2 R&B single Count Me Out and the black radio favorite A Little Bit of Love (Is All It Takes). All for Love was in 1985, a 1 million seller that produced the No. Telephone Man,” (written by Ray Parker Jr.). 1 R&B hit, was recorded when the members were between 13 and 15 years old. For New Edition, that’s 1983’s Candy Girl, which features the delightfully earnest debut title single as well as Popcorn Love, Is This The End, and Jealous Girl. So deep that New Edition has somehow managed to sidestep the dreaded “boy band” label.Īrtists qualify 25 years after the release of their first single. From the aforementioned New Kids and Boyz II Men, Guy, Jodeci to Backstreet Boys, NSYNC, 112 and One Direction, New Edition’s reach is sturdy and deep. New Edition’s influence is diverse and deep and zigzags from classic R&B, and rap to pop. It was further proof of New Edition’s malleable DNA. By the next decade, he would oversee and manage his own stable of multiplatinum groups, including best-selling Philadelphia singing phenoms Boyz II Men and the hip-hop/R&B kiddie act Another Bad Creation. New Edition fell out with their controlling mentor over reported creative and business differences in 1984, but it was New Edition’s alluring concept that helped Starr launch multiplatinum white pop vocal group New Kids On The Block.Īn ambitious Bivins, the business-minded visionary of New Edition, learned from Starr. Their talents were honed in black talent shows before being “discovered” by African-American Boston music Svengali Maurice Starr, who got them signed to MCA. It’s been an uphill battle for New Edition. “We’ve gone through a lot of challenges, up and down, personally and professionally. “Bands I love for their beautiful harmonies and precise choreography … I always wanted to make a video and be part of a boy group myself.” “I remember seeing videos from New Edition, The Jackson 5 and the Temptations,” Beyoncé said in October 2011. Hollywood continues to embrace New Edition’s music, style and choreography, which was celebrated to great acclaim in 2013’s The Best Man Holiday.Īnd for her bubbly video for 2011’s Love On Top, Beyoncé took direct inspiration from New Edition’s classic clip for their 1988 hit If It Isn’t Love, borrowing the group’s memorable steps, mic work and sequined jackets. There is a Hollywood Walk of Fame Star on the way. January brings a BET miniseries based on the group’s tumultuous stories. New Edition, beloved by millions, has toured amphitheaters and stadiums successfully for 32 years. Together, as solo acts, and as the pioneering new jack swing trio Bell Biv DeVoe, they’ve sold close to 30 million albums. The group has been eligible for induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame since 2009. Ricky Bell, Michael Bivins, Bobby Brown, Ronnie DeVoe, Johnny Gill, and Ralph Tresvant, are New Edition, the most influential, genre-spanning, rhythm and blues vocal group of the ’80s, formed in 1978 in Boston. It seems like everyone has a favorite who has been passed over by the house that Rolling Stone founder Jann Wenner built - an institution that has been accused of being “ too male, too white, and too rich.” And because of its history, its massive success, and its impact on black and mainstream culture, it’s starting to sting that New Edition continues to be ignored by the Rock Hall. Will groundbreaking, black punk underdogs Bad Brains make it on their first try? Will Tupac join fellow rhyme heroes Grandmaster Flash and The Furious 5 (2007), Run-D.M.C. For Tupac, it’s his first year of eligibility, while the Control superstar has been overlooked since 2007.Ĭhosen by committee and by social media vote, the newest inductees will be announced in April 2017, and the 32nd annual Rock & Roll Hall of Fame concert will again take place at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center. In a bit of real poetic justice, Tupac Shakur and Janet Jackson were announced. Influential disco legends Chic, in their 15th year of eligibility, as well as soul legend Chaka Khan, in her 14th year of eligibility. Pearl Jam is on the list, along with Jane’s Addiction and Depeche Mode. It’s all music, but the entire process is very political. In mid-October, when 19 nominees were announced for the 2017 class of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, it was as if a pop culture grenade had been unpinned.