[歌手介绍]

　　According to no less an authority than the RIAA, Boyz II Men are the most commercially successful R&B group of all time. They've sold ludicrous numbers of records and been involved in three of the longest-running number-one pop singles in history, and they've done it as a unit of equals. In fact, their four-part harmonies blend so smoothly that most of the general public would be hard pressed to name any of the group's individual members. And that's no reflection on their skill as singers.

　　Boyz II Men were among the first male urban soul artists to adopt the sort of hyper-technical melodic embellishments that were popularized by virtuosic divas like Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey. Their early music was indebted to new jack swing, but the group quickly found their fortune in lush, soulful ballads, where their harmonies could be showcased to greatest effect. Boyz II Men may never duplicate their incredible run of success during the first half of the '90s, but that's a near-impossible task for anyone, even with the broad-based appeal of their clean-cut romantic image.

　　Boyz II Men were formed in 1988 at Philadelphia's High School of the Creative and Performing Arts. Founding members Nathan Morris and Marc Nelson had been singing together for several years, but had trouble keeping a group together simply due to members graduating. Things finally stabilized when they hooked up with Wanya Morris, Shawn Stockman, and bass vocalist Michael McCary; calling themselves Unique Attraction, the quintet performed a well-received Valentine's Day show for their school, and developed a repertoire that leaned heavily on New Edition songs, one of which, "Boys to Men," gave them their name.

　　Their big break came in 1989, when they snuck backstage at a Bell Biv DeVoe concert and wowed group member Michael Bivins (also formerly of New Edition, and a budding music entrepreneur) with an a cappella version of New Edition's "Can You Stand the Rain." Bivins offered them a deal right there, but Nelson would not stick around to be part of it; personality conflicts led to his departure soon after.

　　Down to a quartet, Boyz II Men entered the studio to record their debut album for the legendary Motown Records. Backed by the new jack production then in vogue, they dubbed their sound "hip-hop doo wop," though as a vocal-harmony group they were more indebted to R&B of the '60s and '70s. Cooley High Harmony was released in 1991, and its first single, the up tempo dance track "Motown Philly," rocketed up the charts, going Top Five pop and number one R&B on its way to platinum sales.

　　Briefly entering the studio in between concert gigs, Boyz II Men cut a smooth Babyface ballad called "End of the Road" for the soundtrack of the Eddie Murphy film Boomerang. Released as a single, it became not just a blockbuster, but one of the biggest hits in history; it spent 13 weeks at number one on the pop charts, an incredible run that broke the record of 11 weeks Elvis Presley had held ever since 1956 with the double-sided single "Don't Be Cruel"/"Hound Dog." "End of the Road" won a slew of awards and cemented Boyz II Men's star status beyond any doubt.

　　Boyz II Men spent much of 1995 touring the U.S. and beyond, and also opened their own recording studio. They spent some time recording collaborations with other artists: Wanya Morris duetted with Brandy on the hit "Brokenhearted," and the whole group sang on Michael Jackson's "History" and LL Cool J's "Hey Lover." The biggest one, however, was a song done with Mariah Carey called "One Sweet Day." Featuring two of the biggest chart powerhouses in the industry, "One Sweet Day" was virtually a guaranteed blockbuster, and it went on to spend 16 weeks at number one on the pop charts, debuting there in December 1995; it was the third such record-setting single of Boyz II Men's career.

　　Over the group's objections, Motown released a piece of cash-in product titled The Remix Collection in late 1995; in retaliation, Boyz signed a distribution deal with Sony, not Motown, for their new vanity label Stonecreek. It was the beginning of a souring relationship that only worsened upon the release of Boyz II Men's next album, Evolution, in 1997. The record started out strong, debuting at number one and sending "4 Seasons of Loneliness" to the same position on the singles charts; its Top Ten follow-up, "A Song for Mama," gave Boyz II Men their record-setting seventh platinum single.

　　Boyz II Men成立于1988年，其四个成员Shawn Stockman、Wanya Morris、Nathan Morris以及Micheal McMary都是费城音乐学校的学生。当他们发现四个人的声音混和在一起要比一个人的独唱悦耳得多的时候，他们走到了一起。

　　一开始，乐队在学校、街头巷尾以及地铁站台上演出。他们称自己为“独一无二的吸引力”乐队(Unique Attraction)。1989年，在费城的斯威克尔中心进行演出的时候，乐队说服了他们的偶像Micheal Bivins听他们的新歌《你能经受这雨吗》(Can You Stand the Rain)。Micheal Bivins被他们的演唱深深地打动了，最后答应做他们的经纪人并成功跟Motown唱片公司谈成了一笔生意，他建议把乐队的名字改为Boyz II Men，这是《心碎》(Heartbreak)专辑中的一首新歌的名字。

　　1991年5月，Boyz II Men发行了处女专辑Cooleyhighharmory，该名源于1975年一出名为Cooley High的黑人喜剧。这张专辑取得了巨大的成功。其中的第一首单曲Motownphilly在6月份的排行榜(Billboard)上排到了第三，第二首单曲《与昨日难以说再见》(It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday)也是源于Cooley High剧中一首曲子，在10月份时升为亚军曲目。迄今为止，这张专辑仅在美国的销量就超过了700万张。 1992年，就在Cooleyhighharmony的热潮稍微降温的时候，乐队为影片《回飞棒》(Boomerang)所作的插曲《路的尽头》(End of the Road)出版发行。在长达13周的时间里，它一直位居排行榜的宝座，打破了“猫王”Elvis Presley1956年单曲Don't Be Cruel/Hound Dong创造的连续11周雄居榜首的纪录。1995年他们与 Mariah Carey 合作发行的《甜蜜的一天》(One Sweet Day)在榜首的宝座上蝉联了16周。

　　1996年，在亚特兰大奥运会的闭幕式上，他们演唱了美国的国歌。

　　在合作伙伴Babyface、Jimmy Jam和Terry Lewis的敦促下，Boyz II Men的新专辑《发展》(Evolution)于1997年9月出版发行。其中有13首歌曲是乐队自己或与人合作完成的。

[上一页]　[1]　[2]　[3]　[下一页]