Clearly “the R&B group” of the nineties, Boyz II Men would prove to critics and fans alike that these “four guys from Philly”, as they put it in one of their earlier songs, have the goods when it comes to singing four piece harmonies. Nathan Morris, Wanya Morris (no relation), Michael McCary, and Shawn Stockman would go on to make history together several times setting and breaking some of music’s most difficult records to achieve. They are Boyz II Men and this is their story.
Formation of Boyz II Men
Original members Wanya Morris (born July 29, 1973), Michael McCary (born December 16, 1971), Shawn Stockman (born September 26, 1972), and Nathan Morris (born June 18, 1971) are all Philadelphia, Pennsylvania natives. They met in a high school for the performing arts where all four members, along with Marc Nelson; another Philadelphia native, all took classical vocal training courses.
The five young men would join together and form the group Boyz II Men in 1988. Marc Nelson would drop out of the group prior to its first album release on Motown Records entitled CooleyHighHarmony. It was a rapid ascent to the top for Boyz II Men members Wanya Morris, Nathan Morris, Michael McCary, and Shawn Stockman after they fought to get backstage to meet and perform for the former New Edition member/current Bell Biv Devoe member Michael Bivens.
Bivens proved to be very impressed by the quartet’s harmonic ability and chose to take them under his wings. This was the big break that Boyz II Men needed to break into the major scene. Soon enough in 1990 they were signed to Motown records and released their first album CooleyHighHarmony. The works from this album would earn Boyz II Men a Grammy Award and much critical acclaim.
II
Boyz II Men followed the success of CooleyHighHarmony with the 1994 release II. Several records were released and did very well, however, none as well as “I’ll Make Love to You” which stayed on the pop charts for 14 weeks at number one beating their own record of 13 weeks from their previous album release “End of the Road”. Boyz II Men this time would exceed the 9 million copies they sold with their first album by selling over 12 million copies, thus going diamond. They would earn two Grammy Awards for II, including Best R&B Album.
Evolution
Evolution was released in 1997. Many fans and critics felt that the album was too eager to please and that Boyz II Men had broken away from their true “I want you; I need you; I’ll love you forever” mode that made them famous. Not only this, but, they were beginning to fight back and forth with their record label Motown Records over the direction of the group and what type of material needed to be released from them to stay current in the music market. Evolution sold 3 million copies which is usually considered great, but for Boyz II Men whom had sold a total of over 21 million albums worldwide with just their first two albums, this was a commercial letdown.
Nathan, Michael, Shawn, Wanya
In 1999 Boyz II Men’s label was bought by Universal Music Group and the group was reassigned to the newly merged Motown Universal. In 2000 the group would write and produce all of the tracks to their newest release Nathan, Michael, Shawn, Wanya. The album was a flop selling just 500,000 copies in the US. No charting hits were released either to add insult to injury. Boyz II Men’s hit-making days looked to be long gone.
In 2001 due to continued arguments with their label Boyz II Men parted ways with their label after a decade of dominance. A greatest hits collection was released to closeout Boyz II Men’s Universal record deals. Boyz II Men would sign with Arista Records in 2002 and release Full Circle which would again sell just 500,000 copies in the US.
Michael McCary, after years of performing from a stool due to his scoliosis, would announce his retirement from Boyz II Men in 2003. Not long after the group would get more devastating news. Arista Records would announce the termination of their contracts in April of 2003. Boyz II Men then created the independent label MSM Music Group. They then released Throwback Vol. 1 which sold only 200,000 copies due to lack of promotion. The Remedy was then released only in Japan and later through their website the following year.
Motown: A Journey through Hitsville
With the fame, accolades and fortune that Boyz II Men once shared during the early nineties now diminished, Boyz II Men would chose to turn back and resign with Universal Records in the summer 2007. They decided to move forward that they would go back, way back. Their final album to date is an album of Motown top charting songs from Motown’s heyday in the ‘60s and ‘70s. They titled the album Motown: A Journey through Hitsville USA.
Boyz II Men received a Grammy nomination for their latest effort proving that they still have it. In fact, many fans believe that they should have won a Grammy Award for their performance. Boyz II Men announced plans for another cover album to be released in the autumn of 2009 tentatively titled Love. Later in 2009 Shawn Stockman would announce that there would be the return of Michael McCary in 2011 for their 20th Anniversary album.
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