Bobby Brown

Before personal demons got in his way, many of them involving his 1992 marriage to equally troubled Whitney Houston, singer-composer and Boston native Robert Barisford Brown was on the fast track to R&B stardom, making plenty of room for melody within the funk and hip-hop genres. Born in February 1969, and an original member of the teen group New Edition, Brown left after a few years, scored a top-10 hit with “Don’t Be Cruel,” and hit number one with the single “My Prerogative.” Lesser hits followed, as did the start of his troubles with the law, and a reunion album and a short-lived tour with the reunited New Edition. Houston filed for divorce from him in 2006.
(by Ed Symkus)