July 20, 2011

Link

After 20 years, Boyz II Men haven't reached the end of the road in their music career.

In fact, the group is preparing to celebrate their milestone anniversary this fall with a new album, including reworked versions of their classic hits.

"Nothing too extreme or dramatic, but we've added a few things here and there," says Shawn Stockman of their upcoming project.

Boyz II Men brought their Motown-Philly harmonies to the masses when they made their debut with Cooleyhighharmony in 1991; propelled by hits like "End of the Road" and "It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday," the Philadelphia-based group's first album sold more than 9 million copies. Their sophomore CD, II, sold 12 million copies.

Stockman says the group - which originally included Wanya Morris,Nathan Morris and Michael McCary - had no idea how huge their achievements were.

"We were so busy just working ... we didn't think too much about how it would impact the world, which is probably a good thing, because it kept us sharp and kept us focused, even to this present day," he said. "Looking back, it's a great thing. It's hard to talk about it because it's something that we think it's a great milestone in our careers, but we're still hungry, and we still feel like we have so much more to contribute, musically and otherwise."

The group - which became a trio after McCary left - still records and performs regularly. Their last CD, 2009's Love, had them performing standard love songs.

They have never replicated the sales, or the radio success, of those first two multimillion-selling albums. Still, Stockman says they haven't stopped being successful.

"It wasn't the kind of thing where we made flop albums, and someone got on drugs, and then all kind of craziness happened. The industry just changed, and tastes changed," he said. "We didn't fall off. ... Time and how things have gone in the industry and in life, it kind of preserved us to be able to have some sort of success."

The trio's upcoming album, Twenty, will feature new songs and new renditions of some of their best-known work.

"We've always been true to our love songs, and the type of music that we do, we feel this type of music is timeless," he said. "It's our 20th anniversary, so we wanted to not only give our listeners something new, but our new listeners I guess an anthology."

Stockman hopes the group will capture a younger generation, but also a few fans they may have lost along the way.

"We hope that those people that we've touched before, we'll be able to touch again, because they haven't gone anywhere, they've just grown up," he said.

I hate when groups come back with members missing or replaced.

I remember the 1st time I heard 'Motownphilly' back in 1991. I was 11 years old in my grandparents basement. I cant believe that was 20 years ago. WOW!!

Boyz II Men might have made the biggest sales turn around in history. Don't know what happened in those last few years of the 90s, but they fell off. And it wasn't a steady fall, it was a bug fall all of a suden.

^ I'm thinking management problems, whatever was going on with the group and whatever that caused them to fall off.

Timmy84 said:

^ I'm thinking management problems, whatever was going on with the group and whatever that caused them to fall off.

It was the same group I believe, same strong matrerial. When they came back with their album, I guess their fans went somewhere else.

They went from top hits and multi platinum albums to low charting sales in like one year.

LittleBLUECorvette said:

Timmy84 said:

^ I'm thinking management problems, whatever was going on with the group and whatever that caused them to fall off.

It was the same group I believe, same strong matrerial. When they came back with their album, I guess their fans went somewhere else.

They went from top hits and multi platinum albums to low charting sales in like one year.

Yeah that could be true.

Timmy84 said:

LittleBLUECorvette said:

It was the same group I believe, same strong matrerial. When they came back with their album, I guess their fans went somewhere else.

They went from top hits and multi platinum albums to low charting sales in like one year.

Yeah that could be true.

We seriously need to find out what happened to BOYZ II MEN.

You can't be that hot one minute and the next, no one even knows who you are. They ruled the early to mid 90s. It wasn't gangsta rap that killed them, cause they were still big with all that around. You think it might have been the Boy Band craze of the late 90s (1998 the year really) that whiped them away?

LittleBLUECorvette said:

Timmy84 said:

Yeah that could be true.

We seriously need to find out what happened to BOYZ II MEN.

You can't be that hot one minute and the next, no one even knows who you are. They ruled the early to mid 90s. It wasn't gangsta rap that killed them, cause they were still big with all that around. You think it might have been the Boy Band craze of the late 90s (1998 the year really) that whiped them away?

Probably. Who knows? But they were still hot, 1997, 1998-ish. They didn't put out a new album in 1999, did they?

Timmy84 said:

LittleBLUECorvette said:

We seriously need to find out what happened to BOYZ II MEN.

You can't be that hot one minute and the next, no one even knows who you are. They ruled the early to mid 90s. It wasn't gangsta rap that killed them, cause they were still big with all that around. You think it might have been the Boy Band craze of the late 90s (1998 the year really) that whiped them away?

Probably. Who knows? But they were still hot, 1997, 1998-ish. They didn't put out a new album in 1999, did they?

Naw, but in 2000 they did. 99 they had a single released from Prince of Egypt soundtrack that was decent, (no where near there hits from earlier in the decade.) Two singles from "Natahn, Michael, Shawn, Wayne hit the pop charts at 80 and 104.

armpit said:

I hate when groups come back with members missing or replaced.

They never really have split up. Mike's been gone from the group for a long time. They were saying it was due to health issues, but I'm not quite sure about that. They've released several albums since their "Full Circle" album with Arista.

They have done 3 cover albums and one album of original material (Remedy) which was only available overseas.

They have been working, so I guess that's all that matters.

LittleBLUECorvette said:

Timmy84 said:

Probably. Who knows? But they were still hot, 1997, 1998-ish. They didn't put out a new album in 1999, did they?

Naw, but in 2000 they did. 99 they had a single released from Prince of Egypt soundtrack that was decent, (no where near there hits from earlier in the decade.) Two singles from "Natahn, Michael, Shawn, Wayne hit the pop charts at 80 and 104.

Yeah I figured that. Maybe it was timing or maybe they were a little bit older for the public. They also left Motown in 2000 so maybe that added to it.

LittleBLUECorvette said:

Boyz II Men might have made the biggest sales turn around in history. Don't know what happened in those last few years of the 90s, but they fell off. And it wasn't a steady fall, it was a bug fall all of a suden.

I blame LA Reid for killing their mass appeal career. He took them to Arista and did that horrible Full Circle album. By the time they did that, the boy band/group trend was waay over. Not even Backstreet was still selling big numbers.

Yeah, Mike has been gone a long time. He has a back problem. He was sitting on a stool for shows near the end of his time with them.

I think they fell off because the sound became redundant and their motown guy group leanings were replaced with the likes of Jodeci and their offspring down the line-brasher, more sexualized.

I have found that the only albums that still hold for me are MotownPhilly and Christmas Interpretations. A lot of the rest feels a bit cheesy/dated.

But overall I find them so likeable as a group.

I really enjoyed this interview they did about the ups and downs of their career where coincidently, they start off talking about being at a Prince party.

http://www.youtube.com/wa...4D1A77B466

119 said:

Yeah, Mike has been gone a long time. He has a back problem. He was sitting on a stool for shows near the end of his time with them.

I think they fell off because the sound became redundant and their motown guy group leanings were replaced with the likes of Jodeci and their offspring down the line-brasher, more sexualized.

I have found that the only albums that still hold for me are MotownPhilly and Christmas Interpretations. A lot of the rest feels a bit cheesy/dated.

But overall I find them so likeable as a group.

I really enjoyed this interview they did about the ups and downs of their career where coincidently, they start off talking about being at a Prince party.

http://www.youtube.com/wa...4D1A77B466

Even Jodeci was over by 2000 (when BIIM pretty much died out).

daPrettyman said:

119 said:

Yeah, Mike has been gone a long time. He has a back problem. He was sitting on a stool for shows near the end of his time with them.

I think they fell off because the sound became redundant and their motown guy group leanings were replaced with the likes of Jodeci and their offspring down the line-brasher, more sexualized.

I have found that the only albums that still hold for me are MotownPhilly and Christmas Interpretations. A lot of the rest feels a bit cheesy/dated.

But overall I find them so likeable as a group.

I really enjoyed this interview they did about the ups and downs of their career where coincidently, they start off talking about being at a Prince party.

http://www.youtube.com/wa...4D1A77B466

Even Jodeci was over by 2000 (when BIIM pretty much died out).

My point was that I think Jodeci kicked off a whole different set of groups 112, dru hill, jagged edge, etc. The style changed.

daPrettyman said:

119 said:

Yeah, Mike has been gone a long time. He has a back problem. He was sitting on a stool for shows near the end of his time with them.

I think they fell off because the sound became redundant and their motown guy group leanings were replaced with the likes of Jodeci and their offspring down the line-brasher, more sexualized.

I have found that the only albums that still hold for me are MotownPhilly and Christmas Interpretations. A lot of the rest feels a bit cheesy/dated.

But overall I find them so likeable as a group.

I really enjoyed this interview they did about the ups and downs of their career where coincidently, they start off talking about being at a Prince party.

http://www.youtube.com/wa...4D1A77B466

Even Jodeci was over by 2000 (when BIIM pretty much died out).

Jodeci broke up by 2000, but KC and Jojo were still turning out hits, much more then BIIM at that time.

Timmy84 said:

LittleBLUECorvette said:

Naw, but in 2000 they did. 99 they had a single released from Prince of Egypt soundtrack that was decent, (no where near there hits from earlier in the decade.) Two singles from "Natahn, Michael, Shawn, Wayne hit the pop charts at 80 and 104.

Yeah I figured that. Maybe it was timing or maybe they were a little bit older for the public. They also left Motown in 2000 so maybe that added to it.

Well i think we should ask the expert on falls down and then back up, THE BEE GEES who have been in and out and in and out and in again. They went from FEVER and Sprits and selling 100's of million albums, to not being able to chart a single in the matter of three years.

lastdecember said:

Timmy84 said:

Yeah I figured that. Maybe it was timing or maybe they were a little bit older for the public. They also left Motown in 2000 so maybe that added to it.

Well i think we should ask the expert on falls down and then back up, THE BEE GEES who have been in and out and in and out and in again. They went from FEVER and Sprits and selling 100's of million albums, to not being able to chart a single in the matter of three years.

But I think Boys 2 Men have fallen off so hard they can't get back up. They've been trying for more than 15 years to get back to the top and it still hasn't happen

So not interested in a Boys II Men anniversary album. The only time I play anything by them is that redundant Christmas song "Let it Snow" and then when Christmas is over, I pack it back in the box along with the other Christmas items and up in the attic it goes.

missfee said:

So not interested in a Boys II Men anniversary album. The only time I play anything by them is that redundant Christmas song "Let it Snow" and then when Christmas is over, I pack it back in the box along with the other Christmas items and up in the attic it goes.

I feel ya. As much as I love BIIM, I could care less about an anniversary album. The only album I play from them is their debut. I still get the urge to hear that album on a regular basis. The rest of the albums sit on the shelf and collect dust.

OVA.

Co-sign to everything 119 said, which is basically what Shawn said in the interview but couldn't drop Jodeci's name obviously.

Ahh 1 group member dropped out because of his health issues. Even then he toured with them sitting on a stool til he couldn't do it no more. He ouldn't do it no more & they haven't replaced him,they just went on with the other 3 members so what are u talking about?

armpit said:

I hate when groups come back with members missing or replaced.

I asked myself the same question, they where breaking records then couldn't even get 1 top 10 HIT as soon as 2000 hit. Idk... management issues and all, for them to be so huge and breaking records then out of nowhere nada.

It's like if mj HAD all those hits in the 80's and out of nowhere in 1990 he couldn't get 1 hit.

Gunsnhalen said:

I asked myself the same question, they where breaking records then couldn't even get 1 top 10 HIT as soon as 2000 hit. Idk... management issues and all, for them to be so huge and breaking records then out of nowhere nada.

It's like if mj HAD all those hits in the 80's and out of nowhere in 1990 he couldn't get 1 hit.

That kinda happened to MJ after '95 lol (With the exception of "You Rock My World", which peaked at number 10).

Terrib3Towel said:

Gunsnhalen said:

I asked myself the same question, they where breaking records then couldn't even get 1 top 10 HIT as soon as 2000 hit. Idk... management issues and all, for them to be so huge and breaking records then out of nowhere nada.

It's like if mj HAD all those hits in the 80's and out of nowhere in 1990 he couldn't get 1 hit.

That kinda happened to MJ after '95 lol (With the exception of "You Rock My World", which peaked at number 10).

Right! After 95's History. It wasn't the same music wise for him but that's with ALL artist

1. Prince's last good album was Diamonds and Pearls

2. Stevie's last good album was In Square Circle

3. Christina Aguilera's last good album was Stripped

4. Madonna's last good album was Ray of Light

I think after awhile all artist hit a wall. No one stays on top forever and Boys 2 Men are living proof of that

LittleBLUECorvette said:

daPrettyman said:

Even Jodeci was over by 2000 (when BIIM pretty much died out).

Jodeci broke up by 2000, but KC and Jojo were still turning out hits, much more then BIIM at that time.

Exactly.

daPrettyman said:

armpit said:

I hate when groups come back with members missing or replaced.

They never really have split up. Mike's been gone from the group for a long time. They were saying it was due to health issues, but I'm not quite sure about that. They've released several albums since their "Full Circle" album with Arista.

They have done 3 cover albums and one album of original material (Remedy) which was only available overseas.

They have been working, so I guess that's all that matters.

Yeah he had scoliosis (ive had it 2)....And got serious back problems because of it...If you watch performances a little before he left the group you can se him standing still or holding something all of the time.