On The Cover: Boyz II Men

Boyz II Men came on the scene 20 years ago with their debut album, Cooleyhighharmony. Boyz II Men is an American R&B vocal group best known for emotional ballads and a cappella harmonies. They are the most successful R&B group of all time, having sold more than 60 million albums worldwide. The group, known originally as Unique Attraction, was founded in 1988 at the Philadelphia High School for Creative and Performing Arts, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. There, friends Nathan Morris and Marc Nelson organized several R&B singing groups, most of which ended quickly. Eventually, they found a winning formula by recruiting tenors Wanya Morris and Shawn Stockman and bass Michael McCary. The group would rehearse in the high school’s bathrooms, due to the excellent acoustics. They found inspiration in New Edition’s harmonies and routines, and eventually renamed the group “Boyz II Men”. In the 1990s, Boyz II Men gained international celebrity behind unprecedented success on the pop charts. The group’s first single to reach number 1, 1992’s “End of the Road”, reached the top of charts across the globe. While touring during 1992, Boyz II Men returned briefly to the studio to record the single “End of the Road”, co-written and produced by Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds, for the soundtrack to Eddie Murphy’s film Boomerang. It has been said that the song was recorded in only four hours. Currently the group is a trio signed to Decca Records, with members Nathan Morris, Wanya Morris, and Shawn Stockman. The group won four Grammy Awards in the 1990s, and the trio was nominated for two Grammies in 2009. Today boys became men, and although they are caught in a cyber-driven industry dominated by electronic beats. They still sing love songs with voices like well-tuned instruments. Ends