Travel through the years of success with music's most
popular vocal group.
June 18, 1971
Nathan Morris, aka Alex Vanderpool, was born in
Philadelphia.
December 16, 1971
Michael S. McCary made his debut.
September 26, 1972
Shawn "Slim" Stockman was born singing.
July 29, 1973
Wanya Morris, also known as "Squirt," came along last. All
four were born in the City of Brotherly Love.
1988
Five guys came together in 1988 and began honing their
vocal and writing skills. The fellas' chemistry meshed,
and four of them decided to remain a group.
March 1989
The foursome had been singing together at the Philadelphia
High School for the Creative and Performing Arts for a few
months when they decided to sneak backstage at a talent
show hosted by Michael Bivins so that they could meet him.
They sang for him and he was so impressed by their talent
that he decided to stay in contact with them. The meeting
led to a deal with Motown Records.
August 1991
Their debut LP, Cooleyhighharmony, is close to platinum and
the debut single, "Motownphilly" is one of the most
requested songs in the country. People are calling their
brand of music "Jeep Funk."
Spring 1992
They won favorite soul/R&B group at the American Music
Awards as well as the best R&B group at the Grammys. They
also copped the Soul Train Music Awards.
Summer 1992
Their smash hit, "It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday"
was featured in Lethal Weapon III. And their song,
"Sympin'," appeared on the White Men Can't Jump soundtrack.
The group heads out for a road tour with Hammer.
October 1992
"End of the Road," produced by Babyface, L.A. Reid, and
Darryl Simmons, beats out Elvis Presley's "Don't Be Cruel"
for the longest running single in history.
February 1993
Boyz II Men perform at President Clinton's Inaugural Ball, the
Disney Pre-Inagural Ball as well as a private performance
at Vice President Al Gore's residence for the White House
children and their guests. Their single, "In the Still of
the Nite (I'll Remember)," from The Jacksons: An American Dream, reached
the Top 10 position on the pop charts.
November 1993
The spirit of Christmas moves the emotions to rejoice in
this magical time of the year. Boyz II Men made an album with
harmonies that are timeless and themes that are
contemporary. They confront both Christmas in Urban
America and cherish the traditional Christmas of "Silent
Night." The new songs covered the aspects of Christmas.
They deal with the dreams of children who are forgotten on
Christmas - the midtempo "Why Christmas" written by Wanya
Morris and the loneliness of lovers seperated at the
holiday in Shawn Stockman's "You're Not Alone." The group
became the first R&B group in history to acheive platinum
selling status with a Christmas album when Christmas
Interpretations was certified by the RIAA.
Summer 1994
II, the sophomore LP by Boyz II Men, featuring 13 songs produced by
such heavyweights as Babyface, L.A. Reid, Dallas Austin,
Jimmy Jam, and Terry Lewis as well as themselves, sold over
a million copies within days of its release.