Boyz II Men, Nathan Bartholmew Morris, Michael Sean McCary, Shawn Patrick Stockman, and Wanya Jermaine Morris, only dreamed of being a successful music group. They no longer have to dream. These four incredible talents have accomplished so much in just twelve years. Their story is something that could be perfect for a movie. This biography will tell the incredible story of how four men single handedly concequered the music world.
The year was 1985, Nathan, Michael, Shawn, and Wanya were all attending the Creative and Performing Arts High School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Nate and a friend, Marc Nelson, decided to form a group. Throughout their years at CAPA, Nate and Marc would have many different members in their group. When it was time for someone to graduate, they would just leave the group. Wanya was the first original member to actually stay in the group since he was just a freshman when he was asked to join. Shawn was next to be chosen for the group. Nate and Marc saw him do a solo in his choir and he got noticed for being a very talented singer. The fifth and final member was Mike. Mike snuck into the group when he walked into one of the bathrooms at CAPA. The four members were in the bathroom harmonizing and Mike walked in and put in a bass line to what they were doing. Mike kept following them around, and they finally asked him to join them, so he did. Nate and Marc finally put together a solid group of guys. Originally, the group was named Unique Attraction. Until Shawn and Nate were on the phone one day and were listening to the radio. New Edition's "Boys to Men" came on, and Shawn yelled out Boyz II Men. Nate was very hesitant about that name since everywhere they went they were considered New Edition since they always sang their songs. But, they couldn't think of anything better, so the name stayed. Another milestone for Boyz II Men in the early days was a performance that they now call the "magical performance." As they describe it, it was Valentine's Day when all five members were still in high school. They got to perform for the entire school, and once the school saw how talented they really were, they all got very popular. Girls were already going crazy for them like they were an established act, so you just know that they were going to keep that job!
But, probably the biggest milestone of Boyz II Men's road to success was when they snuck into a concert in Philadelphia one night in 1989. The concert was a concert that was held every year in Philly by a local radio station, Power 99 FM. Once they snuck into the show, their goal was to get backstage and have someone in the business hear them, not sign them. When they got to the backstage area, they saw a lady with a lot of backstage passes around her neck and asked her if they could have one. She said yes, and they kept alternating back and forth the pass, Shawn was the last fella to get backstage. Once they were there, they saw big stars at the time. Such as Will Smith & Jazzy Jeff, Paula Abdul, Keith Sweat, and of course, Michael Bivins, member of New Edition and BBD. Once they saw him, they asked if they could sing for him. So, Michael Bivins said as long as you do it now, sure. The five members belted out a New Edition classic, "Can You Stand the Rain" a capella. When they were done, Michael was so impressed that he told them he wanted to sign them on the spot. After a year from that day, they were finally signed to Biv 10 Records/Motown. Boyz II Men did not know what would happen in the next coming years, but with talents like Michael Bivins and Boyz II Men together, anything can happen, and it did.
But, before Boyz II Men made it big, the fifth and co-founder of the group, Marc Nelson left the group to pursue a solo career. That news was a blow to Nate, his best friend and also the co-founder. If Marc did not leave the group, Wanya and Shawn were threatening to leave, so the Boyz were soon going to be four. If you think about the situation now, that is better for Boyz II Men since he left before they got huge. If he left while they were becoming successful, the group would have appeared and unstable and might have never done a second album. Some of you may remember that Marc was in the Boyz II Men wanna be group, Az Yet in 1996 or 1997. He then left that group because of difficulties within the group, so you know it was not Boyz II Men's fault that he left, he just wanted the spotlight all to himself. A year or so after that, he was seen on Babyface's Unplugged on MTV. He sang "End of the Road" and "I'll Make Love to You" with Babyface and his brothers. Not many know what Boyz II Men sounded like with Marc, but since it was a five-part harmony, it probably sounded a tad better than it does now. I personally like it the way it is, I'm sure most of you do also.