Boyz II Men, also known as B2M, is an American vocal harmony group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, best known for emotional ballads and a cappella harmonies. They are currently a trio composed of baritone Nathan Morris alongside tenors Wanya Morris and Shawn Stockman. During the 1990s, Boyz II Men found fame on Motown Records as a quartet, including bass Michael McCary, who left the group in 2003 due to health issues which were eventually diagnosed as multiple sclerosis.
Mary Jane Blige is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Often referred to as the "Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and "Queen of R&B", Blige has won nine Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, four American Music Awards, twelve NAACP Image Awards, and twelve Billboard Music Awards, including the Billboard Icon Award. She has been nominated for three Golden Globe Awards and two Academy Awards, including one for her supporting role in the film Mudbound (2017) and another for its original song "Mighty River", becoming the first person nominated for acting and songwriting in the same year.
New jack swing, new jack, or swingbeat is a fusion genre of the rhythms and production techniques of hip hop and dance-pop, and the urban contemporary sound of R&B. Spearheaded by producers Teddy Riley and Bernard Belle, new jack swing was most popular from the late-1980s to early-1990s. Its influence, along with hip hop, seeped into pop culture.
Mary Esther Wells was an American singer, who helped to define the emerging sound of Motown in the early 1960s.
Edward James Kendrick, better known as Eddie Kendricks, was an American singer and songwriter. Noted for his distinctive falsetto singing style, Kendricks co-founded the Motown singing group the Temptations, and was one of their lead singers from 1960 until 1971. He was the lead voice on such famous songs as "The Way You Do the Things You Do", "Get Ready", and "Just My Imagination ". As a solo artist, Kendricks recorded several hits of his own during the 1970s, including the number-one single "Keep On Truckin'".
Joseph Lewis Thomas, known mononymously as Joe, is an American R&B singer. Born and raised in Ashburn, Georgia, he later relocated to Atlanta and signed a record deal with Polygram Records in 1992. He rose to prominence after releasing his debut album Everything the following year. He followed it with a series of successful albums under Jive Records, including All That I Am (1997), the international bestseller My Name Is Joe (2000) as well as the multi-certified albums Better Days (2001) and And Then... (2003). Several songs from these albums became hit singles on the pop and R&B record charts, including the number-one hit "Stutter", the top ten entries "All the Things ", "Don't Wanna Be a Player", and "I Wanna Know" as well as his collaborations "Faded Pictures", "Thank God I Found You" and "Still Not a Player".
Color Me Badd is an American contemporary R&B group that was formed in 1985 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma by lead singer Bryan Abrams, tenor Mark Calderon, second tenor Sam Watters and baritone Kevin Thornton. Color Me Badd broke up in 1998 before reuniting in 2010, with various lineups since.
"My Girl" is a soul music song recorded by the Temptations for the Gordy (Motown) record label. Written and produced by the Miracles members Smokey Robinson and Ronald White, it became the Temptations' first U.S. number 1 single, and is today their signature song. Robinson's inspiration for writing "My Girl" was his wife, Miracles member Claudette Rogers Robinson. The song was included on the Temptations 1965 album The Temptations Sing Smokey. In 2017, the song was selected for preservation in the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or artistically significant".
"I'll Be There" is the first single released on Third Album by The Jackson 5. It was written by Berry Gordy, Hal Davis, Bob West, and Willie Hutch.
"I Will Always Love You" is a song written and originally recorded in 1973 by American singer-songwriter Dolly Parton. Written as a farewell to her business partner and mentor Porter Wagoner, expressing Parton's decision to pursue a solo career, the country single was released in 1974. The song was a commercial success for Parton, twice reaching the top spot of Billboard Hot Country Songs: first in June 1974, then again in October 1982, with a re-recording for The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas soundtrack.
"End of the Road" is a song by American R&B group Boyz II Men for the Boomerang soundtrack. It was released in 1992 and was written by Babyface, Antonio L.A. Reid and Daryl Simmons. "End of the Road" achieved domestic and international success. In the United States, "End of the Road" spent a then record breaking 13 weeks at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100, a record broken later in the year by Whitney Houston's 14-week number one hit "I Will Always Love You"; Boyz II Men would later match Houston's record with "I'll Make Love to You", which spent 14 weeks at number one in 1994, and then reclaim the record with "One Sweet Day", which spent 16 weeks at number one from 1995 to 1996.
"Abraham, Martin and John" is a 1968 song written by Dick Holler. It was first recorded by Dion, in a version that was a substantial North American chart hit in 1968–1969. Near-simultaneous cover versions by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles and Moms Mabley also charted in the U.S. in 1969, and a version that same year by Marvin Gaye became the hit version in the UK. It was also a hit as part of a medley for Tom Clay in 1971, and has subsequently been recorded by many other artists.
"Save the Best for Last" is the third single from American singer and actress Vanessa Williams' second studio album, The Comfort Zone (1991). The song was written by Phil Galdston, Wendy Waldman, and Jon Lind. It is a ballad about a young female admirer of a single man who stands by and watches as the object of her desires goes through years of dating, before he finally unexpectedly decides to initiate a relationship with the singer. The lyrics' redemptive themes resonated with Williams' story, as she had put together a successful music career following her earlier Miss America resignation scandal.
Billboard Year-End charts are a cumulative measure of a single or album's performance in the United States, based upon the Billboard magazine charts during any given chart year. Billboard's "chart year" runs from the first Billboard "week" of December to the final week in November, but because the Billboard week is dated in advance of publication, the last calendar week for which sales are counted is usually the third week in November. This altered calendar allows for Billboard to calculate year-end charts and release them in time for its final print issue in the last week of December.
"Something He Can Feel" is a song composed by Curtis Mayfield for the 1976 motion picture Sparkle. The song, a love ballad in a Chicago-/Philly-soul style, became a number-one hit on the Billboard's R&B singles chart in the United States twice with two separate recordings: a 1976 version by Aretha Franklin from the film's soundtrack, and a 1992 cover by girl group En Vogue.
Slow Dance is a number-one R&B single by R. Kelly with Public Announcement, from the album Born into the 90's. The song spent one week at number-one on the US R&B chart and became a minor pop hit on the US Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number forty-three. This was the second #1 R&B hit for Kelly; the previous being "Honey Love" from the same album.
"Baby-Baby-Baby" is a song by American girl group TLC. It was the second single released from their debut studio album, Ooooooohhh... On the TLC Tip (1992), and their second consecutive top-10 hit. It was the most successful single from the album, reaching number two on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, giving them their first number-one single on that chart.
"Honey Love" a song by American R&B singer R. Kelly and American R&B group Public Announcement. It was released as the second single from Kelly's debut studio album Born into the 90's (1992). It became Kelly's first number-one on the US R&B chart where it peaked for two weeks; also it barely made the Top 40 pop chart portion, peaking at number 39 on the Billboard Hot 100.
"You Will Know" is a song written and recorded by American R&B singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder, taken from his 1987 Characters album.