Boyz II Men formed in 1988 at the Philadelphia High School for Creative and Performing Arts. Nathan Morris and Mare Nelson founded the group, originally known as Unique Attraction. Other members came and went due to graduation. They got their big break in 1989 when they snuck backstage at a concert to sing for New Edition and Bell Biv DeVoe member Michael Bivins. They sang an a cappella rendition of the New Edition song “Can You Stand the Rain.” Bivins was impressed and agreed to help them get signed. Mare Nelson left the group not long before they started working on their debut album, allegedly due to personality differences. Boyz II Men became a quartet with Michael McCary, Nathan Morris, Wanya Morris and Shawn Stockman. They took inspiration from the popular R&B group New Edition and renamed themselves Boyz II Men after their song “Boyz II Men.”
Early:
Bivins helped produce Boyz II Men’s first album. Since the very beginning, Boyz II Men featured all members equally as lead vocalists, going against the typical R&B group set up of one lead singer and a group of backups. Cooleyhighharmony was one of their first major successes, peaking at Number 3 on the Billboard 200 and winning them a Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a group With Vocals. The singles “Motownphilly” and “It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday” both became Number 1 R&B hits.
Middle:
In 1992, they released the all-time favorite and extremely successful “End of the Road” single. The song spent a record-breaking 13 weeks at Number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and became the year’s most popular song. In 1994 they released II, which sold more than 12 million copies in the United States and became one of the decade’s best-selling albums. It also earned them two Grammy Awards for Best R&B Album and Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals for the Number 1 hit single “I’ll Make Love to You.” They continued to develop their sound throughout the ’90s and collaborated with successful mainstream artists like Babyface, Michael Jackson, LL Cool J, and Mariah Carey. Their song with Carey, “One Sweet Day,” spent 16 weeks at Number 1 on the pop charts.1997’s Evolution gave them another platinum single with “A Song for Mama” that sold 2 million copies.
Late:
Boyz II Men took control of songwriting and production for their next record, 2000’s Nathan Michael Shawn Wanya. They signed with Arista Records in 2002 and released Full Circle that year. In 2003, Michael McCary left the group due to scoliosis, which prevented him from participating in many of their dance numbers. Full Circle‘s disappointing sales led to Arista ending their contract with the group that year, putting the remaining three members, Nathan Morris, Wanya Morris, and Shawn Stockman, on a hold. They returned with Throwback, Vol. 1 in 2004, a collection of R&B and soul covers, and released their seventh studio album The Remedy in 2007. It was available only through their website. They teamed up with “American Idol” judge Randy Jackson to produce 2007’s Motown: A Journey Through Hitsville USA and 2009’s Love. Both were cover albums.
Soul for Real
Tevin Campbell
Toni Braxton
Brian McKnight
Mariah Carey
Mint Condition
“If the love don’t feel like 90’s R&B
I don’t want it”
Grammy Award for Best R&B Album
1995 · II
Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals
1995, 1993, 1992 · I’ll Make Love to You, End of the Road, Cooleyhighharmony
American Music Award for Favorite Album Soul/R&B
1996 · II
NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Duo or Group
1998, 1996
Billboard Music Award for Top Hot 100 Song
1992 · End of the Road
American Music Award for Favorite Pop/Rock Single
1995, 1993 · I’ll Make Love to You, End of the Road
Soul Train Music Award for Best Song of the Year
1993 · End of the Road
NAACP Image Award for Outstanding New Artist
1992 · Cooleyhighharmony
Soul Train Music Award for Best New Artist
1992
Soul Train Music Award for Best R&B/Soul Single – Group, Band or Duo
1995, 1993 · I’ll Make Love to You, Please Don’t Go
Soul Train Music Award for Best Video of the Year
1993 · End of the Road
American Music Award for Favorite Soul/R&B Single -1995 · I’ll Make Love to You
NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Song – 1998 · A Song for Mama
Soul Train Music Award for Best R&B/Soul Album – Group, Band or Duo
1995 · II
American Music Award for Favorite Soul/R&B Band/Duo/Group
1998, 1996, 1995, …
Kids’ Choice Awards Hall of Fame – 1994
Soul Train Music Award for Sammy Davis Jr. – Entertainer of the Year 1996
American Music Award for Favorite Soul/R&B New Artist – 1992
Billboard Music Special Hot 100 Award – 1996 · One Sweet Day
Billboard Music Award for Hot 100 Singles Artist of the Year 1992
World Music Award for World’s Best Selling New Group – 1993
Boyz II Men earned $500,000 for charity on Don’t Forget the Lyrics and has supported the following charities:
Make-A-Wish Foundation
Save The Music Foundation
Shriners Hospitals for Children
The Black Eyed Peas Foundation
The Fatone Family Foundation
Boyz II Men made a name for themselves and became a hit group for so many years. Their music is still played as some of the best old school jams to this day. Although their career is no longer the same as it was years ago, they are still known even in today’s generation, and will forever continue to be passed down to future generations to come. I know that for a fact because it is what I will be playing around my own children.
“.” Contemporary Musicians. . Encyclopedia.com. 15 Apr. 2021 .” Encyclopedia.com, Encyclopedia.com, 7 May 2021, www.encyclopedia.com/people/literature-and-arts/music-popular-and-jazz-biographies/boyz-ii-men.
“Boyz II Men.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 1 May 2021, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boyz_II_Men.
“Boyz II Men: Biography & History.” AllMusic, www.allmusic.com/artist/boyz-ii-men-mn0000096379/biography.
“Boyz II Men: Charity Work & Causes.” Look to the Stars, www.looktothestars.org/celebrity/boyz-ii-men.
“Boyz II Men: Charity Work & Causes.” Look to the Stars, www.looktothestars.org/celebrity/boyz-ii-men.
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