| The Essential Babyface | ||||
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 | ||||
| Greatest hits album by | ||||
| Released | June 10, 2003 | |||
| Genre | R&B, Pop rock | |||
| Length | 1:06:34 | |||
| Label | Sony Music, Epic | |||
| Babyface chronology | ||||
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| Review scores | |
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| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
The Essential Babyface is the eleventh album by R&B artist, Babyface and is a compilation of some of his singles. The release is part of Sony BMG's The Essential series. [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]
All songs are written by Babyface, except as noted.
After 7 is an American R&B group founded in 1987 by brothers Melvin and Kevon Edmonds, and their friend Keith Mitchell. The Edmonds brothers are the older siblings of pop/R&B singer-songwriter and record producer Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, who named the group and helped them get a record deal with Virgin Records in 1988. After 7 released their platinum-selling self-titled debut album in 1989, which spawned three singles "Heat of the Moment", "Ready or Not" and "Can't Stop". "Ready or Not" and "Can't Stop" were No. 1 R&B hits and top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100. Their second album Takin' My Time, released in 1992, also went platinum and contained the R&B hit medley "Baby, I'm for Real/Natural High". After 7's Gold-selling 1995 album Reflections was their last album before the group disbanded in 1997. The album included the R&B hit "'Til You Do Me Right. Years later the group resumed touring with Jason Edmonds, son of Melvin Edmonds, replacing his father. Melvin rejoined the group for their successful 2016 comeback album Timeless, which featured 3 adult R&B top 10 hits "Runnin' Out", "I Want You" and "Let Me Know".
Kenneth Brian Edmonds, 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.
Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever is a 1983 television special, produced by Suzanne de Passe for Motown, to commemorate its 25th anniversary. The program was taped before a live audience at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Pasadena, California on March 25, 1983, and broadcast on NBC on May 16. Among its highlights were Michael Jackson's performance of "Billie Jean", Smokey Robinson's reunion with the Miracles, a Temptations / Four Tops "battle of the bands", Marvin Gaye's inspired speech about black music history and his memorable performance of "What's Going On", a Jackson 5 reunion, and an abbreviated reunion of Diana Ross & the Supremes, who performed their final #1 hit, "Someday We'll Be Together" from 1969. The show was written by Buz Kohan, Ruth Robinson, and de Passe. The broadcast was watched by over 47 million viewers.
Bille Woodruff is a director of film, television and music videos, noted for directing many videos for a number of R&B and hip-hop artists since the mid-1990s. These artists include Joe, for whom Woodruff has directed 9 music videos since 1994, and Toni Braxton, with whom he has worked 10 times since 1996. Woodruff directed the videos for some of Braxton's biggest singles, including "Un-Break My Heart", "You're Makin' Me High", and "He Wasn't Man Enough".
"End of the Road" is a song by American R&B group Boyz II Men for the Boomerang soundtrack. It was released in June 1992 by LaFace, Arista and Motown, and is written by Babyface, Antonio L.A. Reid and Daryl Simmons. It is written and composed in the key of E-flat major and is set in time signature of 6/8 with a tempo of 150 beats per minute. The song achieved domestic and international success. In the United States, it 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.
VH1 debuted the first annual VH1 Divas concert in 1998. VH1 Divas Live was created to support the channel's Save The Music Foundation and subsequent concerts in the series have also benefited that foundation. The VH1 Divas concerts were a follow-up to the channel's annual VH1 Honors benefit concert that ran from 1994 to 1997, airing annually from 1998 to 2004. After a five-year hiatus, the series returned in 2009 with a younger-skewed revamp. In 2010 the concert saluted the troops and in 2011 it celebrated soul music, doubling the previous year's ratings. After a dance music-focused 2012 edition aired live from the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on December 16, 2012, the show took another hiatus before being revived on December 5, 2016, at the Kings Theatre in Brooklyn, New York with a holiday theme and achieved its highest ratings in over a decade.
The 1988 Soul Train Music Awards were held on March 30, 1988, at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in Los Angeles, California. The show was broadcast live in select cities and aired later in other areas. Dionne Warwick hosted.
"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.
Takin' My Time is the second studio album by R&B trio After 7. It peaked at #76 on the Billboard 200. It was their first album to be released under Virgin Records after being acquired by EMI Music in 1992. The album is notable for being their first and only album without any songs produced by L.A. Reid and Babyface. Instead, they contribute as writers, with Reid co-writing the songs "Can He Love U Like This" and "G.S.T.", and Babyface writing "Truly Something Special" and "Love By Day/Love By Night". The production was handed over to Daryl Simmons & Kayo, who co-produced and co-wrote many of the songs on their self-titled debut.
Dance!...Ya Know it! is a remix album by American R&B singer Bobby Brown, released in 1989. The album features remixes of various songs from his King of Stage and Don't Be Cruel albums as well as "On Our Own", Brown's hit single from the Ghostbusters II soundtrack. "Every Little Hit Mega Mix", a medley of "Every Little Step", "On Our Own", "Don't Be Cruel", and "My Prerogative", was released as a single to promote the album but was not included on the album itself. The UK and European version of the megamix was titled "The Free Style Mega-mix" and was produced by Rita Liebrand; the Australian version, "The 'Every Little Hit' Mix", was released as a B-side on the European version of the "Roni" single.
For the Cool in You is the third studio album by American R&B musician and songwriter Babyface. The album was released on August 24, 1993. The album reached number sixteen on the US Billboard 200 and at number two on the Top R&B Albums chart. The album spawned five singles, the lead single "For the Cool in You", "Never Keeping Secrets", "And Our Feelings", "Rock Bottom", and "When Can I See You" which became his biggest top-ten hit on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number four, and reaching number six on the Hot R&B Singles chart.
The Lover in Me is the ninth studio album by Scottish singer Sheena Easton. It was released in November 1988 and was her debut for MCA. The album has a more Urban/R&B sound than Easton's previous recordings due to the production by well-known acts such as L.A. Reid, Babyface and John "Jellybean" Benitez. The album's title track became a major hit, reaching number 2 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 15 on the UK Singles Chart. The album reached number 44 on the US Billboard 200 and number 30 on the UK Albums Chart, and was certified Gold by the RIAA. It is one of Easton's best selling albums to date and returned her to the US and UK charts. Significantly, in the UK it was her first charting album for over five years, with the lead single becoming her first top 20 hit in nearly eight years.
"How Come, How Long" is a song written, produced and performed by Babyface. It was released as the third single from his fourth album, The Day (1996). It is a duet with American singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder.
Daryl L. Simmons is an American R&B musician, songwriter and record producer, who worked with the production duo of L.A. Reid and Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds. In 1977–1980 Simmons, with Manchild (band) recorded 2 soul & funk albums & the minor hit "Especially for You" on the label Chi Sound Records. Manchild included: Kenneth Babyface Edmonds, Reggie Griffin, Charles "Chuckie" Bush & others.
The American Idols Live! Tour 2002 was a fall concert tour featuring the top ten contestants of the inaugural season of American Idol, which aired earlier that year. The tour visited 30 cities across the United States starting October 8, 2002 in San Diego, and became the template for concerts tours following each of the succeeding American Idol seasons. Select performances of Clarkson are also released in the Miss Independent DVD album in 2003.
Messages from the Boys is the debut album by American R&B group the Boys. It was released in 1988.
"Never Keeping Secrets" is the second single released from American singer, songwriter, and record producer Babyface's third album, For the Cool in You (1993). Written and co-produced by Babyface with L.A. Reid and Daryl Simmons, the single was released in 1993 by Epic Records. It peaked at numbers 15 and 16 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and Cash Box Top 100, and number three on the Billboard R&B Singles chart.
"This Is for the Lover in You" is a song written by Howard Hewett, member of the trio Shalamar, and songwriter Dana Meyers. The track was originally recorded by Shalamar and appeared on their 1980 Platinum album, Three for Love.
"For the Cool in You" is a song co-written, co-produced and performed by American contemporary R&B singer Babyface. The song was written by Babyface, Daryl Simmons, and produced by the former, Simmons and L.A. Reid. It is the opening and title track to his third studio album (1993) and was issued as the album's first single on August 10, 1993, by Epic Records. The song peaked at #81 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1993.
The 1987 Soul Train Music Awards aired live on March 23, 1987, honoring the best in R&B, soul, rap, jazz, and gospel music from the previous year. The show was held at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in Los Angeles, California and was hosted by Luther Vandross and Dionne Warwick.
