With BET’s airing this week of its three-part series documenting the storied career of one of the best known and most well-loved R&B “boy bands,” and with that band getting its long overdue “star” on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on January 23, 2017, it made me wonder: is New Edition the greatest “boy band” in black music history?

BET is airing “The New Edition Story” beginning Tuesday, January 24, 2017.

Now, before you revoke my music blog card and throw Motown greats like the Jackson 5 or Boyz II Men into this argument, I’ll acknowledge both those groups’ accomplishments and concede that, other than New Edition, they represent the only other two acts who even belong in this conversation (sorry B2K, Force MDs, Hi-Five and Troop fans).

That said, I think this discussion calls for an examination of the three main contenders’ achievements over their historic careers.  I’ll begin with the group who came first – the Jackson 5 (later billed as the Jacksons).

The Jackson 5, circa 1970, clockwise from left: Jermaine, Tito, Marlon, Jackie and Michael

There probably isn’t a soul over the age of 25 who hasn’t at least heard of the Jackson 5, who originally consisted of the five oldest brothers – Jackie, Jermaine, Tito, Marlon and Michael – before Jermaine was replaced by Randy and the name was changed to simply the Jacksons when they left Motown for Epic/CBS Records.

The J5 came hot out of the box in 1970 with their first four singles not only topping the soul music charts, but also the pop chart – the Billboard Hot 100. Those unforgettable bubblegum hits were “I Want You Back,” “ABC,” “The Love You Save” and “I’ll Be There.”  Their fifth and sixth singles (“Mama’s Pearl” and “Never Can Say Goodbye”) came damn close, both peaking at #2 pop in 1971, with “Never Can” managing to reach #1 soul.

It goes without saying that the Jacksons from Gary, IN, captured the hearts of America with a quickness during the first two years that nearly rivaled that of the Beatles some six or seven years earlier.  The brothers were so popular that everyone wanted to get in on the act.  Copycat family groups (The Osmonds, the DeFranco Family, The Sylvers) popped up all over the place and the Jacksons’ brand would expand to a TV cartoon and a family TV variety show.

But things slowed down for the Jacksons as the 70s wore on, and the brothers would find a new home at CBS Records.  There, they rekindled some of their earlier success by recording six albums between 1976 and 1989, with half of those selling a million copies or better and generating about a half-dozen top-40 hits between them.

The individual members would go on to make their own records, but it was only Michael and Jermaine – the two original lead singers – who found continued success.  Michael, of course, reached astronomical heights that arguably no other solo singer has before or since.

As for the remaining brothers, well they’ve appeared on an ill-fated reality TV show in recent years, but records and successful touring are things of the distant past.

Then there’s the group Boyz II Men (who, ironically, wouldn’t have made it big had it not been for New Edition).

Boyz II Men, from left: Michael McCrary, Wanya Morris, Shawn Stockman and Nathan Morris.

Boyz II Men consisted of four unrelated guys out of Philadelphia – Wanya Morris, Shawn Stockman, Nathan Morris and Michael McCrary (who left in 2003 due to health issues).  Like the J5, Boyz II Men were a Motown act, and they too would hit right off the bat with a string of highly successful singles.

From 1991-1998, the Boyz gave us a dozen top-10 R&B singles, with ten of those reaching the same status on the pop chart, including five #1 hits: “End of the Road,” “I’ll Make Love To You,” “On Bended Knee,” “One Sweet Day” (with Mariah Carey) and “4 Seasons of Loneliness.”

Indeed these four Boyz could do no wrong during the 1990s, with their lush street-corner honed harmonies powering three of the longest-running #1 singles in pop chart history (“End of the Road,” “I’ll Make Love” and “Day” spent a total of 43 weeks at #1 between them).  And like the J5 before them, several copycat groups emerged, including Shai, All-4-One and Portrait along with others.

But unlike the J5 (and New Edition, which I’ll get to in a minute), none of B2M’s members had any measure of a successful solo career, with not one of them scoring a top-40 hit on his own.  Wanya Morris did have a featured role on Brandy’s 1995 hit, “Broken Hearted,” but that was essentially her hit, not his.  And Shawn Stockman recorded a solo album in 1995 at the peak of his group’s popularity, but the album was never released.

Today, they’re still touring and making albums, but Boyz II Men haven’t had a gold release since the ironically titled Full Circle in 2002.

As for their singles?  The last time they had a top-40 R&B hit was in 2000, with another ironically titled effort, this one called “Thank You in Advance.”

Which takes us to the group that inspired this article.

New Edition members (from left): Ronnie DeVoe, Ricky Bell, Johnny Gill, Bobby Brown Michael Bivins and Ralph Tresvant

Bridging the gap between the Jacksons and Boyz II Men was New Edition, a band on MCA Records whose big break came via record producer Maurice Starr in 1982 with their first hit single, “Candy Girl.”  The group’s original five members – Bobby Brown, Ralph Tresvant, Michael Bivins, Ronnie DeVoe and Ricky Bell – all hailed from Boston.

With that original lineup, the boys from Boston had a string of #1 R&B hits that also did respectfully on the pop charts, like “Candy Girl,” “Cool It Now” and “Mr. Telephone Man,” the latter two being million-sellers.  In total, between 1983-86, the group accumulated ten top-10 hits on the Billboard R&B chart.

When Bobby Brown was replaced by Johnny Gill in 1987, the group added six more (with the last two occurring after Bobby rejoined the band in 1996).

And like the Jackson 5, New Edition’s success inspired many boy bands who followed, including huge acts like Hi-Five, Boyz II Men, New Kids on the Block, Backstreet Boys and N-Sync – among others.

However, this story wouldn’t be complete without mentioning what New Edition was able to accomplish with several side projects involving each of the original members.

When Bobby Brown initially left the group in 1985, he became the first member to have success on his own with several solo projects.  One of them – the 1988 album Don’t Be Cruel – became one of the biggest albums of the second half of the ’80s.  In just a one-year span between late ’88 and ’89, Brown accumulated six straight gold or platinum singles, including five from his album plus “On Our Own” from the Ghostbusters II soundtrack.

Then in 1990, after having achieved huge success with their album Heartbreak, the remaining members followed Brown’s lead and had major releases away from New Edition.

First came Ricky Bell, Michael Bivins and Ronnie DeVoe, who – as the trio Bell Biv DeVoe – released the album Poison, which generated the million-selling #1 title track, plus four other big R&B hits.  The album ended up selling four million copies, more than any New Edition album had before it.

Johnny Gill’s self-titled album quickly followed.  It, too, contained several big R&B/ pop crossover hits, like “Rub You The Right Way” and “My, My, My” – both #1 on Billboard’s Hot Black Singles lists in 1990.  Another song, “Wrap My Body Tight,” also reached #1 R&B, while a fourth, “Fairweather Friend,” just missed at #2.

Finally, the group’s original lead singer, Ralph Tresvant, released his own self-titled album later in 1990, which also went platinum and generated a #1 R&B hit with the tune “Sensitivity,” and included another big hit, “Stone Cold Gentleman,” which featured former N.E. member Bobby Brown.

To say the members of New Edition were having success between 1989 and ’92 would be a gross understatement.  They were so popular, there were times when the group members’ individual projects were competing with one another for chart space.  Most notably, Gill’s “Rub You The Right Way” displaced BBD’s “Poison” from #1 on the R&B list in May 1990.

In total, between 1986 and 1996, the members of New Edition had 30 different songs (apart from the group) reach the top ten of the Billboard R&B charts, with 14 of those hitting #1.  What’s more – all the members accounted for at least one #1 hit, with Brown having six, Johnny Gill having four, BBD having three, and Tresvant having one.

In R&B history, no other group featuring at least six members could claim such a feat.  Not even the Jacksons.  Yes, Michael had those kind of numbers – even better – on his own.  But he didn’t spread the wealth with his brothers.  Only Jermaine and (one-hit wonder) Marlon were able to achieve hits away from the Jacksons, while Jackie, Tito and Randy never really did.

And, as I mentioned earlier, none of the members of Boyz II Men charted outside of the group.

What’s more – all six of the members of New Edition are now still with the group, as they now join the Jacksons as groups who’ve had TV movies made about them.

All of which makes a pretty strong case that, when one considers the collective works of the members of New Edition, they could arguably be the greatest R&B boy band ever.

Or at least a very close second…

or third.

What do you think?

DJRob

PS: Many thanks to fellow blogger, The Dean of Dialogue, for the inspiration to write this article!

By DJ Rob

13 thoughts on “Is New Edition the Greatest R&B Boy Band…Ever?”
  1. I have to say J5 were the greatest ever. But they were somewhat too early for me and I actually was more into The”Jacksons” …..and that only after I became an MJ diehard fan. Don’t also forget that the name NE was a suggestion that the group were the new version of J5. Need I also mention that J5 was a band in the real sense of the word, playing their own instruments and all.
    NE was however the group I grew up and connected with the most and therefore remains my all time favourite boy band. As for BoyzIIMen, need I remind you that they even stole the name from an NE song…lol. enough said. Great job as always

    1. Haha, thanks, Mukhtar. Great comments! The one thing I might take issue with is the notion that the J-5 were a “band” because they played instruments. I believe most—if not all—of the instruments on their records were played by Motown’s in-house band the Funk Brothers (at least on record). I could be mistaken though. I note that Jermaine and Tito usually had a guitar and bass strapped to their shoulders in early videos, with Randy “playing” bongos.

  2. I have to say Jackson 5 hands down. They had the cartoons, the variety show. No one did it like they did. This article is a reach.

    1. I appreciate the comment. Thanks for reading the article as well. Stay tuned for my special New Edition countdown…maybe it’ll convince you.

  3. Well technically the Jackson five are the only ones who were a band. They actually play instruments and sing. No extra backup players were necessary for them to put it down on stage.

  4. I would say that New Edition is the best boy band simply because of their longevity and their unique template of separating into solo acts and subgroups successfully then being able to come back together as one band and sell out arenas. These guys have been doing their thing for over 3 decades now and show no sign of slowing down. The very fact that you can have that many members and still co-exist as business partners is amazing to me as most groups, them included, go through their own issues and drama that can be crippling to their survival. Thanks for the article. Its right on time.

  5. I am definitely from the NE generation and I would have to say that they are indeed one of the best R&B boy band of all time. They have been unrecognized and underrated for decades but I am so glad to see them finally get the shine they deserve.

  6. Amazing article…right on time as always!!! I am a proud “NE4Lifer” so as I read about all of their unprecedented accomplishments coupled with the anticipation of seeing their movie for the next three nights…I am ECSTATIC! New Edition IS the best…hands down!!!

      1. No argument here!! The way I see it, if a song from NE and J5 comes on radio at the same time, my choice will always be NE (including Bobby B, BBD, Johnny G, or Ralph)!!!

  7. YES! I would say they are the greatest being that they are the most successful and basically still together. I don’t think I would consider the Jackson 5 a boy band, but more of a family act. BoyzIIMen for me was a revival of the Temptations 5 part harmony. All three legacies are tremendous. However, it is my opinion that The Teenagers (later Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers) is the greatest boy band group, and here’s why. The Teenagers created the mold that has become “boy band”. Hit records aside, I feel they are the model by which the boy band phenomena was created…young boys able to harmonize add choreography and in steps management and contracts to pimp their youth. No royalties, no pay, no Vaseline, forced to perform against laws that protect child entertainers. I’m looking at your blog as a historian lol. With that said, yes, absolutely New Edition is the greatest group. They have survived the music industry.

    Do other groups fit the boy band category?
    Hi Five
    Troop
    ABC (family act)
    Also that group PDiddy produced ” Candy Rain”?

    1. Yes, Hi-Five, Soul 4 Real (“Candy Rain”), ABC, Troop, and others you mention all fall in the category. I agree Frankie Lymon is the first and deserves credit for the obstacles you mentioned, but a better case exists (in the article, at least) for why N.E. is greater! Thanks for your insights…on point as always!

Your thoughts?

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