They say first impressions are lasting. In the case of Boyz II Men, never before has a statement been so true. Memories of the very first time that this writer met the Philadelphia foursome (several years ago) are very vivid. The occasion, a tribute to the then new head of Motown Records, Jheryl Bubsy, at the Century Plaza Hotel (in Century City, California) brought out the likes of Shanice, Another Bad Creation, Michael Bivins, and an unknown new group, yes Boyz II Men.
They were cool, rather laid back, excited about being in California, playful with ABC (who rode their backs piggy-back style) and optimistic about their soon-to-be-released debut album. Michael Bivins, even then, told people about their special rendition of "It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday," Wanya, Nathan, Shawn, and Michael seemed very nonchalant, but again expressed a genuine sense of hope for a fighting chance as far as their future as a recording group in the business of entertainment. So, we have four new guys on the scene, who according to the Motown buzz could "really sing," and were "special" according to Bivins. To be perfectly honest, one might tend to think, after being in this business for a couple of decades, that of course Motown and Biv are going to think that they're ALL THAT! Let's face it, they're on Bivin's Motown-distributed label Biv 10. Could it be pre-hype? Hmmm.
Well, afer three or four years, two Grammy awards, four Soul Train Music Awards, two Image Awards (NAACP), a World Music Award, three American Music Awards, two NARM Awards, three Billboard Awards, a gold single, three platinum singles, and a platinum-plus Christmas album later "Slim," "Squirt," "Bass," and "Alex Vanderpool" are still cool, characteristically laid back, playful with Motown's publicity depatment's Lana and Gwen, as well as optimistic about their future. After all, these are the fellas whose debut, 'Cooleyhighharmony', sold over 6.5 million copies worldwide. They're not so excited about being in Cali., or for that matter any place outside of Philadelphia. "We just feel blessed to have been able to sort of secure a place in the industry," Nate shares in reference to their aforementioned success, the breaking of Elvis' chart record and the bomb - "End of the Road" - from the mega-successful Boomerang Soundtrack. "We just look at it as blessing," Shawn continues "we don't try to figure it out or feel that there was any set game plan. We had absolutely no idea that things would end up this way." "Even though you wish for success, there is no way to imagine the type of response that we've recieved so far, no way" adds Michael. Do trust, that it is not a thing of being the devil's advocate, but you know they could have been just a fluke. Theory kicks in right now. Well, being that "I'll Make Love to You," the first, smash single from the newly-released II, reached number one in no time; that aforementioned theory goes right out the window. So then, what what about the fear of sophmore jinx? "We just put together the best record that we could," Nate quickly shares. "There was no real pressure to try to top ourselves. Let's face it, we had our entire lives to accumulate material for our first album. This was not so with II. This time out, we only had two years or so worth of experiences, and they are so different. So much has happened, so quickly and all, that all we wanted to do was to be real in what we came with musically," he assures. Once again, the songs selected, several of which showcase their own writing talents are "true life experiences," as Wanya calls them. The choice to include the Beatles' classic "Yesterday" stems from the fact that "we used to do that song in high school talent shows," Shawn in his rather shy, soft-spoken manner. Shawn and Nate are loquacious with an extrme hint of articultaion, whereas Wanya has a more streetwise edge, and Mike, oh well, he's the quiet one. Let the record show, that be it learned or otherwise, Boyz II Men are the consummate professionals. They handled hemselves before, during and after this interview like gentlemen who are seasoned pros at this whole takin'-care-of-business thing (no, I'm not swwingin', yo).
And to what do they owe all these astounding acheivements? Wanya Morris modestly replies, "We feel it's actually history repeating itself. Back in the '50's and '60's, groups like The Temps, and The Four Tops were prominent back then, just a whole bunch of acts who sang in that style. We just feel the life cycle is repeating itself again; we're going around there one more time. So the emphasis is on groups now, like us and many others."
Wanya Morris, Shawn Stockman, Nate Morris, and Micheal McCary are nowhere near the end of their musical road, and at the rate they're going, recorded and otherwise, they're going to ease on down the road of success for many years to come. That's for real!