I know this is 6 months late, but this year marked the 25th (Silver) anniversary of the release of Boyz II Men's debut album, "Cooleyhighharmony". Post your memories, pics and fave performances from this album and era.

[Edited 9/20/18 11:16am]

Guess no one's interested in them anymore.

Ooh yeah, love this album!
The version I got in NZ has the track "In The Still Of The Night" on it too, which I heard wasn't on the album in all territories?

Thanks for reminding me....gonna go listen...

Produced by Bivins and Dallas Austin, Boyz II Men's debut album, Cooleyhighharmony – named after the real-life Cooley Vocational School in Chicago and inspired by the 1975 movie Cooley High – was originally released by Motown Records February 14, 1991. The album eventually peaked at #3 on the Billboard 200 and has sold more than nine million copies to date, winning a GRAMMY® for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals and a nomination for Best New Artist (they lost to singer/songwriter Marc Cohn). Cooleyhighharmony combined old-school street corner vocals with drums in the New Jack Swing style, multi-layered samples, a style dubbed "hip hop doo-wop." All four members shared leads, featuring Wanya "Squirt" Morris' vibrato, Shawn "Slim" Stockman's tenor, Nathan "Alex Vanderpool" Morris' baritone and Michael "Bass" McCarty's low range.

The album's first single, the Austin-produced "Motownphilly," set the tone, an origin story in which Bivins raps how the group met, with a title perfectly describing a new Motown Sound. The song peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100, and #1 on the R&B chart; the song's popular video featured cameos by fellow high school alumni Black Thought and Questlove of The Roots. The album's second single, the band's cover of "It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday," written by the husband-and-wife songwriting team of Freddie Perren and Christian Yarian and originally performed by G.C. Cameron for the Cooley High film soundtrack, hit the top of Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, and crossed over to #2 on the Hot 100, blocked only by Michael Jackson's "Black or White." The third single, "Uhh Ahh," also topped the Hot R&B Singles chart and went to #16 on the Hot 100, and was later sampled by Beyonce Knowles for her 2011 song, "Countdown." The final single released from the album, the Dallas Austin-produced "Please Don't Go," went to #8 on the Billboard R&B chart.

While Cooleyhighharmony was re-released in 1992 with a new cover, remixes and an inclusion of the single, "End Of The Road," then again in 1993 to include "In The Still Of The Nite (I'll Remember),' from the soundtrack of the TV mini-series, The Jacksons: An American Dream, this vinyl reissue is the original 10-track release with its (now-rare) original cover. Motown/UMe released a 2-CD deluxe edition of the album, including two previously unreleased songs, in 2009.

Boyz II Men's II, originally released on Motown Records, August 30, 1994, was the group's global breakthrough, featuring two consecutive Billboard Hot 100 singles in "I'll Make Love To You" and "On Bended Knee," making the group the third artist to succeed themselves at #1 on the U.S. chart after Elvis Presley and The Beatles, and the first to achieve the feat in 30 years. Produced and written by Tim & Bob (Tim Kelley and Bob Robinson), Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis and Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, II topped the Billboard 200 for five weeks and the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop chart, going #1 in France and New Zealand, Top 5 in Australia and Canada, Top 10 in Japan, The Netherlands and Top 20 in the U.K. Spain and Sweden, eventually selling 12 million copies in the U.S. alone. It became the inaugural winner of the GRAMMY® Award for Best R&B Album, while "I'll Make Love To You" won Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. The latter song had already been #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for 14 weeks, breaking the group's own chart record, set by "End of the Road," which had 13 weeks at the top. "On Bended Knee" succeeded "Love," staying at No. 1 for six weeks. Other singles from the album include "Water Runs Dry," which reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100, and "Thank You," which reached #21. The emotional spoken-word track, "Khalil (Interlude)," was a tribute to their road manager Khalil Roundtree, who was killed in Chicago while the band was opening for MC Hammer on his "Too Legit To Quit" tour.

The newly issued two-LP vinyl edition of the album includes the band's stunning cover of The Beatles' "Yesterday" as well as the international edition bonus track, "Fallin'."

Cooleyhighharmony track listing

Side One
1."Please Don't Go"
2. "Lonely Heart"
3. "This Is My Heart"
4. "Uhh Ahh"
5. "It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday"

Side Two
1. "Motownphilly"
2. "Under Pressure"
3. "Sympin'"
4. "Little Things"
5. "Your Love"

II track listing

Side One
1. "Thank You"
2. "All Around The World"
3. "U Know"
4. "Vibin'"

Side Two
1. "I Sit Away"
2. "Jezzebel"
3. "Khali (Interlude)"
4. "Trying Times"

Side Three
1. "I'll Make Love To You"
2. "On Bended Knee"
3. "50 Candies"

Side Four
1. "Water Runs Dry"
2. "Yesterday"
3. "Falling"

Weird that they added songs from other albums to this but whatevs. I'm from outside Philly and we were sure proud of these guys back in the day. I remember LOVING that song "Thank You", so catchy. I used to think people just stood around in Philly singing songs together, which of course they rarely do. I never realized the album was released three times prior to "II".

JabarR74 said:

I really liked this one back then. I had the cassette early because I was following Michael Bivins' moves at the time.

I used to LOVE Motownphilly, and It's So Hard.... as well! I remember buying the album the day I came back from my Class 10 maths exam, cuz it had gone well, and I decided to treat myself.. even though I still had one exam left....

I used to wonder back then what they'd be called once they grew up... just "Men"?

domainator2010 said:

"Little Things" is nice little ditty. I was instantly drawn to the universal truth in the lyrics. Lots of hits here. Although they released other successful studio albums, this one is tops.

Love these guys!

I got love for BIIM. I wore out that tape back then. I forgot about the album cut, "Your Love". It was good to hear that again. Nice joint. Great album all around. Dallas Austin was on fire back then.

-

Oddly enough, I hate their biggest hits. "End of the Road" and "I'll Make Love To You". I hated them sad sounding shits!

[Edited 9/6/16 10:10am]

JabarR74 said:

LMAO!!

Musicslave said:

Oddly enough, I hate their biggest hits. "End of the Road" and "I'll Make Love To You". I hated them sad sounding shits!

[Edited 9/6/16 10:10am]

Hey me too! ...but apparently the "laydeez" loved these things....

thetimefan said:

The European version of the album has End of the Road and a few other tracks on it. I got both versions. The UK version of II has a nice bonus track called Fallin written by Brian McKnight which should have been on the US version of II.

"Fallin" is a great song. It's on the B-Side of the ""Thank You" single.

JabarR74 said:

After that record came out, the 90s were theirs. I was tired of them becuase they were pretty much everywhere.

With the lack of talent from these singers today, Boyz II Men should make a huge comeback.

Happy 25th to Nate, Mike Shawn and Wanya today!!!