Boyz II Men: My Tribute

Journalist Patricia Smith writes, "The success of Boyz II Men is no fluke. It's odd, it's crazy, it's hard to believe, it's a one-in-a-million shot, but it's no fluke. Four determined young men just happened to be in the right place at the right time in front of the right person."

If you have visited my other music hub on the group Pentatonix, you will know that I decided to give tribute to a group that is not well known. For this music hub, I am paying tribute to one of the most well known R&B groups there ever was and still is. "What is R&B?, some of you may be thinking". Great question, I am glad you asked. I will be sharing more information on that later on.

I love groups that sing with unique style because so often, people sound like everyone else. There is no difference. "Unique" strikes a chord in me when I think about music. And that is exactly what Boyz II Men does for me. They are an amazing group with raw talent. Their harmonization is out of this world; their ability to blend, superb.

For some of you, who for some reason, have not heard of this talented group, have no fear. We will be going on a journey together, taking a glimpse at the adventure this group has had from their humble beginning back in 1988 til their ongoing success even now.

I hope you enjoy this tribute to a music group that is well deserving!

This Grammy Award winning group "Boyz II Men", originated back in 1988 in Philadelphia, PA with Marc Nelson, Nathan Morris, Michael McCary, Shawn Stockman,and Wanya Morris. They began singing for small time events until something magical happened. In 1989, the group snuck backstage after the performance of "New Edition" singer Michael Bivins. Immediately Bivins was impressed with their quality of music and began making plans to sign them up for a contract. Can you imagine getting a contract after singing one song? Well, that is exactly what happened for this lucky bunch.

Before being signed for their contract, Marc Nelson left the group to start a solo career. "Boyz II Men was signed by Motown Records in 1991 where they debuted their first album "Cooleyhighharmony" ("As the saying goes, "and the rest is history") In 1992, the group decided to tour with MC Hammer with his "2 Legit 2 Quit Tour". It was while on this tour, that the manager of Boyz II Men, Khalil Roundtree was murdered. The group then decided to dedicate one of their top song hits, "It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday" in the memory of Khalil.

Since Marc Nelson left before their first album was recorded and produced, I will be excluding him from this section.

Michael McCary: (December 16, 1971 - Age 40)

While singing for the group, he acted as the bass and would oftentimes talk his words and give them their distinct sound and style. He unfortunately developed back problems in 2003, causing him to have to leave the group. "Boyz II Men" has been a trio ever since.

Nathan Morris: (June 18, 1971 - Age 41)

The oldest and founding member of the group began his career by singing at his local church and playing the trumpet. In the fourth grade, his musical talent was found by his teacher of his vocal class. The teacher was going over a song that he he taught the class a week earlier. As the teacher began playing the song, Morris raised his hand and let the teacher know that he was singing in a different key than he sang it a week earlier. Morris proceeded to sing it in the correct key, astounding the teacher.

Wanya Morris: (July 29, 1973 - Age 38)

Fellow founder of the group, Wanya brings his talented voice to the mix by providing the second tenor voice. This is otherwise known as the melody.

Shawn Stockman: (September 26, 1972 - Age 39)

Shawn Stockman is probably best known, outside of Boyz II Men, as his role of judge on the music show the Sing Off. The Sing Off is a show featuring only a capella groups, so having Stockman come in as a judge was a "no-brainer."

"Boyz II Men" decided to dedicate this song to their manager who died on their first music tour. This song contains some of the purest harmonies and blend ever heard before. It is such a relaxing song and one that will not disappoint you! This song will give you a taste of what this group has been and will always be capable of. This music is inspiring and majestic.

This acronym stands for "Rhythms and Blues" and is a genre of African-American music that began in the 1940's. Many people will argue that "Boyz II Men" has been the most successful R&B group up to date.

"End Of The Road"

When most people think of this group, this song comes to mind, deservedly so. "End of the Road" was used as part of the soundtrack for Eddie Murphy's movie "Boomerang". This song won several awards and instantly became a hit single for the group, while maintaining the number one spot on the pop charts for 13 weeks. This song beat the record set by Elvis Presley's dual single "Don't Be Cruel"/"Hound Dog." in 1956. "End of the Road" played a huge role in giving the group "star status", if you will.

"I'll Make Love To You"

I'll Make Love to You" traced the same track as the above song by speeding up the popular freeway. It hit the number one spot and remained there for 14 weeks. "Boyz II Men" must have become sick and tired of seeing "End Of the Road" being at number one and realized that they might as well break their record themselves, because no one else was doing it. So, that is exactly what they did with this song. (Whitney Houston did , however, come very close to beating this record with her song, "I Will Always Love You").

"One Sweet Day"

"One Sweet Day" is another one of those songs that comes to mind when someone hears the name "Boyz II Men". This song was sung alongside of Mariah Carey. I will not go into depth explaining who she is, because I assume everyone is very familiar with her. But, if you are not for some reason, let me know. Maybe I could write a hub on her! "One Sweet Day" hit the number one charts and stayed there for 16 weeks!

"Has the light bulb gone off yet?"

For those of you who wondering if I have lost my mind, I will explain. No this not a another title of a song by "Boyz II Men" This is just a funny way to show how popular this group was and still is today. Are you getting the picture of how amazing this group is? They broke their record twice for top hit singles. I am afraid you can not get much better than that when it comes to genuine music and art.

"Khalil was more than just a road manager to us. He was a mother figure, father figure, technician, mechanic, scout. He was everything to us. He was like our dad. He did so much, we didn't have to think. All we did was sing, and dance. Which is one of the reasons why we think that he was taken away from us. It was like the Lord's way of saying that we had to learn a lot of things on our own. We wish he was still here, but we realize whyr we think we know whye was taken away. Because Khalil's death changed us as people. We had to be more responsible for our actions. And we're better people now. We're a lot wiser, and a lot smarter, and a lot more aware of our surroundings."

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1. The group technically began in 1986 under the name of "Unique Attractions". This group performed some small time events for their school and sang on on the street corners and subways.

2. Wanya, Nathan, Shawn and Michael attended the same musical school, which was Creative & Performing Arts High School of Philadelphia.

3. The term "doo hop" was coined after "Boyz II Men".

4. All of the members grew up in Philadelphia, PA.

5. The group quit the "2 Legit 2 Quit" tour for two weeks after the murder of their manager Khalil Roundtree.

6. Shawn Stockman's nickname is "Slim".

7. Nathan Morris's nickname is "Alex Vanderpool".

8. Wanya Morris's nickname is "Squirt".

9. Michael McCary's nickname was "Bass".

10. The group aired in a Christmas episode of "Fresh Prince of Belair", entitled, "Twas the Night Before Christening". Believe it or not, this song gives me goosebumps and sends shivers up my spine every time I listen to it.

11. This group is a four time Grammy Award winning music group.

12. "Boyz II Men" has sold over 60 million recordings.

13. They have all ready celebrated a 20 year anniversary as being together as a group. That is true loyalty and is one of the reasons that makes them unique when compared to other music groups. They have only lost one member, excluding Marc Nelson, in over 20 years!

14. In a typical year, the group has performed 150-200 concerts.

15. The group has become the third group ever to replace their own song at the top of the charts. The Beatles and Elvis Presley were the other artists that had previously accomplished this feat.

Back in 2011, "Boyz II Men" teamed up with Justin Bieber for a Christmas Holiday Album. Here are some of the tweets that Justin Bieber tweeted regarding this amazing group, taken from CNN Entertainment.

1. "2day i woke up and realized that the group that made me want to sing @BoyzIIMen are now on the christmas album singing with me. #DREAMBIG,”

2. "“i used 2 listen to their music and practice the runs. that is how i learned how to sing. now im in the studio with them making music 2gether..."im telling you...never say never...never stop dreaming....never give up. #DREAMBIG. @BoyzIIMen Im honored and blessed. thank u."

"Boyz II Men" also appeared in Justin's Bieber's movie, "Never Say Never".

Enjoy this awesome song from "Boyz II Men". Brilliant harmonies and relaxing music throughout this song!

I love this group, because of their beautiful blend in harmony. Their music relaxes my soul. I love a cappella music as some of you all ready know. "Boyz II Men" has always been my favorite music group because of their ability to rely on each other to create wonderful music. No one overpowers another, but instead they work as a team. That is what music is all about. I have seen many fantastic groups suffer because of this one problem!

Well, I hope you have enjoyed this tribute to "Boyz II Men". I can only hope that I have given them justice. They deserve a lot of credit for everything they have accomplished in the past 20+ years!

Until next time fellow hub friends! What should my next music hub be about? Any ideas? Feel free to suggest topics in the comments!