Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men debuted at #1 with "One Sweet Day"

One Sweet Day Mariah Carey with Boyz II Men

Writer(s): Mariah Carey/Michael McCary/Nathan Morris/Wanya Morris/Shawn Stockman/Walter Afanasieff (see lyrics here) Released: November 14, 1995 Peak: 116 US, 113 BA, 111 CB, 111 GR, 18 RR, 113 AC, 110 A40, 2 RB, 6 UK, 12 CN, 2 AU, 11 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 3.0 US, 0.4 UK, 3.75 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 1.0 radio, 314.83 video, 163.56 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: This ballad paired “some of the best R&B ballad singers of their generation” BBC emphasizing Carey’s “vocal gymnastics, artfully supported by the more restrained vocalizing of…Boyz II Men.” DJ Done with “fitting and tender simplicity”, BBC “this passionate expression of loss” BBC was reportedly inspired by the death earlier that year of David Cole, half of the group C+C Music Factory and a friend of Carey’s. TB However, she says the song wasn’t inspired by just one specific person. FB Meanwhile, Boyz II Men were working on a tribute to Khalil Roundtree, their road manager who had been murdered. TB When Carey and the Boyz decided to pair up, they merged their efforts into what became not just the biggest pop hit of 1995, CPM but the biggest hit of the latter half of the 20th century. In fact, from 1900 to 1999, the only song to log more weeks at number one (17) was the 1947 song “Near You” by Francis Craig and His Orchestra. Interestingly enough, it was the THIRD time that Boyz II Men could claim to have the biggest hit of the rock era – first with 1992’s “End of the Road” and again with 1994’s “I’ll Make Love to You.” Collectively, Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men had already accumulated 69 weeks (36 and 33 weeks respectively) atop the charts BB in just the first half of the 1990s. Mariah Carey went on to hit the top spot another eight times after this, giving her a total of 79 weeks at #1 – only one week behind Elvis Presley’s record 80 weeks. Boyz II Men only scored one more #1 (1997’s “4 Seasons of Loneliness”) and one more top 10 (1997’s “A Song for Mama”), but their total of 50 weeks in the pole position ranks them fourth all-time behind Elvis, Mariah, and The Beatles (59 weeks). Resources: BBC BBC Radio 2 (2004). “Sold on Song Top 100” BB Billboard (9/08). “All-Time Hot 100” FB Fred Bronson (2003). The Billboard Book of Number One Hits (5th edition). Billboard Books: New York, NY. Page 843. DJ David Jasen (2002). A Century of American Popular Music: 2000 Best-Loved and Remembered Songs (1899-1999). Routledge: Taylor & Francis, Inc. Page 153. TB Thunder Bay Press (2006). Singles: Six Decades of Hot Hits & Classic Cuts. Outline Press Ltd.: San Diego, CA. Page 269. CPM Joel Whitburn (1999). A Century of Pop Music. Record Research, Inc.: Menomonee Falls, WI. Page 126. Related Links: First posted 12/2/2011; last updated 7/24/2023.

Boyz II Men II hit #1

II Boyz II Men

Released: August 30, 1994 Peak: 15 US, 12 RB, 17 UK, 3 CN, 4 AU Sales (in millions): 12.0 US, 0.1 UK, 21.0 world (includes US and UK) Genre: R&B

Tracks: Song Title (Writers) [time] (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to charts. Thank You (2/7/95, 21 BB, 11 CB, 16 GR, 17 RR, 26 UK, 32 CN, 33 AU) All Around the World U Know Vibin’ (with Method Man) (9/2/95, 56 BB, 55 CB, 27 RB, 27 CN) I Sit Away Jezebel Khalil (Interlude) Trying Times I'll Make Love to You (7/26/94, 114 BB, 112 BA, 113 CB, 19 GR, 14 RR, 13 AC, 19 RB, 5 UK, 13 CN, 12 AU, 9 DF) On Bended Knee (11/1/94, 16 BB, 111 BA, 111 CB, 18 GR, 16 RR, 8 AC, 2 RB, 20 UK, 13 CN, 7 AU, 14 DF) 50 Candles Water Runs Dry (4/11/95, 2 BB, 11 BB, 15 CB, 11 GR, 2 RR, 3 AC, 4 RB, 24 UK, 4 CN, 36 AU, 18 DF) Yesterday (11 DF) Total Running Time: 57:38 The Players: Michael McCary (bass) Nathan Morris (baritone) Wanyá Morris (tenor) Shawn Stockman (tenor)

Rating: 4.324 out of 5.00 (average of 22 ratings) Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

Boyz II Men’s Early Years The R&B vocal harmony group Boyz II Men formed in 1985 in Philadelphia. They were signed to Motown and released their first album, Cooleyhighharmony, in 1991. It featured two top-five hits (“Motownphilly” and “It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye”) that propelled the album to nine time platinum. In 1992 they landed atop the pop charts for a whopping 13 weeks with “End of the Road” from the Boomerang soundtrack. It was the biggest pop hit in 45 years. At that point, only the Francis Craig Orchestra had topped the charts longer – 17 weeks with the 1947 hit “Near You.” It wasn’t a record that would stand long. Just a week after “End of the Road” was dethroned, Whitney Houston began a 14-week run at #1 with “I Will Always Love You.” The next year they covered “In the Still of the Nite (I’ll Remember)” for the TV miniseries The Jacksons: An American Dream and took the song to #3. That same year they released a Christmas album. The Next Album The anticipation for Boyz II Men’s second non-seasonal studio album was through the roof. I mean, they couldn’t possibly match the 13-week reign of “End of the Road,” could they? The group launched their new album with the single I’ll Make Love to You. It wasn’t that surprising that the song ascended to #1. What was astonishing, however, is that it outdid “End of the Road” and matched “I Will Always Love You” by spending 14 weeks atop the chart. Interestingly, Boyz II Men stopped their own run when the album’s second single, On Bended Knee, knocked “I’ll Make Love to You” from #1. The song wasn’t quite as big, spending a mere six weeks at the pinnacle. However, Boyz II Men would top themselves yet again – the very next year their duet with Mariah Carey, “One Sweet Day,” would land atop the charts for an astonishing 16 weeks. With three monster smashes in just a few years’ time, Boyz II Men assured themselves of a place in pop music history. “If ever a second album consolidated a band’s reputation, this was it.” AB “Working with some of the hottest talent around, including Babyface, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, the band turned out” AB “a carefully constructed crowd pleaser, accentuating all of the finest moments from their hit debut. While there are some high-energy dance tracks, the album’s main strength is its slower numbers, where the group's vocals soar.” AM The group’s “vocal prowess is displayed to most stunning effect on the closing track – an audacious ‘ a cappella’ rendition of Paul McCartney’s Yesterday.” AB

Resources: AM AllMusic.com review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine AB Michael Spilling (editor) (2015). Best-Selling Albums: From Vinyl Records to Digital Downloads. Amber Books Ltd.: London, United Kingdom. Page 158. Related DMDB Links: First posted 3/26/2008; last updated 12/7/2024.

Boyz II Men spend 1st of 14 weeks at #1 with “I’ll Make Love to You”

I’ll Make Love to You Boyz II Men

Writer(s): Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds (see lyrics here) Released: July 26, 1994 First Charted: August 5, 1994 Peak: 114 US, 113 CB, 19 GR, 14 RR, 13 AC, 19 RB, 5 UK, 13 CN, 12 AU (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 1.63 US, 0.45 UK, 2.14 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 2.0 radio, 218.17 video, 252.10 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Boyz II Men emerged in 1991 with their debut album Cooleyhighharmony, featuring top-five hits “Motownphilly” and “It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday.” They followed up the album with “End of the Road,” a cut from the Boomerang soundtrack which topped the Billboard Hot 100 for 13 weeks, the most in the history of the chart at that time. They didn’t hold the record for long. Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You” logged 14 weeks at the pinnacle in 1992-93. However, Boyz II Men shot back with “I’ll Make Love to You,” the lead single from their 1994 album II. It matched Houston’s 14 weeks at #1. That record wouldn’t last long either. In 1995-96, Mariah Carey spent 16 weeks at #1 with “One Sweet Day” – a song featuring none other than Boyz II Men. That gave the R&B group the incredible distinction of singing on three of the four biggest #1 songs in the first 40 years of the history of the Billboard Hot 100. Boyz II Men tapped Babyface, who’d co-written “End of the Road,” as the producer for their second album because of his experience singing hits on his own, writing for others such as Pebbles, Klymaxx, and the Whispers, and producing for Mary J. Blige, Aretha Franklin, Johnny Gill, Whitney Houston, and Madonna. SF Babyface saw “I’ll Make Love to You” as kind of a sequel to “End of the Road.” He admitted it was hard to try to outdo that song, but that was essentially his goal. SF He said his hope was that “it not be exactly the same, but familiar enough where you could touch some of the same ingredients.” FB However, the group initially thought it sounded too much like “End of the Road” and considered leaving it off the album. According to Babyface, Motown Records’ then-president Jheryl Busby made the decision to release the song despite the protests of the group. SF It won a Grammy for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals and American Music Awards for Favorite Pop/Rock Single and Favorite Soul/R&B single. Resources: FB Fred Bronson (2007). The Billboard Book of Number One Hits (4th edition). Billboard Books: New York, NY. Page 830. SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 3/28/2020; last updated 1/18/2024.