![]() ![]() The proper follow-up to Tender Lover didn't appear until 1993 even so, For the Cool in You was an even bigger hit than its predecessor, going triple platinum and producing Babyface's first Top Five pop hit, the change-of-pace acoustic guitar ballad "When Can I See You Again" (which won him his first Grammy as a performer for Best Male R&B Vocal). It's no wonder Babyface wound up taking a break from his own career as a singer during the early '90s, releasing only a remix album, A Closer Look, in 1991. As if that weren't enough, LaFace had become a highly successful and lucrative imprint, breaking artists like Toni Braxton, TLC, OutKast, and Usher (often with input from Reid and Babyface). He was co-nominated for an Album of the Year Grammy for his production on the Bodyguard soundtrack and went on to work with artists like Celine Dion, Mariah Carey, Gladys Knight, Aretha Franklin, En Vogue, and Mary J. Now firmly established as a powerhouse, Babyface went on to co-write hits for Johnny Gill ("My, My, My," nominated for the Best R&B Song Grammy), Whitney Houston ("I'm Your Baby Tonight"), and Madonna ("Take a Bow") his biggest success, however, came with Boyz II Men, whose recording of "End of the Road" became one of the longest-running number ones in pop history (the Babyface-penned follow-up "I'll Make Love to You" was also very successful in its own right). ![]() Released in 1989, Tender Lover caught fire, spinning off four singles over the next year, including the R&B chart smashes "It's No Crime" (number one) and "Whip Appeal" (number two both also reached the pop Top Ten) the album also went double platinum. Further hits followed in Bobby Brown's "Every Little Step," Sheena Easton's "The Lover in Me," and Karyn White's "The Way You Love Me" and "Superwoman," all of which performed well on both the pop and R&B charts.īabyface had actually recorded a little-noticed solo album in 1986, titled Lovers, but with his newfound success having marked him as one to watch, his solo career now began in earnest. Babyface and Reid began producing and writing for other artists on the side, landing hits in the Whispers' "Rock Steady" and Pebbles' "Girlfriend" following the Deele's third album in 1988, the duo left to continue their outside activities full-time, co-founding the LaFace label in 1989. After their breakup, Babyface and partner Antonio "L.A." Reid formed an urban funk group called the Deele in the early '80s, who scored a few sizable hits on the R&B charts. He served a stint in Bootsy Collins' backing unit (where he earned his nickname) and subsequently joined the funk outfit Manchild, who signed a record deal in 1977 and released three albums. Kenneth Edmonds was born April 10, 1959, in Indianapolis and began playing in local R&B bands as a teenager. He continued in 2022 with his ninth proper solo album, the duets-oriented Girls' Night Out. A Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee and an 11-time Grammy winner - with four designations as Producer of the Year - Babyface was honored in 2021 with a Grammy Trustees Award, recognized for the totality of his career, and his crucial role, as co-founder of LaFace Records, in the development of artists such as TLC, OutKast, and Usher. ![]() Bobby Brown's "Every Little Step," Boyz II Men's "End of the Road," Whitney Houston's "Exhale (Shoop Shoop)," Eric Clapton's "Change the World," and Toni Braxton's "You're Makin' Me High" represent a small fraction of the Top Ten pop hits he has written and/or produced. Their considerable success has been augmented by an even richer body of outside songwriting and production work. His solo recordings, highlighted by the all-platinum streak of Tender Lover (1989), For the Cool in You (1993), and The Day (1996), helped rejuvenate the R&B tradition of the smooth, sensitive crooner and made his voice a staple of urban contemporary radio. As a singer, producer, songwriter, and label executive, Babyface has been an inescapable presence in virtually every major facet of pop music since his commercial emergence in the late '80s. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |