Boyz II Men is an American vocal harmony group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, best known for emotional ballads and a cappella harmonies. Formed in 1985, they have been a trio composed of baritone Nathan Morris alongside tenors Wanyá Morris and Shawn Stockman since 2003. During the 1990s, Boyz II Men was a quartet with bass singer Michael McCary, who left the group in 2003 due to health issues that were diagnosed as multiple sclerosis.
"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. 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.
"Exhale (Shoop Shoop)" is a song by American recording artist and actress Whitney Houston, featured on the soundtrack for the film Waiting to Exhale. It was released as the lead single from the soundtrack on November 6, 1995, by Arista Records. The song was written and produced by Babyface. A mid-tempo R&B and soul ballad, composed in the key of D-flat major, the song's lyrics speak about growing up and learning to let go. The song garnered mostly positive reviews from critics, many of whom noted Houston's vocal maturity in the song.
"I'll Make Love to You" is a song by American R&B group Boyz II Men for the Motown label. Written by Babyface, it was released in July 1994 as the lead single from their second album, II (1994). The song was a commercial success, spending 14 weeks atop the US Billboard Hot 100. It was also the third best performing song in the 1990s on Billboard, as well as ranking on Billboard Greatest of All-Time chart. "I'll Make Love to You" won the Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals and was nominated for Record of the Year. Its accompanying music video was directed by Lionel C. Martin.
Legacy: The Greatest Hits Collection is a 2001 greatest hits LP for R&B group Boyz II Men, released by Universal Records.
Evolution is the fourth studio album by American R&B quartet Boyz II Men, released on September 23, 1997. It is their final album released on Motown Records. A Spanish language version, Evolución, was also issued. The Spanish edition won the Billboard Latin Music Award for Pop Album of the Year by a New Artist.
"4 Seasons of Loneliness" is a song by Philadelphia-based vocal quartet Boyz II Men. Written and produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, the song was issued as the first single from their fourth studio album, Evolution (1997), on September 8, 1997.
"Shock Your Mama" is a song by American singer-songwriter-actress Debbie Gibson, released as the second single from her fourth album, Body, Mind, Soul (1993). Co-written by Gibson with Carl Sturken and Evan Rogers, this single was co-produced with by the latter two. The version used as the A-side is a radio edit of the LP Version, entitled the "London Apprentice Edit". Released in March 1993, the song stalled at No. 74 on the UK Singles Chart. The song was banned in South Korea and omitted in the country's release of Body, Mind, Soul due to music censorship laws prohibiting sexually suggestive lyrics.
"Give U My Heart" is a song recorded by American R&B singers Babyface and Toni Braxton for the soundtrack to the 1992 film Boomerang, starring Eddie Murphy. The collaboration was released as a single the same year, reaching No. 29 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and No. 2 on the Billboard Hot R&B Singles chart.
"Last Night" is a song by American R&B group Az Yet, produced by Babyface and Mervyn Warren, and released as the first single from the group's debut album, Az Yet (1996). The song became the group's first hit, reaching number nine on the US Billboard Hot 100, number one on the Billboard Hot R&B Singles chart, and number four on the Billboard Top 40/Rhythm-Crossover chart. Additionally, it reached number two in Australia, number six in New Zealand, and number eight in the Netherlands. The song was also included on The Nutty Professor soundtrack.
"Uhh Ahh" is the title of a number-one R&B single by group Boyz II Men. The song was written by Michael Bivins, Nathan Morris and Wanya Morris.
"It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday" is an R&B song written by Motown husband-and-wife songwriting team Freddie Perren and Christine Yarian for the 1975 film Cooley High. In the film, the song is performed by Motown artist G.C. Cameron, whose rendition peaked at number 38 on the Billboard R&B singles chart that same year. Perren also composed the instrumental score for Cooley High, and the B-side to "It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday" features two of his score compositions from the film.
"Missing You" is a song by American singer Mary J. Blige. It was written and produced by Babyface for her third studio album, Share My World (1997). In the United Kingdom, the song was released as the album's third single where it reached number 19 on the UK Singles Chart. "Missing You" features background vocals from singer Shanice and talks about a woman in a dilemma over a relationship with a man that she at first claimed she "wasn't in love" with but then finds herself "thinking about him all the time" and her missing him.
"Thank You" is a new jack swing song by American R&B/soul group Boyz II Men, released as the third single from their second studio album, II (1994). The song was co-produced by Dallas Austin and Boyz II Men. It did not perform as well as its predecessor and reached a peak position of #21 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and the Hot Singles Sales on March 18, 1995, and March 25, 1995, respectively, and also reached #17 on the US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop songs. "Thank You" performed moderately well in the UK eventually peaking at #26 on the UK Singles Chart. The song also peaked at #17 on the New Zealand RIANZ singles chart, #27 on the French singles chart and #33 on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart. The album version of the song is a cappella, consisting only of sounds created by the human voice, bringing to mind one of their first hit songs, "Motownphilly".
"Every Time I Close My Eyes" is a song written, produced and performed by American musician Babyface. It was released as the second single from his fourth album, The Day (1996). Mariah Carey performs the backing vocals, after Babyface did the same for her on "Melt Away", a track written by both, included on her 1995 album Daydream. It also has a participation by Kenny G playing saxophone. An alternate version without Carey's vocals and additional sax elements is included on Kenny G's The Moment (1996).
"The Color of Love" is the lead single by R&B vocal group Boyz II Men from the album Full Circle.
Soul Food is the soundtrack to the 1997 film of the same name. It was released on September 16, 1997, through LaFace Records and mainly consisted of R&B music with some hip hop music. The soundtrack was a success, peaking at number 4 on the Billboard 200 and number 1 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and was certified double Multi-Platinum on February 17, 1998. Four singles charted on the Billboard Hot 100: "I Care 'Bout You", "What About Us?" by Total, "We're Not Making Love No More" by Dru Hill, and "A Song for Mama" by Boyz II Men, the latter of which was a number 1 R&B single. The soundtrack was also noted for the fictional quintet group Milestone, consisting of K-Ci & JoJo, Babyface and his brothers, Kevon and Melvin Edmonds, who all came together once for their single and cameo appearance in the film.
"Steelo" is a song recorded by American group 702 for their first studio album No Doubt (1996). It was written and produced Chad Elliott, Missy Elliott, and George Pearson. The song contains a prominent sample from The Police's song "Voices Inside My Head", for which English musician Sting is also given songwriter credits for the use of the sample. It was released as the first single from No Doubt on August 27, 1996, by Biv 10 Records.
"Dream Away" is a song recorded by American singer Babyface and English singer Lisa Stansfield for the soundtrack to the 1994 animated film The Pagemaster. It was written by Diane Warren and produced by David Foster. Released as a single in the United States on November 7, 1994, it reached number nine on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart and number eighty on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. "Dream Away" was also issued in selected European countries and Australia, and on January 21, 1995, it was released in Japan. The song was remixed by Dave Way, Paul Waller and Ollie Marland. The accompanying music video, directed by Randee St. Nicholas, featured Babyface, Stansfield and fragments from the film. In 2003, "Dream Away" was included on the remastered edition of Stansfield's third album, So Natural (1993).
Paul Boutin is a French-born American music mixer, audio engineer and a long-time collaborator with producer/songwriter/artist Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds.
