About Me
Welcome to The Ultimate Boyz II Men Friendster Account. The Boyz II Men story begins in 1988, at the Creative & Performing Arts High School of Philadelphia, where Shawn Stockman, Wanya Morris, Nate Morris (no relation) and Mike McCary first discovered that the sum of their four voices was definitely greater than the individual parts. Besides singing at school, they honed their harmonizing skills by singing on street corners and on subway platforms, billing themselves as Unique Attraction. They charmed their way backstage at a 1989 show at the Philadelphia Civic Center, where they knew their idol, Michael Bivins (of New Edition and Bel Biv Devoe fame) would be. When they tracked Bivins down, they convinced him to listen to their a cappella version of the New Edition song "Can You Stand the Rain." Also present in the impromptu audience were Paula Abdul, Cherrelle, Keith Sweat and Kid 'n Play. Bivins gave them his phone number, and he eventually became their manager and succeeded in negotiating a deal for them with Motown. Bivins suggested that they change their name; Boyz II Men came from the title of a New Edition song off the Heartbreak album. After forming Boyz II Men, meeting Michael Bivins, and getting signed to Motown Records, Boyz II Men became immensely popular. They became the .1 Group of the 90's (Billboard Magazine), the Best- Selling R&B Group of the entire 20th Century (RIAA), Best- Selling artist ever on Motown Records, Best-Selling R&B Group ever, the .1 Billboard Singles Artists in over 40 years, and one of the artists of the decade for the 90's (Billboard Magazine). Their beautiful harmonies, their casual style, and their personalaties have made them extremely successful over the past eleven years. They have sold over sixty million albums worldwide, won many accolades, and just a classy group of guys that anyone can catch on to.The group released Cooleyhighharmony in May of 1991. The first single, "Motownphilly," vaulted up to No. 3 on the Billboard singles chart by July. The second single, a remake of "It's So Hard To Say Goodbye to Yesterday" (the song originally appeared on the Cooley High soundtrack), hit the No. 2 position in October. The album experienced over 7 million sales worldwide, two Grammys, three American Music Awards, two Soul Train Awards, two NAACP Image Awards, two MTV Awards, one World Music Award, and a foundation of fans that made a Christmas album go platinum after only one single.In 1992, just as the excitement over Cooleyhighharmony seemed to be dying down a bit, the soundtrack of the Eddie Murphy movie Boomerang, which featured the Boyz II Men track "End of the Road," was released. The single hovered at No. 1 for a phenomenal 13 weeks, beating an 11-week record set by Elvis Presley's "Don't Be Cruel/Hound Dog" single back in 1956. The band's record was broken just a few months later by Whitney Houston, whose sentimental "I Will Always Love You" clinched the top spot for 14 weeks. But Boyz II Men seemed destined to hold that "most weeks at No. 1" crown: the band tied Houston's record with the Babyface-produced single, "I'll Make Love to You" off the 1994 album Boyz II Men II, and then went on to surpass it the following year with "One Sweet Day," a collaboration with Mariah Carey that held solid at No. 1 for 16 weeks.In October of 1993, the Boyz released the Christmas Interpretation album, a collection of both traditional and original Christmas songs. Their version of "Let It Snow" cracked the Top 40 for one week, entering in at No. 32, and the album itself hit the Top 20.Boyz II Men II was recorded in a live-in studio called Granny's House, located in the Southwest desert. The band had attempted to record the album at home in Philly, but found that they were too distracted by friends, family and neighbors to get anything accomplished. Boyz II Men II was followed by The Remix Collection in November 1995. Boyz II Men performed before Pope John Paul II during his 1995 American visit, and sang the national anthem at the closing ceremony of the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. In 1996, the band was inducted into the Philadelphia Hall of Fame.In 1997, the group produced their latest album, Evolution, which hit stores in September 1997. The band wrote or co- wrote 10 of the 13 tracks on the album.
