New Edition

New Edition drew from the Jackson 5 for its earliest recordings and thereby anticipated two waves of adolescent pop acts. Over time the quintet helped shape the hybrid of hip-hop and R&B that came to be called new jack swing. Once the original lineup dispersed, every member enjoyed at least modest solo or side-project success within that movement, guaranteeing that the band would be recalled for more than the lightweight soul of its formative years.

Ricky Bell, Michael Bivins, and Bobby Brown established the group in Boston’s Roxbury neighborhood in 1978, while they were still in grade school, with the aim of earning spare change through local performances. They soon brought in Ralph Tresvant as a fourth singer; after a 1980 talent-show victory they added Ronnie DeVoe. Additional contest wins followed, among them a notable appearance at the Strand Theater where they delivered the Jackson 5’s “The Love You Save.” Writer-producer Maurice Starr discovered them and placed the act on his modest Streetwise imprint, intending to recreate a Jackson 5 phenomenon for the 1980s. “Candy Girl,” which Starr co-wrote, appeared as their debut single in 1983, when the members were between thirteen and fifteen. The track topped the R&B chart despite limited major-label support. The accompanying album Candy Girl yielded further R&B successes with “Popcorn Love” and “Is This the End?,” prompting MCA to extend a contract offer. Starr preferred that the group stay on Streetwise; New Edition dismissed him as manager and moved to MCA. Starr unsuccessfully sued to claim ownership of the name, arguing that “New Edition” denoted an entire new pop style he had devised. He later achieved commercial success with a comparable project, forming the teenage quintet New Kids on the Block.

New Edition’s self-titled MCA album arrived in 1984 and produced their highest-charting pop single, the Top Five hit “Cool It Now,” which closed with a brief rap. Ray Parker, Jr.’s “Mr. Telephone Man” soon became their third R&B number one, elevating the group to full teen-idol prominence. Their 1985 follow-up, All for Love, reflected rapid maturation: the singers’ voices were changing and the songs incorporated tougher funk alongside more grown-up romantic ballads. That same year they issued the seasonal collection Christmas All Over the World and secured a Coca-Cola endorsement. Persistent reports of Bobby Brown’s discontent proved accurate when he departed for a solo career in 1986. Reduced to a quartet, the remaining members recorded the covers album Under the Blue Moon, revisiting 1950s and 1960s doo-wop and R&B material; it included a successful revival of the Penguins’ “Earth Angel.”

Johnny Gill, a longtime acquaintance who had previously recorded without major commercial impact, joined as Brown’s replacement. Gill first appeared on the 1989 album Heart Break, produced in part by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. The collaboration quickly yielded multiple R&B hits, among them the chart-topping “Can You Stand the Rain.” Meanwhile Brown had risen to superstardom with his second solo release, the new-jack-swing landmark Don’t Be Cruel. Buoyed by Heart Break’s reception, New Edition disbanded to pursue individual ventures. Gill resumed his solo work with greater success, and Ralph Tresvant also launched a solo career. Bell, Bivins, and DeVoe formed Bell Biv DeVoe, whose debut Poison further defined new jack swing; Bivins additionally helped launch Boyz II Men.

By the mid-1990s, new jack swing was giving way to fresher fusions of hip-hop and soul that leaned either more organic or more assertive. Although the members’ reputations as innovators remained intact, several of the splinter acts struggled to sustain momentum. Their collective standing nevertheless made a full reunion logical, and in 1996 all six performers reconvened for the album Home Again. The project debuted at number one on the pop chart, and its lead single “Hit Me Off” reached the top of the R&B list. The follow-up “I’m Still in Love With You” also performed strongly, supporting an extensive tour that nevertheless exposed tensions among some participants. Afterward the group members returned to separate endeavors, and prospects for further collaboration appeared remote until P. Diddy signed them to Bad Boy Records, resulting in the 2004 release One Love.