Boyz II Men have been called one of the greatest R&B groups of the 90s. They were discovered by Michael Bivins from New Edition. Motownphilly was the debut single from the Cooleyhighharmony album. The song’s title is a portmanteau of two of the group’s main musical influences: 1960s Motown and 1970s Philly soul. The single was a success, selling over a million copies. The accompanying music video for the song was filmed in various locations in the group’s hometown of Philadelphia. It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye was the second single to be released. The music video for the song is dedicated to rapper MC Trouble, who died a few months after the album’s release. It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye became their second consecutive single to go platinum. The track has also been featured in several films since its release.
The third single to be released from the Cooleyhighharmony album was called Uhh Ahh. Uhh Ahh was another for the group, peaking at #16 on the Billboard Hot 100. It became their first single to miss the Top 10. However, the song was a big success on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks, peaking at #1. Please Don’t Go was their fourth single to be dropped from the album. This was one of my favorite tracks from Boyz II Men after it dropped. It reached number 49 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in 1992 and number three on the New Zealand Singles Chart. A year later, Boyz II Men released their fifth single called End of the Road. End of the Road became their biggest single after its release.
In the United States, it spent a then record-breaking 13 weeks at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100. End of the Road was the number one single of 1992 on the Billboard Year-End Hot 100 Singles of 1992. It was also ranked by Billboard as the sixth most successful song of the decade 1990–1999. The song also won Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals and Best R&B Song at the 1993 Grammy Awards. It was released as a single from the Boomerang soundtrack and did not originally appear on Boyz II Men’s debut album, Cooleyhighharmony. It was released after all singles from their debut had been released and was their fifth single overall. However, Cooleyhighharmony was reissued in 1992 and 1993 to include “End of the Road” due to the success of the single. End of the Road sold over four million copies.
Boyz II Men wasn’t finished as they released their 6th and final single at the end of 1992. In the Still of the Night (I’ll remember) was another classic record. All six of their singles were great, and so was the album. Cooleyhighharmony is a certified classic, as you can tell by them selling 9 million records out of the gate. Their next album, titled II, would sell over 12 million records. Check my top 5 tracks from the Cooleyhighharmony project. Check out the track listing and stream links to the Cooleyhighharmony album below.
Top 5 Tracks: It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday, Uhh Ahh, Motownphilly, End of the Road, Please Don’t Go
Cooleyhighharmony Track Listing
- Al Final del Camino
- Please Don’t Go
- Lonely Heart
- This is My Heart
- Uhh Ahh (Sequel Version)
- It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday
- In the Still of the Night (I’ll Remember)
- Motownphilly (Remix) (Radio Edit)
- Under Pressure
- Sympin’ (Remix) (Radio Edit)
- Little Things
- Your Love
- Motownphilly (Original Album Version)
- Sympin’ (Original Album Version)
- Uhh Ahh (Original Album Version)
- It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday (Radio Version)
- End of the Road
