When asked what it was like to work with Michael Jackson on
the artist's HIStory album. Wanya Morris of Boyz II Men spoke
with the kind of average-guy humility that has became a
cornerstone of the vocal group's image.
"Working with Michael Jackson was definetly a privledge,"
Morris said. "Not many people get to work with him, just a
select few. It was just like a dream come true. We always
wanted to work with Michael Jackson and being next to him
and being onstage with him at the VH1 Honors thing, I
mean that was an honor. Those things just don't happen to
four brothers from Philly."
Such genuine humility aside, Boyz II Men have become much more
than four friends from Philadelphia. In fact, if any new
recoring act has the credentials to contribute to an album
by Jacksn, it would be Boyz II Men.
The Boyz - Wanya Morris, Nathan Morris, Shawn Stockman, and
Michael McCary - have been racking up Jackson-esque numbers
ever since they released their debut album,
Cooleyhighharmony, in 1991. That album to date has sold
7 million copies, and the follow-up, II, is approaching
those totals. The group's long list of hit singles
includes "End of the Road," a song from the Boomerang
soundtrack that broke a record set by Elvis Presley by
holding the #1 spot on the singles chart for 13
consecutive weeks. Then "I'll Make Love to You" the lead
single from II went one better, staying #1 for 14
weeks.
The group's current single, "Water Runs Dry" has spent two
months lodged in the top five, and is only now beginning to
slowly slip down the charts.
The group's sound, a melodic, smoothly harmonized style
that recalls the doo-wop sounds of the 1950s, Motown of the
'60s and the Philadelphia soul sound of the '70s-with a
taste of new jack swing and modern funk thrown in to keep
things contemporary, has offered a strong-and
popular-contrast to the beat-heavy rap and hip hop that has
dominated urban music charts in the '90s.
Morris said the group's style is a product of their
surroundings in their home town of Philadelphia.
"I guess you could say that growing up in the areas where
we're from, we kind of needed an outlet, and music was our
outlet," he said. "So we listened to all kinds of music
growing up, as far as our parents listening to the
Philadelphia sound, the Motown sound, and we went to the
High School of Creative and Performing Arts, which
broadened our minds to see that there are other types of
music other than the music that's on the radio.
"So what we create, and when we do our vocals and when we
write songs and our melodies and things, we kind of pull
out what's embedded inside of us. That's just the way it
flows."
The four group members began singing together in 1988,
while they were attending Philadelphia's High School of
Creative and Performing Arts, but Stockman said they
weren't initially thinking that much about a musical career
together.
"Basically it was just a thing where our intentions weren't
even to really be discovered at first," Stockman explained.
"When we were in high school, we just wanted to sing
because we liked to sing. That's all we did because it was
a performing arts high school. Vocal music was our major,
and that's all we used to do. Like almost 24 hours a day,
when we weren't sleeping or anything like that.
"And us four got together because of the fact that we all had the same common ground musically, even before we became friends. We just sang and sang and sang until we had to go home or everyobdy got tired. That's what it was about, not necessarily being discovered. It just so happened that going around and doing certain shows and things of that nature, you end to meet people and people tend to introduce themselves and they happened to get into it. No complaints or anything, but that's how it happened."
The big break came in 1989 when the Boyz, decided to approach Michael Bivins of Bell Biv Devoe and New Edition at a local talent showcase BBD was hosting. The Boyz cornered Bivins as he came off stage and asked him do an a capella for him.
Bivins, who at the time was thinking of starting a mangement company, gave the Boyz their audition and liked what he heard. Soon Boyz II Men became the flagship group of his company, which later added two more successful acts to its roster. Another Bad Creation and M.C. Brains. All three acts were signed to Motown as recording acts.
Since the release of Cooleyhighharmony, however, Bivins has stepped down as manager of Boyz II Men. But Stockman stressed that the situation wasn't a case of problems existing in the relationship.
"Us and Michael are still cool," he said. "I mean us and Michael, we're still very much, well, as close as we can be considering the fact that we have different obligations now. He's no longer our manager for that fact. He was offered a deal to run his own record company on the strength of our success along with Another Bad Creation and M.C. Brains. He was offered a record deal by our president of Motown, Jheryl Bubsy.
"There were just a lot of obligations that he had to take care of, and we mutually agreed to go and do our thing, with him pursuing an executive career and us just trying to still grow and become artists.
"We're still the same. He still communicates with us as much as he can because right now he's working on this New Edition reunion album and things of that nature," Stockman said. "He's a record executive, so we don't speak to each other as much, but the bond is still there. We owe Michael a great deal. He's the one who just basically introduced us to the entire world. That is something that will always be within our hearts. We know that he was the person responsible."