ASCAP Golden Note Award

Harmony, hits and history: Boyhood friends who became the forerunners of teen pop; platinum hit makers who became purveyors of modern hip-hop. Celebrating their 25th anniversary as recording artists, New Edition is one of the most successful vocal groups in modern music.

Their story began in Boston in 1978, in the projects of the city’s Roxbury district, with aspiring vocalists Bobby Brown, Michael Bivins and Ricky Bell. With the addition of Ralph Tresvant and Ronnie DeVoe, the group began performing at talent shows and local events. It was at a competition that the group failed to come in first, but so impressed the event’s organizer, Maurice Starr, that he signed them to a record deal. Released to radio in January of 1983, their debut single, "Candy Girl," blazed to #1 on the R&B charts. Two months later, the group’s first full length (also titled Candy Girl) was an across the board smash, earning the group platinum status.

Departing the Starr camp and inking directly with MCA Records, New Edition surpassed themselves with their self-titled second record, and such signature hits as the top five "Cool It Now," and the top twenty "Mr. Telephone Man." Eventually, the release was certified double platinum in the United States. Their third album, All For Love, extended their golden streak with radio hits like "Count Me Out," "A Little Bit Of Love (Is All It Takes)," and "With You All The Way."

As with any group of ambitious young men, transitions come with the terrain. In 1986, Bobby Brown departed for what was to become a stratospheric solo career but New Edition continued to peak, recording Under the Blue Moon, a collection of doo-wop covers. A year later, Johnny Gill – the first non-Bostonian in the band (from Washington, D.C.) – joined the group. New Edition was evolving, as hit crafters Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis supplied a more mature underpinning to the group’s celebrated vocals.

The collaboration was magic; five hit singles: "If It Isn’t Love," "You’re Not My Kind of Girl," "Can You Stand The Rain," "Crucial" and "N.E. Heartbreak" made Heart Break a massive commercial triumph with over four million units sold.

Meanwhile, the New Edition juggernaut spun off a series of successful projects as Bobby Brown launched his monumental solo career with his multi-platinum 1988 solo debut, Don’t Be Cruel, and Bell, Bivins and DeVoe formed a trio, Bell Biv DeVoe, with their 1990 debut, Poison, selling triple platinum. That same year, New Edition members Ralph Tresvant and Johnny Gill also released solo albums, which similarly achieved multi-platinum success.

In 1989, a young quartet from Philadelphia made their way backstage at a Bell Biv DeVoe concert and so impressed Michael Bivins with their a cappella version of New Edition’s "Can You Stand the Rain" that he eventually executive produced the group’s debut. In homage to their idols, these vocalists took their name from a New Edition song: Boyz II Men. New Edition (including Bobby Brown) reunited to perform at the 1990 MTV Video Music Awards and in 1991, all six members recorded a remix of the Bell Biv DeVoe track "Word To The Mutha!" (Brown, Gill, and Tresvant also appeared in the music video.) Previously, Brown had appeared in the music videos for Bell Biv Devoe’s "BBD (I Thought It Was Me)" video, as well as Tresvant’s "Stone Cold Gentleman" and "Sensitivity" Remix video. Solo, trio or group: the ever-evolving sound from the projects of Boston had become a soundtrack for the world.

By 1996, while the group’s spinoff and solo projects were enjoying immense success, they reunited to record Home Again, their first new album in eight years. The album debuted at #1 on both The Billboard 200 and R&B Albums chart, and again arced over the four million mark in worldwide sales with hits like "Hit Me Off" and "I’m Still In Love With You." After the end of a subsequent tour, New Edition appeared to be on permanent hiatus.

But again the music won out: In 2002, while on tour, a reunited version of the group (sans Bobby Brown) was approached by Sean (Diddy) Combs to be a part of his Bad Boy Entertainment family which resulted in New Edition’s seventh studio album and Bad Boy debut, One Love. In 2005, New Edition toured with Guy, BLACKstreet and SWV. In the fall of that year, the group performed a medley of hits at BET’s 25th Anniversary Special, inviting Bobby Brown onstage for an impromptu rendition of "Mr. Telephone Man."

At present, plans for new projects are in the works as Michael Bivins told Essence magazine. "We’re working on the 25th Anniversary album, which could possibly be released fourth quarter of this year. We plan to release a TV special right before the album comes out. Then there’s the life story movie through BET films with Vantage/Paramount Pictures to be released in 2009. Lastly, we’ll have the 25th Anniversary tour around the time of the movie release." In this conversation, Bivins reflected on the group’s longevity. "...coming out of the projects and doing routines to other people’s records and throwing talent shows, I never thought it would have lasted this long. I mean, to the point where everyone knows your name and we’re all still living, God willing. I feel like we’re a special group. We were able to surpass and make it through different generations and all the changes in the music business."

Boys who became men, singers who became legends, and a group that became a worldwide phenomenon: The earnest youngsters who once sang "Through mistakes we’ve learned to gather wisdom" now reunite in celebration. ASCAP is proud to present the Golden Note Award to Ricky Bell, Michael Bivins, Bobby Brown, Johnny Gill, Ronnie DeVoe and Ralph Tresvant — New Edition.