which is why Boyz II Men officially started out as a quartet group.
In 1991, Boyz II Men released his first album with Motown titled “Cooleyhighharmony”, with Michael Bivins serving as executive producer. This work featured classic soul style voices dubbed by the group and Bivins as “hip hop doo wop”. His first single “Motownphilly” produced by Dallas Austin featured a rap cameo by Michael Bivins. Their music video featured the group as hip hop style. Next up was a cover of GC Cameron’s “It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday” from the 1975 film Cooley High.
What’s unique about Boyz II Men is that they feature all four members as the leads rather than the usual R&B group consisting of two lead singers and the rest as the backdrop. This arrangement became his trademark with Wanya Morris and Shawn Stockman on tenor voice, Nathan Morris on baritone and Michael McCary on bass.
It was during the Cooleyhighharmony album release that the members received their nicknames, a marketing ploy by Bivins. Wanya was nicknamed “Squirt”, Shawn was “Slim” and Michael was “Bass”. Of the four members, Nathan received a “special” nickname, “Alex Vanderpool”, taken from a soap opera character who had a nerdy flair. The group always presented its members on an equal footing, although later Nathan Morris acted as a de facto manager managing its operations and business interests.
The 1992 Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Voiced Duo or Group was awarded to Cooleyhighharmony. It sold more than nine million copies. His two singles, “Motownphilly” and “It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday”, were very successful, reaching number 1 on the R&B charts and top 5 on the US charts.
Boyz II Men’s record hit came with the single “End of the Road.” It remained atop the Billboard Hot 100 for thirteen weeks, breaking the record set by Elvis Presley’s “Don’t Be Cruel” / “Hound Dog” double of 11 weeks in 1956.
The group’s second album, titled simply “II”, was released in 1994. The singles from this album that became major hits include “On Bended Knee” by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, and “I’ll Make Love to You. “from Babyface. and “The water runs dry.” Eventually, “Water Runs Dry” became no. 2 while “I’ll Make Love to You” and “On Bended Knee” reached the top of the US Top 20.
Other notable achievements from the “II” album include “On Bended Knee” which replaced “I’ll Make Love to You” at No. 1. This made the group in the third act to be replaced at no. 1, after Elvis Presley and The Beatles. The album itself became one of the best-selling albums ever released by an R&B group, selling more than 12 million copies in the US alone The 1995 Grammy Awards for Best R&B Album for “II” and Best R&B performances by a Voiced Duo or Group for “I’ll Make Love to You” were both won by Boyz II Men.
The boy band eventually achieved worldwide popularity and was recognized as a combination of the hit 1960s Motown groups The Temptations, The Four Tops and Smokey Robinson and The Miracles, and their own inspiration, New Edition. Therefore, they have established a clean image, smooth harmonies, and synchronized dance and performance movements. Another strong point of the group is their magnificent vocal qualities. They are all excellent singers, qualities that are not always necessary for chart success.
The bands that came after them were inspired by Boyz II Men, and many of their qualities were admired by others, particularly their work attitude and singing style. Among those who were influenced in this way are Shai, Soul For Real, Blackstreet, All-4-One, Dru Hill, Jagged Edge, and Az Yet. Despite the competition, the band retained its healthy image and was able to garner more followers than others with a more sex-laden style.
Due to a conflict with Motown regarding the “Remix Collection”, a compilation of the group’s songs from Cooleyhighharmony and II, they decided to start their own recording company, Stone Creek, to be distributed by Epic Records. However, the album “Evolution” released in 1997 sold only 3 million copies compared to Cooleyhighharmony’s 9 million and II’s 12 million. Only the single “Four Seasons of Loneliness” reached number 1.
Motown eventually merged with Universal Music Group’s Universal Records when Polygram was bought by UMG in 1999, and the group had the opportunity to perform “America the Beautiful” at Wrestlemania XV. They tried to prove the critics wrong, particularly those who claimed they relied on Babyfaces’ hitting skills for their success. They produced and wrote the 2000 album “Nathan Michael Shawn Wanya”, although this was not the success they thought it would be.
The following years were not totally successful and some members of the group suffered from health problems. Wanya Morris developed polyps on his vocal cords and Michael Mc Cary was diagnosed with scoliosis, a condition that was to end his career. The band left Universal Records in 2001 to sign Arista the following year, and a high-budget music video made for the album “Full Circle” did not help sales, the release sold only half a million in the US. one million. all over the world.
Michael McCary retired in 2003 due to scoliosis and the remaining three members created the MSM Music Group label after Arista terminated their contract. The Boyz II Men released “Throwback, Vol. 1” which only reached no. 59 on the Billboard 200.
When they resigned from Universal Records in 2007, they released the LP “Motown: A Journey through Hitsville USA”. He covered songs by The Temptations, Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, as well as some of his own.
Sporadic performances in recent years have included some special albums, television guest appearances, and special functions. They appeared as contestants on the game show “Don’t Forget the Lyrics” on February 21, 2008 and earned nominations for the album “Motown: A Journey Through Hitsville USA” for Best R&B Album and Best R&B Performance by a Duo. or group. for the vocals on “Ribbon in the Sky”.
They are due to release their 20th anniversary album in 2011, as Shawn announced during a concert in Virginia Beach on September 6, 2009. Boyz II Men were an original and unique band in their prime, but bands don’t last into modern times. as they once did due to rapidly changing musical tastes and styles.