  It's hard to believe that Boyz
II Men have only been on the music scene
since 1991. In such a short time the quartet
has sold millions of LPs and have spent 29
weeks at #1 with 6 #1 hits. Boyz II Men
originally hit the music charts under the
guidance of Bell Biv Devoe's
Michael Bivins. Their sound combines the
sounds of the soul from the 60s and 70s with
a touch of New Jack swing and acapella
arrangements. Boyz II Men are: Nathan
"Alex Vanderpool" Morris, Michael
"Bass" McCary, Shawn
"Slim" Stockman, and Wanya
"Squirt" Morris. All 4 hail from
Philadelphia where they formed as a group.
The boys met in 1988 at the High
School of the Creative and Performing Arts,
practicing their harmonies in the bathroom,
and originally calling themselves
"Unique Attraction." They
eventually got their name from a New
Edition song called "Boys To
Men." The band was originally five
members: the fifth member, Mark Nelson,
dropped out to pursue a solo career and is
now with Az
Yet. The boys sang "Can You
Stand The Rain" for Michael Bovines
after they snuck backstage at a Philadelphia
concert, and two months later Bivens offered
to manage the boys.
Boyz II Men signed with Motown
Records.
 # 10
Singles Artist of the Year
 Boyz II Men released their debut
LP, Cooleyhighharmony. The LP was produced
by Dallas Austin and spawned the enormous
hits "Motownphilly" and "It's So Hard To Say
Goodbye To Yesterday." The #1 hit "Motownphilly" introduced the
world to the boys' "hip-hop doo
wop" while the hits "It's So Hard To Say
Goodbye To Yesterday" and "Uhh Ahh" showed how the
group could sing acapella harmonies.
 Boyz II Men hit the Top 40 with
"Motownphilly."
Cooleyhighharmony was certified gold.
Cooleyhighharmony was certified platinum
and the single "Motownphilly" was certified
platinum.
Boyz II Men hit the Top 10 with "Motownphilly."
Boyz II Men hit #1 for a week with "Motownphilly."
Boyz II Men hit the Top 40 with
"It's So Hard To Say
Goodbye To Yesterday."
Cooleyhighharmony was certified 2x
platinum.
Boyz II Men hit the Top 10 with "It's So Hard To Say
Goodbye To Yesterday."
The single "It's So Hard To Say
Goodbye To Yesterday" was certified gold.
 # 1
Singles Artist of the Year (# 1
Group/Duo of the Year)
Cooleyhighharmony was certified 3x
platinum.
Boyz II Men hit the Top 40 with
"Uhh Ahh."
Boyz II Men won
an American Music
Award for Favorite Soul/R&B New Artist and was nominated for Favorite Pop/Rock New Artist, Favorite Soul/R&B
Band/Duo/Group, Favorite Soul/R&B Single ("Motownphilly"), and Favorite Soul/R&B Album (Cooleyhighharmony).
 Boyz II Men won their first Grammy
Award for Best R&B Vocal
Performance by a Duo or Group (Cooleyhighharmony) and were also
nominated for Best New Artist.
Boyz II Men topped the Billboard
R&B Singles chart for 2 weeks with "Uhh Ahh."
Boyz II Men hit the Top 10 with "Uhh Ahh."
Cooleyhighharmony was certified 4x
platinum.
Boyz II Men hit the Top 40 with
"Please Don't Go."
 Boyz II Men had another huge hit
with "End Of The Road," from the Boomerang soundtrack and written
by Babyface. The song spent 7
weeks at #1 on The ARC and became the biggest
single of the year. On the Billboard charts,
the song spent a record setting 13 weeks at
#1, breaking a record held by Elvis Presley.
Boyz II Men hit the Top 40 with
"End Of The Road."
 Boyz II Men hit the Top 10 and #1 for 7 weeks with
"End Of The Road."
Boyz II Men topped the Billboard
Hot 100 for 13 weeks, the Top Singles Sales
chart for 12 weeks, the Top 40 Radio Moniter
chart for 13 weeks, and the Top R&B
Singles chart for 4 weeks with "End Of The Road."
The single "End Of The Road" was certified
platinum.
Boyz II Men hit the Top 40 with
"In The
Still Of The Nite (I'll Remember)" (from The
Jacksons: An American Dream soundtrack).
 Boyz II Men hit the Top 10 with "In The
Still Of The Nite (I'll Remember)."
Cooleyhighharmony was certified 5x
platinum.
 # 65
Singles Artist of the Year
Boyz II Men won
2 American Music
Awards for Favorite Soul/R&B
Band/Duo/Group and Favorite Pop/Rock Single ("End Of The Road").
Boyz II Men began the year with
a singing performance at the MTV Inaugural
Ball in Washington, D.C.
The single "In The
Still Of The Nite (I'll Remember)" was certified
platinum.
Boyz II Men won another Grammy
Award for Best R&B Vocal
Performance by a Duo or Group ("End Of The Road").
Boyz II Men won 3 Soul Train
Music Awards for Best R&B Single ("Please Don't Go"), R&B Song
of the Year, and Best Music Video ("End Of The Road").
The video for "End Of The Road" was nominated
for a MTV Video Music
Award for Best R&B Video.
 Boyz II Men released a Christmas
LP, Christmas
Interpretations.
Christmas
Interpretations was certified platinum.
During the year the boys won 2
Soul Train Music Awards for Best R&B
Performance and Best R&B Song (all for
"End Of The Road") and were
awarded a NAACP Image Award for Best Vocal
Group and a World Music Award for Best Group.
 # 8
Singles Artist of the Year
 Boyz II Men hit the Top 40 with
"Let It Snow."
Boyz II Men were nominated for a
Grammy Award for Best R&B Vocal
Performance by a Duo or Group ("Let It Snow").
 Boyz II Men released their
second LP, II, and found even
greater commercial and popular success, but
parted way with Michael Bivens. The LP was
produced by Babyface, Jimmy Jam, and Terry
Lewis and gave the boys 3 more #1 hits:
"I'll Make Love To You (written by Babyface)," "On
Bended Knee," and "Water Runs Dry (also written by Babyface)." They also had
chart success with the tracks "Thank You" and "Vibin'."
Boyz II Men hit the Top 40, the Top 10, and #1 for 5 weeks with
"I'll Make Love To You."
 Boyz II Men topped the Billboard
Hot 100 Singles chart for 14 weeks, the
Billboard Hot 100 Singles Sales chart for 11
weeks, the R&B Singles chart for 9 weeks,
the R&B Singles Sales chart for 8 weeks,
and the R&B Airplay chart for 9 weeks
with "I'll Make Love To You."
 Boyz II Men topped the Billboard
Hot 100 Airplay chart for 12 weeks and the
R&B Albums chart for 2 weeks with "I'll Make Love To You."
II topped the Billboard
Pop Albums chart for 4 weeks.
The single "I'll Make Love To You" was certified
platinum.
Boyz II Men hit the Top 40 with
"On Bended Knee."
 II was certified 3x
platinum.
Boyz II Men hit the Top 10 with "On Bended Knee."
II was certified 5x
platinum.
Boyz II Men hit #1 for 4 weeks with
"On Bended Knee."
Boyz II Men topped the Billboard
Hot 100 Singles chart for 6 weeks, the Hot
100 Airplay chart for 11 weeks, the R&B
Airplay chart for 7 weeks, and the Adult
Contemporary Singles chart for 3 weeks with
"On Bended Knee."
"I'll Make Love To You" went on to be
the #1 single of the year on The ARC Weekly Top 40.
 # 2
Singles Artist of the Year
 Boyz II Men won 3 American Music
Awards for Favorite Pop/Rock Single and Favorite Soul/R&B Single ("I'll Make Love To You"), and Favorite Soul/R&B
Band/Duo/Group, and was also nominated for
Favorite Adult Contemporary Artist.
II was certified 7x
platinum and the single "On Bended Knee" was certified
platinum.
Boys II Men hit the Top 40 with
"Water Runs Dry."
 Boyz II Men won 2 Grammy Awards for Best R&B Album (II) and Best R&B Vocal
Performance by a Duo or Group ("I'll Make Love To You"), and was
nominated for Record of the Year ("I'll Make Love To You").
Boyz II Men hit the Top 40 with
"Thank You."
Boyz II Men hit the Top 10 with "Water Runs Dry."
 II was certified 8x
platinum and the single "Water Runs Dry" was certified
gold.
Boyz II Men topped the Billboard
R&B Airplay chart for 5 weeks with "Water Runs Dry."
Boyz II Men hit #1 for 2 weeks with
"Water Runs Dry."
 Boyz II Men hit the Top 40 with
"Vibin'."
The video for "Water Runs Dry" was nominated
for 2 MTV Video Music
Awards for Best R&B Video and Best Cinematography.
Boyz II Men hit the Top 40
helping out Mariah
Carey with "One Sweet Day."
 A collection of remixes
appropriately titled, The
Remix Collection, was released.
Boyz II Men hit the Top 10 with "One Sweet Day."
Cooleyhighharmony was certified 9x
platinum and II was certified 11x
platinum.
Boyz II Men hit #1 for 11 weeks with
"One Sweet Day."
Boyz II Men topped the Billboard
Hot 100 Singles chart for 16 weeks, the
Singles Sales chart for 11 weeks, the Airplay
chart for 13 weeks, the R&B Singles Sales
chart for 4 weeks, the Adult Contemporary
Singles chart for 13 weeks, and the Hot Dance
Music Maxi-Singles Sales chart for 3 weeks
with Mariah
Carey with "One Sweet Day."
II was the 7th
biggest selling LP of the year with sales
topping 3.4 million during 1995.
Boyz II Men won 2 Blockbuster
Entertainment Awards for Favorite CD and
Favorite R&B CD, a Kid's Choice Award for
Best Musical Group, 2 Soul Train Music Awards
for Best R&B Song and Best R&B Album, a World Music Award
for Best Musical Group, and were honored by
VH1 for their work with the Big Brothers
Foundation.
 # 55
Singles Artist of the Year
Boyz II Men teamed up with Mariah
Carey and went on to spend a record
11 weeks at the #1 position with "One Sweet Day" making it the
biggest single of the year on The ARC Weekly Top 40.
 Boyz II Men won an American Music
Award for Favorite Soul/R&B
Band/Duo/Group and were nominated for Favorite
Pop/Rock Band/Duo/Group, Favorite Artist of
the Year, Favorite Soul/R&B Album and
Favorite Pop/Rock Album (II).
Boyz II Men hit the Top 40 with
"I Remember."
 Stockman hit the Top 40 solo
with "Visions Of A Sunset" from the
soundtrack for Mr.
Holland's Opus.
Boyz II Men were nominated for a
few Grammy Awards for Record of the Year and Best Pop Collaboration with
Vocals
("One Sweet Day").
Boyz II Men and Sony Music
Entertainment teamed up and formed a new
record label, Stonecreek Recordings of
Philadelphia.
Boyz II Men also tried their
hand at acting, appearing in the TV movie, The
Jacksons: An American Dream. Mike appeared in the
films, How
To Be A Player and Hoodlum.
Boyz II Men also won a NAACP
Image Award for Best Group and the Sammy
Davis, Jr. Award (Entertainer of the Year) at
the Soul Train Music Awards.
II was certified 12x
platinum.
The
Remix Collection was certified
platinum.
The video for "One Sweet Day" was nominated
for a MTV Video Music
Award for Best R&B Video.
Christmas
Interpretations was certified 2x platinum.
 # 41
Singles Artist of the Year
 The Boyz' next LP, Evolution, was released. Tracks
on the LP have been produced by power-houses
Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis, Babyface, and Puffy
Combs. The LP debuted on the
Billboard LP chart at #1.The second single,
"A Song For Mama" could also be
found on the Soul
Food soundtrack. Shawn told
MTV: "We felt like we were growing as
men... We were growing as people that were
very different from the past endeavors with Cooleyhighharmony and with the album II. We've noticed the
changes in ourselves and each other. We felt
like Evolution is like the perfect
name because of the fact that we were able
too... the year and a half gave us the time
to kind of accept the changes and put on that
suit, and get it tailored and get it fitted
for us so we could kind of acknowledge it,
understand it and grow with it."
 Boyz II Men hit the Top 40 with
"4 Seasons Of Loneliness."
Evolution topped the Billboard
200 Albums chart and the Billboard R&B
Albums chart for a week.
Boyz II Men hit the Top 10 with "4 Seasons Of Loneliness."
 "4 Seasons Of Loneliness" topped the
Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart for a week,
the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Sales chart for
a week, and the Billboard R&B Singles
Sales chart for 3 weeks.
Evolution was certified platinum
and the single "4 Seasons Of Loneliness" was certified
platinum.
 Boyz II Men hit the Top 40 with
"A Song For Mama."
Evolution was certified 2x
platinum and the single "A Song For Mama" was certified
gold.
Boyz II Men topped the Billboard
R&B Singles chart with "A Song For Mama" for 2 weeks, the
R&B Singles Sales chart for 2 weeks, and
the Billboard R&B Singles Sales chart for
2 weeks.
 # 41
Singles Artist of the Year
 Boyz II Men hit the Top
10
with "A Song For Mama."
Boyz II Men won an American Music
Award for Favorite Soul/R&B Band.
It was announced that Boyz II
Men will participate in an anti-smoking
competition that will have teenagers write
and produce anti-smoking related features.
The boys teamed up with the Center for
Disease Control and Prevention and the
contest will be called "Smoke Free -
It's The New Evolution."
 The boys were nominated for 2 Grammy Awards for Best R&B Vocal
Performance by a Duo or Group ("A Song For Mama") and Best R&B Album (Evolution).
The single "A Song For Mama" was certified
platinum.
 The Boyz II Men tour had to be
temporarily put on hold when Wanya Morris
came down with laryngitis - several shows had
to be re-scheduled.
Boyz II Men hit the Top 40 with
"Can't Let Her Go."
Boyz II Men could be heard on
the soundtrack for The
Prince Of Egypt with "I
Will Get There."
 Stockman appeared on the
soundtrack for Down
In The Delta with the track,
"Just A Little Luv."
The boys also won 2 NAACP Image
Awards for Outstanding Duo or Group and
Outstanding Song ("A Song For Mama") and nominated
were for a MTV Movie Award for Best Song and
a Soul Train Award for Best R&B/Soul
Album.
 # 131
Singles Artist of the Year
 Boyz II Men hit the Top 40 with
"I
Will Get There."
Boyz II Men could be heard on
the compilation, Elton
John And Tim Rice's Aida, with "Not
Me."
The single "I
Will Get There" was certified gold.
 Stockman jumped into the role of
movie producer for a ShowTime movie called A
Second Chance.
"One Sweet Day" was named the
Top Pop Single of the 90's by Billboard
magazine.
 # 105
Singles Artist of the Year
 Boyz II Men teamed up with Luther Vandross on tour for a set of
shows toward the end of the month and into
September.
Boys II Men released Nathan,
Michael, Shawn, Wanya.
They hit the Top 40 with "Pass
You By."
 Nathan,
Michael, Shawn, Wanya was certified gold.
Boyz II Men were nominated for 2
Grammy Awards for Best R&B Vocal
Performance by a Duo or Group ("Pass
You By")
and Best R&B Album (Nathan,
Michael, Shawn, Wanya).
 Boyz II Men signed a multi-album
deal with Arista Records.
Boyz II Men released Legacy:
The Greatest Hits.
 Boyz II Men released their next
LP, Full
Circle with the singles "The
Color Of Love" and "Relax Your
Mind" (with Faith Evans).
Boyz II Men
were nominated for a Soul Train Music Award
for R&B/Soul Album Group, Band or Duo (Full
Circle).
 Legacy:
The Greatest Hits was certified gold.
McCary left the group.
 Boyz II Men released a
collection of cover tunes - Throwback.
Boyz II Men performed at the
Great Wall of China.
# 11 on the Top Pop Artists
of the Past 25 Years chart.
Boyz II Men could be head on the
Michael Buble LP Call
Me Irresponsible on the track
"Comin' Home Baby."
 Boyz II Men released Motown:
A Journey Through Hitsville USA.
Boyz II Men were nominated for 2
Grammy Awards including Best R&B Vocal
Performance by a Duo or Group ("Ribbon In The
Sky") and Best R&B Album (Motown:
A Journey Through Hitsville USA). Boyz II Men
performed at the ceremony.
 Boyz II Men released Love.
|
Cooleyhighharmony
Released: March, 1991
US: 9x Platinum
Billboard
peak:
# 3
Entertainment
Weekly: B-
 Tracks: "Please Don't Go" -
"Lonely Heart" - "This Is
My Heart" - "Uhh Ahh" - "It's So Hard To Say
Goodbye To Yesterday" - "In The Still Of The
Nite (I'll Remember)" - "Motownphilly" -
"Under Pressure" -
"Sympin" - "Little
Things" - "Your Love" -
"End Of The Road" |
|
Christmas
Interpretations
Released: October, 1993
US: 2x Platinum
Billboard
peak:
# 19
Tracks: "Let It Snow" -
"Share Love" - "You're Not
Alone" - "Joyous Song" -
"Why Christmas" - "Cold
December Nights" - "Do They
Know" - "Who Would Have
Thought" - "Silent Night" |
iTunes
Amazon.mp3 |
II
Released: August, 1994
US: 12x Platinum
Billboard
peak:
# 1 (for 5 weeks)
Entertainment
Weekly: D+
Tracks: "Thank You" - "All
Around The World" - "U
Know" - "Vibin'" - "I
Sit Away" - "Jezzebel" -
"Trying Times" - "I'll Make Love To
You"
- "On Bended Knee" - "50
Candles" - "Water Runs Dry" -
"Yesterday" |
|
The Remix Collection
Released: November, 1995
US: Platinum
Billboard
peak:
# 17
Tracks: "Under
Pressure (Dallas Austin Mix)" -
"Vibin' (The New
Flava)" - "I Remember" - "Water Runs Dry (Motownphilly Interlude/Strat
Mix)" - "U Know (Dallas Austin
Mix)" - "Hey Lover" -
"I'll Make Love to
You
("Make Love To You"
Version)" - "Uhh Ahh (Dedication
Mix)" - "Motownphilly (Quiet Storm
Version)" - "On Bended Knee (Human Rhythm
Mix)" - "Brokenhearted (Soul
Power Groove Mix)" |
|
Evolution (Evolucion)
Released: September, 1997
US: 2x Platinum
Billboard
peak:
# 1 (for 1 week)
Rolling Stone
review:  - Entertainment
Weekly: C
Tracks: "Doin' Just
Fine" - "Never" - "4 Seasons Of
Loneliness" - "Girl In The
Life Magazine" - "A Song For Mama" - "Can
You Stand The Rain" - "Can't Let Her Go" - "Baby
C'Mon" - "Come On" -
"All Night Long" - "Human
II (Don't Turn Your Back On Me)" -
"To The Limit" - "Dear
God" |
|
Nathan, Michael, Shawn,
Wanya
Released: September, 2000
US: Gold
Billboard
peak:
# 4
Entertainment
Weekly: B
Tracks: "Beautiful
Women" - "Step On Up" -
"Good Guy" - "Bounce,
Shake, Move, Swing" - "What The
Deal" - "I Finally Know" -
"Pass You By" -
"Dreams" - "I Do" -
"Thank You In Advance" -
"Never Go Away" -
"Lovely" - "Know What You
Want" - "Do You Remember" |
|
Legacy: The Greatest
Hits
Released: November, 2001
US: Gold
Billboard
peak:
# 89
Tracks: "Motownphilly" - "It's So Hard To Say
Goodbye To Yesterday" - "End Of The Road" - "In The Still Of The
Nite (I'll Remember)" - "Hey
Lover" (with L.L. Cool J) - "I'll Make Love to
You"
- "On Bended Knee" - "Water Runs Dry" - "One Sweet Day" (with Mariah
Carey) - "Doin' Just
Fine" - "4 Seasons Of
Loneliness" - "A Song For Mama" - "Pass You By" |
|
Full Circle
Released: July, 2002
Rolling Stone: - Entertainment
Weekly: C
Tracks: "Whatcha
Need" - "The Color Of
Love" - "That's Why I Love
You" - "I'll Show You" -
"Roll Wit Me" - "Relax
Your Mind" (featuring Faith Evans) -
"Woman Don't Cry" - "Right
On Time" - "Oh Well" -
"You're My Baby" - "Make
Sure (I'm OK)" - "Lovin'
You" - "Howz About It" -
"Ain't A Thang Wrong" |
|
Throwback
Released: August, 2004
Billboard
peak:
# 52
Rolling Stone:
Tracks: "Let It
Whip" - "Let's Stay
Together" - "What You Won't Do
For Love" - "Cutie Pie" -
"Close The Door" - "For
The Love Of You" - "Sara
Smile" - "Human Nature" -
"Time Will Reveal" - "I
Miss You" - "You Make Me Feel
Brand New" |
 |
Motown: A Journey
Through Hitsville USA
Released: November, 2007
Billboard
peak:
# 27
Entertainment
Weekly: C-
Tracks: "Just My
Imagination" - "It's The Same
Old Song / Reach Out I'll Be There"
- "Mercy Mercy Me (The
Ecology)" - "The Tracks Of My
Tears" - "Money (That's What I
Want)" - "Easy" - "I
Was Made To Love Her" - "All
This Love" - "Ribbon In The
Sky" - "Ain't Nothing Like The
Real Thing" - "Got To Be
There" - "War" - "End
Of The Road" |
|
Love
Released: November, 2009
Tracks: "I Can't
Make You Love Me" -
"Amazed" - "If You Leave
Me Now" - "Misty Blue" -
"Time After Time" -
"Iris" - "Cupid" -
"Shining Star" - "In My
Life" - "Open Arms" -
"When I Fall In Love" -
"Back For Good" |
| Note: Song title and
position links lead you to the song's Top
40 chart run (from the ARC Weekly Top
40)
and LP links take you to Amazon.com for that LP (often
including track listings and sound
samples). |
|
|
