New Edition

Ricky Bell, Michael Bivins, Bobby Brown, Ronnie DeVoe, Ralph Tresvant. These five men were introduced to New England and the world in 1983. Rising from the neighborhoods of Boston, they perfected a sound and style of their own that took launched them to the heights of the pop-music world.

Just a year before, they had won second place in a talent contest at the Strand Theatre in Dorchester. First prize was $500 and an opportunity to work with local musician and producer Maurice Starr, but Starr noticed something very special about these second-place-finishing young men – the youngest age 14, the oldest age 16 – and decided to take them in the studio as well. Indeed, they were reminiscent of five brothers who took the world by storm just a little over a decade before, The Jackson 5 who, along with The Temptations, were idols of these fresh-faced young men from Dorchester and Roxbury, a “New Edition” of those legendary groups.

Over forty years later, those five men are masters of their craft, creating and performing R&B in the grand tradition of their idols. A sixth member, Johnny Gill, joined the group in 1987 when original member Brown chose to pursue a solo career. There is not a “boy band” recording today that does not recognize New Edition as this generation’s foundation to group performers.

CANDY GIRL, “IS THIS THE END,” STAGE TRAINING

Starr signed the group in 1983 and, along with his brother Michael Jonzun, he wrote all of the songs. Produced by Boston native Arthur Baker, the initial result was New Edition’s debut album, Candy Girl. Many tracks were recorded in Roxbury at Starr’s studio. The album peaked at #90 in the Billboard 200, but the title track soared to #1 in the Billboard R&B chart and they scored a top-10 hit with “Is This The End.” In what had to be a surreal moment for New Edition, “Candy Girl” edged out Michael Jackson’s “Beat It” on the R&B chart; Jackson’s song peaked at #2, begging the question, “How often does anyone get to dethrone their idol?”

Since the sound was similar to their idols, it was important that their stage act be impressive. Under the training and wing of dancer and choreographer Brook Payne, New Edition, even in their youth, presented a stage confidence that the Temptations could be proud of. With Ralph Tresvant holding down lead vocal duties, the other members lit the stage up with flawless steps, dips, turns and stunning harmonies.

NEW EDITION, CONTRACT DISPUTES, STARR/BROWN DEPARTURES

With their second album, called simply New Edition, the group became even more successful, with two songs hitting #1 in the Billboard R&B chart, “Cool It Now” and “Mr. Telephone Man.” Things were going well from a fan’s point of view but behind the scenes things were not. Contract issues and Brown’s behavioral problems led to the group cutting ties with Starr and Brown deciding (or perhaps recommended) to leave the group. He went on to enjoy a wildly successful solo career that included the multi-platinum album Don’t Be Cruel.

HEART BREAK

New Edition saw things start to slow down commercially with the release of their third and fourth albums, but all that changed when they hooked up with the super production team of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis for their fifth album, Heart Break. Released in 1988, it featured Ralph Tresvant sharing vocals with Bobby Brown replacement Johnny Gill, the latter’s booming voice giving the group a more mature sound.

Lewis and Jam gave the guys a funkier sound and adult lyrics and the result was musical magic that resulted in five instant New Edition classics:  “If It Isn’t Love,” “You’re Not My Kind of Girl,” “Can You Stand The Rain,” “Crucial” and “N.E. Heart Break.” The album was a creative and commercial monster and many fans and critics have called it the band’s greatest achievement. With four top five singles including the #1 “Can You Stand The Rain,” New Edition was at the very top of the soul/R&B mountain and was scoring big on the pop charts as well.

SOLO PROJECTS, BELL BIV DEVOE, BROWN’S RETURN, RECENT ACTIVITY

Through the years, group members recorded solo albums, including platinum sellers by Gill and a very successful outing by Tresvant. It only made sense that DeVoe, Bell and Bivins would try to do solo work, but they decided to work together instead, forming Bell Biv DeVoe (BDD). Soon the three Bostonians had people around the world singing (and saying) “…that girl is poison,” a lyric from the title track of their Poison album, which sold an astonishing four million copies.

But what started as a group must continue, as they say, and in 1996, Bobby returned to the New Edition fold. They were now six members and ready to move forward. These last ten years have seen New Edition tour, record and receive honor after honor. There was a BET movie about their career that was one of the most popular movies the network ever produced and there was a movie about the life of Bobby Brown that was equally successful. New Edition was inducted into the BET Hall of Fame, which culminated with a performance during the BET Awards several years back. The group continues to support the Boston neighborhoods which spawned them through financing programs and organizations that assist all Bostonians in achieving their dreams.

“THE BATTLE OF BOSTON”

At the 2021 American Music Awards in Los Angeles, New Edition and New Kids on the Block shared the stage to trade off singing melodies of their respective hits, billed as “The Battle of Boston.” New Kids went first with an updated version of their first Billboard Hot 100 top-five hit, “You Got It (The Right Stuff),” and New Edition returned fire with their own mid-’80s breakthrough, “Candy Girl.” The groups continued trading hits, with the New Kids burning through “Step By Step,” “Please Don’t Go Girl” and “Hangin’ Tough” and New Edition responding with “Mr. Telephone Man,” “Is This the End,” “Can You Stand the Rain” and “If It Isn’t Love,” all to resounding applause and cries for “more, more, more!”

“ALWAYS FRIENDS FIRST”

New Edition has always been and will always be friends first, all the members have said, and they’ve always been there for each other. Bobby Brown has spoken quite openly about how the childhood friends who later became his bandmates were supportive of him as he dealt with the personal pain of losing his ex-wife Whitney Houston and daughter Bobbi-Kristina. “They lifted me up and held me up to heights that I can’t even find the words to explain,” he said. “They’ve always been there for me and I appreciate them all.”

(by Edwin Sumpter)