What audience could forget the smooth, sexy harmonies of one of the most successful R&B male groups in music history? Boyz II Men, the wildly popular quartet from Philadelphia, was an iconic figure during the early 1990's. Audiences and fans worldwide not only remember but still follow this group of highly talented artists.

Boyz II Men

"The audience doesn't forget, necessarily, but the audience sometimes needs to be reminded."

What audience could forget the smooth, sexy harmonies of one of the most successful R&B male groups in music history? Boyz II Men, the wildly popular quartet from Philadelphia, was an iconic figure during the early 1990's. Audiences and fans worldwide not only remember but still follow this group of highly talented artists.

Early Beginnings

Originally known as Unique Attraction, Boyz II Men was formed in 1986, in the halls of Philadelphia High School for Creative and Performing Arts. Students Nathan Morris and Marc Nelson had tried, unsuccessfully, to form a singing group with several other students at the prestigious high school. Finally, when they joined up with Wayna Morris, Shawn Stockman, and bass, Michael McCary, the magic was apparent.

The quartet quickly formed a playlist heavily dependent on work from the group New Edition. In 1989 they chanced it and worked their way backstage at a concert for Bell Biv DeVoe. They performed an acapella version of New Edition's "Can You Stand the Rain" for former New Edition member, Michael Bivins, who offered them a deal on the spot. The group was eager to take the deal but, Nelson refused due to personality conflicts. He left the group, they became a quartet, and changed their name to Boyz II Men.

The group signed to Motown and Bivins went on to be the executive producer of their debut album, Coolyhighharmony (1991). The album was characterized by strong drum beats and hip hop style partnered with smooth jazz vocals. The group called their style "hip hop doo wop". Bivins performed a rap cameo on the first single from the album, Motownphilly. This was followed by a remix of the song, It's so Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday, a Motown classic. This freshman album earned the group a Grammy for best R&B Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group.

One of the unique trademarks and conscious choices the group made was to share the spotlight. Many R&B groups of the time tended to use one singer as lead and the others became backup. This was not what Boyz II Men wanted to do. It was not and, is not to this day, uncommon to hear every group member share the lead in a song, whether he is tenor, baritone, or, in the case of Michael McCary, a super smooth bass.

This combination was magic for the group. After their freshman project they recorded a single for Eddie Murphy's movie, "Boomerang". The End of the Road(1992), became an overnight sensation and skyrocketed the group to stardom. On the heels of this success, in 1994, the group's sophomore album, II, solidified their position as a leading R&B group with number one hits, I'll Make Love to You and On Bended Knee. As with their first album, II garnered them Grammys for Best R&B Album and Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.

Rough Waters

Boyz II Men's third album, Evolution(1997), was met with mixed reviews. Sales were well below the success of their first two albums. Only one single, Four Seasons of Loneliness, charted at Number 1. After this disappointment, the group went through a series of label changes and company mergers which led them to leave and form their own recording company, Stonecreek, distributed by Epic Records, not Motown.

In addition to professional rough waters, they began to be plagued by health issues. During their Evolution tour Wanya Morris developed a benign polyp on his vocal cords. The tour could not resume until he recovered. Following this setback it was revealed that Michael McCary, the smooth, sultry bass voice of the group, had scoliosis.

Boyz II Men's final Top 40 hit was I Will Get There, from the Prince of Egypt soundtrack.

Their final two albums, Nathan Michael Shawn Wanya(2000) and Full Circle(2002) each sold a little over 500,000 copies, not coming anywhere close to earlier successes.

In early 2003 McCary announced that he would be retiring from performing, citing his scoliosis as the reason. The other three members took a break from recording. After a year out of the spotlight the three remaining members form MSM music group and began recording once again. Since that time they have met limited success with the release of their albums, Throwback, Vol. 1(2004) and The Remedy(2006), which was only released in Japan and released in the US through their website, through mp3 music download. During 2007 they again signed with Universal and released the cover album, Motown: A Journey Through Hitsville USA. Their star may have dimmed but, they are still producing those deep harmonies and sultry tones that made them the IT group of the late 90's.

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