Babyface | |
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Born | Kenneth Brian Edmonds April 10, 1958 Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. |
Other names |
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Education | North Central High School |
Occupations |
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Years active | 1974–present |
Television | College Hill Soul Food |
Spouses | |
Children | 3 |
Relatives |
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Musical career | |
Genres | |
Labels | |
Formerly of | |
Website | babyfacemusic |
Kenneth Brian Edmonds [1] [2] (born April 10, 1958), better known by his stage name Babyface, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He has written and produced over 26 number-one R&B hits throughout his career and has won 13 Grammy Awards. He was ranked number 20 on NME 's 50 of The Greatest Producers Ever list.
Edmonds was born on April 10, 1958, in Indianapolis, Indiana, [3] [4] to Marvin and Barbara Edmonds. Barbara was a production operator at a pharmaceutical plant. Edmonds, who is the fifth of six brothers (including future After 7 band members Melvin and Kevon Edmonds, the latter of whom went on to have a modestly successful solo career), attended North Central High School in Indianapolis, and as a shy youth, wrote songs to express his emotions. [5] When he was in eighth grade, Edmonds' father died of lung cancer, leaving his mother to raise her sons alone. [5]
Edmonds later met funk performer Bootsy Collins, who tagged him "Babyface" because of his youthful look. He also performed in the group Manchild (which had a 1977 hit "Especially for You" with band member Daryl Simmons) as a guitarist. He played keyboards and guitar in the light-funk and R&B group the Deele (which also included drummer Antonio "L.A." Reid, with whom he would later form a successful writing and producing partnership). One of his first major credits as a songwriter for outside artists came when he wrote the tune "Slow Jam" for the R&B band Midnight Star in 1983. The tune was on Midnight Star's 1983 double-platinum No Parking on the Dance Floor album. Babyface remained in the Deele until 1988, when both he and Reid left the group.
His album Playlist consists of eight cover songs and two original works. It was released on September 18, 2007. It was the first album on the newly re-launched Mercury Records label. [6]
On February 4, 2014, he released a Grammy Award-winning duet album with Toni Braxton titled Love, Marriage & Divorce on Motown Records. [7]
In April 2024, he announced a Las Vegas residency via an Instagram video, featuring a playful spoof of Kidman's viral AMC Theaters ad. [8]
This section of a biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification .(September 2016) |
From the late 1980s to the early 90s, he wrote R&B and dance songs, writing and producing music for Bobby Brown ("Roni"), [9] Karyn White ("Love Saw It"), Pebbles ("Girlfriend", "Mercedes Boy"), [10] The Whispers ("Rock Steady", "In the Mood"), The Deele ("Two Occasions"), [11] Johnny Gill ("My My My"), [9] After 7 ("Ready or Not"), The Boys ("Dial My Heart"), Damian Dame ("Right Down to It") and Sheena Easton. [12] [13]
In 1989, Edmonds co-founded LaFace Records with Reid. [14] Three of the label's early artists, TLC, Usher, and Toni Braxton, were very successful. TLC's second album CrazySexyCool , for which he wrote and produced some of the hits, became the best-selling album of all time by an American girl group. [15] Under his direction, TLC sold more than 60 million albums worldwide, and a combined total of 75 million records. Toni Braxton's first two albums, Toni Braxton (1993) and Secrets (1996), for which he wrote the majority of the songs, went on to sell a combined total of over 15 million copies. [16]
Babyface helped form the late-1990s R&B group Az Yet. Edmonds also helped to mold and work with some of his then-wife Tracey Edmonds' acts, such as Jon B and producer Jon-John Robinson. [17]
"I'm Your Baby Tonight" (1990), produced for Whitney Houston, was Edmonds' first No. 1 Top 40 hit in the US. He also wrote and produced Boyz II Men's 1992 "End of the Road" and 1994 "I'll Make Love to You", both of which established records for the longest stay at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. [18] He co-wrote, co-produced, and provided backing vocals on Madonna's 1994 Bedtime Stories , which featured the seven-week No. 1 hit "Take a Bow", and shared billing with Eric Clapton on the chart-topping Grammy winner "Change the World" from the Phenomenon soundtrack. [19] He also wrote and produced the No. 1 hit "Exhale (Shoop Shoop)" for Houston as well as the rest of the 10 million-selling Waiting to Exhale soundtrack in 1995, which spawned additional hits for Houston, Brandy and Mary J. Blige.[ citation needed ]
Edmonds has produced and written music for Bobby Brown, The Whispers, Pebbles, After 7, Johnny Gill, Deele, Karyn White, The Boys, Damian Dame, Tevin Campbell, Patti LaBelle, Chaka Khan, Aretha Franklin, Madonna, Janet Jackson, Faith Evans, Beyoncé, Diana Ross, Sheena Easton, Toni Braxton, Michael Jackson, Michael Bolton, Paula Abdul, Eric Clapton ("Change the World"), Whitney Houston, Brandy, Mary J. Blige, Tamia, Shola Ama, 3T, Sisqó, Dru Hill, Fall Out Boy, Céline Dion, Samantha Jade, Backstreet Boys, Honeyz, Katharine McPhee, Mariah Carey, Vanessa L. Williams, Bruno Mars, Kelly Clarkson, Chanté Moore, En Vogue, Zendaya, Kenny G, Kristinia DeBarge, Lil Wayne, Kevin Abstract, P!nk, Marc Nelson, TLC, Ariana Grande, Jessica Mauboy, Xscape, K-Ci & JoJo, NSYNC, Jordin Sparks and Phil Collins.[ citation needed ] He received three consecutive Grammy Awards for Producer of the Year from 1995 to 1997. [20]
Babyface was in the studio for about two years with Ashanti to produce her album The Declaration (2008). [21]
He worked on the Lil Wayne album Tha Carter III (2008), on the Kanye West-produced "Comfortable".[ citation needed ] He also worked with R&B singer Monica for her sixth studio album Still Standing (2010).[ citation needed ]
In 2013, Babyface served as producer for Ariana Grande's debut album Yours Truly , producing the majority of her songs, including her second single, "Baby I".[ citation needed ]
In September 2014, Babyface collaborated with Barbra Streisand on her album Partners , performing a duet on the track "Evergreen" and background vocals for other album tracks.[ citation needed ]
Babyface also collaborated with Foxes on her second album, All I Need (2016), producing and co-writing "Scar".[ citation needed ]
In July 2016, Babyface along with Bruce Roberts and Carole Bayer Sager helped write the song "Stronger Together" sung by Jessica Sanchez. [22] The song was played after Hillary Clinton's speech at the 2016 Democratic National Convention. The song's title is named after the slogan that the Clinton campaign used as a show of uniting behind the Democratic nominee. The song was one of the top trending songs on Shazam that week. [23] The song was widely perceived as positive by the listeners, and received praise by celebrities like Jennifer Lopez [24] and Kim Kardashian. [25]
In 1994, he appeared and performed on an episode of Beverly Hills, 90210 , entitled "Mr. Walsh Goes to Washington (Part 2)".[ citation needed ]
In the mid-1990s, Edmonds and his then-wife Tracey Edmonds expanded into the business of motion pictures. Upon setting up Edmonds Entertainment Group, the company producing the films Soul Food (1997), Josie and the Pussycats (2001), and also the soundtrack for the film The Prince of Egypt (1998), which included contributions from numerous artists, including Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston.[ citation needed ] They also executive produced the BET reality series College Hill (2004–2009).[ citation needed ] Edmonds also worked with David Foster to compose "The Power of the Dream", the official song of the 1996 Summer Olympics, performed by Céline Dion. Linda Thompson provided the lyrics.[ citation needed ]
Babyface also participated as a duet partner on the Fox reality show Celebrity Duets (2006).[ citation needed ]
He was portrayed by Wesley Jonathan in the 2015 Lifetime biopic Whitney and is portrayed by actor Gavin Houston in the Lifetime biopic based on Toni Braxton entitled Un-Break My Heart, which premiered on the network in early 2016. [26]
In 2016, Babyface competed on season 23 of Dancing with the Stars . He was partnered with professional dancer Allison Holker. [27] He and Holker were eliminated on the fourth week of competition and finished in 11th place along with Vanilla Ice and Witney Carson. [28]
Edmonds founded his record label Soda Pop Records in 2009. Since founding the label he has signed R&B icons K-Ci & JoJo, releasing their first album for the label entitled My Brother's Keeper . In 2013 Babyface secured a distribution deal with E1 Music for the label.[ citation needed ]
In 2007, Babyface began dating his backup dancer Nicole "Nikki" Pantenburg (former backup dancer for and personal friend of Janet Jackson). Babyface and Pantenburg have a daughter, Peyton, born in 2008. [29] The pair married on May 17, 2014. In July 2021, they announced that their marriage would be ending after seven years. [30]
In 1999, a 25-mile (40 km) stretch of Interstate 65 that runs through Indianapolis was renamed the Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds Highway. [31]
Babyface was placed at number 20 on NME 's "50 of the Greatest Producers Ever" list. NME wrote of his impact:
One of the founding fathers of all the best bits of modern US R&B. And so you can't hate him if some of the schlock can be traced back to him also. Babyface was a pioneer of New Jack Swing in the 80s, before setting up LaFace with old mucker Antonio 'LA' Reid to give the world TLC, Usher and Toni Braxton under their guiding hand. There's barely a prominent artist in the genre he hasn't worked with, and as a result he's clocked up a mammoth 26 R&B number ones. [32]
In 1999, Babyface received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement presented by Awards Council member Coretta Scott King at a ceremony in Washington, D.C. [34]
On August 30, 2006, Babyface was honored as a BMI Icon at the 6th annual BMI Urban Awards. [35] Throughout his career, Babyface has won the BMI Pop Songwriter of the Year trophy 7 times, and a total of 51 BMI Awards, which includes Song of the Year for his Toni Braxton hit, "Breathe Again", in 1994. [36]
Babyface was honored with the 2,508th star of the Hollywood Walk of Fame on October 10, 2013. The star is located at 6270 Hollywood Boulevard. [37]
On October 18, 2018, he was conferred with an honorary doctorate degree from Indiana University Bloomington in recognition of his illustrious career in music. [38]
Toni Michele Braxton is an American singer, songwriter, actress and television personality. She has sold over 70 million records worldwide and is one of the best-selling female artists in history. Braxton has won seven Grammy Awards, nine Billboard Music Awards, seven American Music Awards, and numerous other accolades. In 2011, Braxton was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame. In 2017 she was honored with the Legend Award at the Soul Train Music Awards.
Antonio Marquis "L.A." Reid is an American record executive, A&R representative, and record producer who served as president and CEO of Arista Records from 2000 to 2004, as well as chairman and CEO of the Island Def Jam Music Group from 2004 to 2011 and Epic Records from 2011 to 2017. He co-founded the record label Hitco Entertainment in the latter year, which was sold to Concord in 2022.
Toni Braxton is the debut studio album by American singer Toni Braxton, released on July 13, 1993, by LaFace Records and Arista Records. The album was primarily produced by L.A. Reid, Babyface, and Daryl Simmons.
The Deele is an American band from Cincinnati, Ohio who achieved success in the 1980s with such hit singles as "Body Talk" and "Two Occasions". When the group began recording in the early 1980s, the lineup consisted of Indianapolis native Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds along with Cincinnati musicians Antonio "L.A." Reid, Carlos "Satin" Greene, Darnell "Dee" Bristol, Stanley "Stick" Burke, and Kevin "Kayo" Roberson. In 2007, Bristol, Greene, Roberson & Burke reformed the group with several new members.
"Love Shoulda Brought You Home" is the debut solo single by American singer Toni Braxton. It was written by Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, Daryl Simmons, and Bo Watson and produced by Edmonds and Simmons along with L.A. Reid. Originally written for singer Anita Baker, who had to decline due to her pregnancy, it was eventually recorded by Braxton and featured on the soundtrack to Reginald Hudlin's romantic comedy film Boomerang (1992). The song was later also included on Braxton's self titled debut album (1993). Lyrically, the slow-groove R&B song is saga of betrayal and infidelity that depicts a heartbroken Braxton.
"Breathe Again" is a song by American R&B singer Toni Braxton. It was written by Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds and produced by Edmonds, L.A. Reid, and Daryl Simmons for Braxton's first album Toni Braxton (1993). Its lyrics evokes a sense of nostalgia from a relationship that has run its course. The ballad was released as the album's second single on October 6, 1993, by LaFace and Arista Records.
"Seven Whole Days" is a song performed by American singer Toni Braxton. It serves as the third single from her self-titled debut album (1993). It was released on October 8, 1993 by LaFace and Arista Records. Written and produced by Kenneth Edmonds, Antonio Reid and Daryl Simmons, the track describes a romance that was fading. As the single was not commercially released in the United States, it was ineligible to chart on the Billboard Hot 100, and only managed to chart on the Hot 100 Airplay at number forty-eight in early March 1994. Nevertheless, it successfully topped the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay in late January 1994.
"You Mean the World to Me" is a song by American singer-songwriter Toni Braxton. It was written and produced by Antonio "L.A." Reid, Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, and Daryl Simmons for her self-titled debut album (1993). Selected as the album's fourth single, it was released on CD on April 21, 1994, by LaFace and Arista Records. It peaked at number seven on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number three on the Billboard Hot R&B Singles chart, while reaching the top ten of the Canadian Singles Chart. The music video for "You Mean the World to Me" was directed by Lionel C. Martin.
Tender Lover is the second studio album by American R&B singer-songwriter Babyface. The album was released on July 7, 1989. It is the follow-up to his debut Lovers (1986). It was his first album with SOLAR after the label entered into a distribution deal with Epic Records. In some regions of Europe, Tender Lover was released with a different cover picture and simply titled Babyface.
Daryl L. Simmons is an American R&B record producer and songwriter. Best known for his production work with L.A. Reid and Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, Simmons was credited on the majority of albums by their label LaFace Records, as well as several of Edmonds' solo albums. In 1977, he formed the R&B collective Manchild, who recorded two soul and funk albums and became known for their hit song, "Especially for You", which was released that same year by Chi Sound Records. Edmonds, Reggie Griffin, and Charles "Chuckie" Bush were among Manchild's revolving members.
"Two Occasions" is an R&B song written by Babyface, Darnell Bristol and Sid Johnson. It was produced by Babyface and L.A. Reid for the Deele's third studio album Eyes of a Stranger (1987). The ballad was released as the album's second single in December 1987. It is the only song on the album that features Babyface on lead vocals, which alternate between himself, Bristol, and Carlos "Satin" Greene throughout the course of the song. It has since been remade into a live version with added vocals from Babyface with all original vocals from the Deele intact; this version appeared on the 12-inch maxi single and also three years later on his album, A Closer Look.
Robert Lyndel Lewis is an American music arranger, music composer, record producer, musical director, film composer, musician, entrepreneur, and impresario. Lewis has worked on several Grammy Award winning singles and albums, and his production, songs, and arrangements have been featured on #1 albums, gold and platinum albums, films, live productions, and television shows.
The following is the discography of American musician Babyface.
Laney Stewart is an American songwriter, music producer, musician, music publisher, music executive, manager and youth mentor. He has written, produced and published hits for some of the biggest names in R&B, hip hop and pop music over the past three decades.
Manchild was an American 1970s funk band from Indianapolis, Indiana.
The following is a list of recordings which have been worked on by musician, songwriter, and record producer L.A. Reid.
Love, Marriage & Divorce is a collaborative studio album by American singers Toni Braxton and Babyface, released on February 4, 2014, by Motown Records. The album debuted at number 4 on the Billboard 200 and as of July 2, 2014 the album had sold 211,000 copies in the U.S. The album won Best R&B Album at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards.
Paul Boutin is a French-born American music mixer, audio engineer and a long-time collaborator with producer/songwriter/artist Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds.
LaFace Records was an American record label based in Atlanta, Georgia, that operated as a unit of Sony Music Entertainment from 2008 to 2011 and was historically a part of Bertelsmann Music Group from 1989 to 2004. It was most active and achieved its greatest commercial success during the 1990s, dealing largely in the field of urban music. It was originally distributed by its co-creator Arista Records from 1989 through 2001, after which it was shuttered and absorbed into Arista. In 2004, the label was rebooted, and it began operating through Jive Records until both were absorbed into RCA Records in 2011. Today, the label's back catalog and reissues are managed by Legacy Recordings.
Toni Braxton: Unbreak My Heart is a 2016 American television biographical film about R&B singer Toni Braxton. It premiered at Lifetime on January 23, 2016.