ABC and BBD were mentioned in the chorus. Both were groups. ABC stands for Another Bad Creation, which was a teenage boy rap group and BBC is Bell Biv Devoe (a sub group from the flagship group New Edition). Boyz II Men and the other two groups were under the umbrella of Mike Bivins the guy who rapped in the song. Mike was and is still a member of BBD and discovered ABC and Boyz II Men.
“Oh Sheila” is definitely a fun song and their best known crossover hit. Also had some dance jams with “Digital Display” and “My Girly”. Some nice slow jams with “Slide Over”... “Gently”.... I have several of their CDs. They had MAJOR Prince vibes running throughout their music. He was a huge influence on their sound.
Philadelphia was known as one of the best places street corner singers harmonizing back in the 40s. This eventually became known as Doo Wop. Boyz 2 Men became popular because they used a traditional Doo Wop style but mixed it with modern R&B n Soul.
Dale Raditz - that's very true. My whole family is born & raised Philly. My parents & aunts & uncles were teens or young 20s during the Doo Wop days so I know a lot of the music because of them & my dad's record collection. Questlove's (from the Philly band The Roots) dad was Lee Andrews from the Philly Doo Wop group Lee Andrews and The Hearts (Teardrops), Danny and The Juniors were another (At the Hop), the Silhouettes (Get A Job), the Turbans (When You Dance), the Dovells (The Bristol Stomp), etc. Plus having American Bandstand in the city at the time also helped the music as well. Along with girls wearing their Catholic school uniforms on TV. Scandalous! Take care and stay safe 😷!
@Jennifer Kasowicz - I hear ya there! I want a steak sandwich right now myself 😋. Are you or family from Philadelphia? We take cheesesteaks real serious here. You could ask 5 people who has the best cheesesteaks and you will get 5 different answers on why they think this shop is the best in the city lol. Go anywhere but Pat's or Geno's in South Philly. They are tourist traps lol. Hope you get your cheesesteak sooner rather than later. Take care and stay safe 😷.
@@trh6805 Yo! I'm from Philly too (Frankford at Bridge & Pratt). You're an El rat too?! Lol. I just bought their Greatest Hits on vinyl. I'll always be proud to be from Philadelphia.
Love how this song tells their whole story from the beginnings at school together, up to their creation as a group under Bivins of New Edition, then right to the stage they were at at the time. So much fun. And back when Mike was still able to dance with the group.
This is one of my favorite songs by Boyz ll Men. They are telling their story in this one. You mentioned that this song has a more upbeat vibe and sounds a little different from their later songs. Well, they started out as Boyz and gradually grew up 2 be Men. That’s life. “It bees that way sometimes”. 😁 Anyway, this is a good song to dance to. Can’t stay in your seat on this one. 💃🏻🕺
This was their FIRST SINGLE! They broke out HARD! ❤️❤️❤️💯 They brought their music to Michael Bibbins of New Edition. The rest is HISTORY! These men have VOICES!
I was in middle school, when they took off. I had a chorus teacher who changed the song, "It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday," to "It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Scrambled Eggs." He would start with me, and by the end of the song, the entire class would be cracking up.
You know how I said TLC Aint 2 Proud 2 Beg is different than the other songs you reacted to, of them. It's kind of like this. Where it's almost like its a whole new group.
Keep em coming! When I was a young kid in the 90's, I only liked fast paced music so this was my favorite Boyz II Men song. I had no time for romance music back then. Haha😆
I used to be a hip hop head back in the 80s and 90s (until I heard Red Hot Chili Peppers then it was a rock and metal journey from there) but these songs bring back the fond memories of MTV and watching all of these different songs on the channel and really opening up a teens mind to music and other cultures.
Brother J I really like your channel and let me tell you I remember the 80's and 90's like they were yesterday and the R&B of those times is the best bar none. Some groups and solo artists you should check out are Surface, After 7, Silk, Atlantic Starr, Force MD's, Freddie Jackson, The Deele, Shai, Color Me Badd, Another Bad Creation, Heavy D and the Boys, SWV, Montel Jordan, Shanice Wilson, Monie Love, Ready For the World, And Soul to Soul. I miss those two decades.
man i kinda forgot about this song till i saw the name. When you think of this band usually they are known for their love songs. This is such a good song
How I used to play this song when I wanted to get up and get going!!! So smooth so positive and their harmonies are tight!!! (My late Father sang in a quartet during his college days and played the one cut they made. My love of the style goes deep!) 😽🎶💘
And when Michael bivens is telling the story about how he met them and asks for their name and they say "boyz II men" and he says " hey, you know what I'm saying" that's because Michael bivens old group New Edition had a song called boys to men and these guys were clearly influenced by that group. You should watch their stuff. Lots of great songs and lots great individual artists and groups were made from New edition itself. Bel biv davoe, Bobby brown, Johnny Gil, Ralph tresvant were all members.
Boys II Men was so influential that that the most powerful Band in the world basically owe their groove to them, you can tell their creator was a huge fan. He is such a good student of R & B music I’m talking “Hit Man” Bang of So Korea
Boyz II Men was one of my favorite R&B/pop groups growing up. Even got to see them in concert when they were touring after their "II" album. They were a big reason all the record labels started to make similar R&B groups like Silk, Shai, H Town, etc. I feel like the 90's were the best years for some really great and catchy hits like this, which was their first hit.
I feel so fortunate I spent my teenage years in the 90s with songs like this as the soundtrack to my teens. I remember when this song came out in the summer of '91. It was huge! Boyz II Men basically dominated the charts for the rest of the decade. I think you already reacted to "End of the Road" and "I'll Make Love to You", which were megahits! Make sure to check out their hits "It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday", "In the Still of the Night" (a cover of the 1956 original by The Satins), "On Bended Knee", "Water Runs Dry" and their duet with Mariah Carey, "One Sweet Day", which was also a huge hit - just to name a few!
I remember doing a dance to this song with my sister & like 5 of our best friends in our elementary school talent show. This song will never get old to me!
Hey Jay! I was just listening to Boys to Men today, talk about bad harmonies! I was blown away when I saw them in concert. "On bended knee " and " A song for Mama" have some beautiful harmonies. Love them..🔥🔥❤
Also keep in mind that in the 1950's when Rock & Roll started out, Philadelphia, Chicago & New York where the Three Epicenters for The Music Business. It was the Home of American Bandstand from 1957-1964 until they moved to Los Angeles, then these guys were the biggest act that Motown signed in recent years. In The Video where there's a party, they pay homage to Temple University whose other Alumni have been Bill Cosby and Hall & Oates. In Australia and The UK they are revered to the point that when a Boyband Audition on The X Factor in The UK they talk about how Boyz To Men influenced them. This was their Debut Single. Also if you can check them out on a UK Morning "Chat" Show where they serenade Co Host Angela Griffin with their Version of "Open Arms" by Journey. They were in the UK Promoting a CD on The Jazz Label Verve where they did cover versions of various songs including Take That's "Want You Back" who were at one point the Biggest UK Boy Band.
They were discovered in The Bathroom at their Performing Arts High School. When they had their "party" they were paying homage to Temple whose other Alumni are Hall & Oates. In The UK and Australia they are revered. Just to give you an example, they did an Album where they did "covers" of other folks songs including "Want You Back" by the UK Boy Band Take That (The One Direction Of The 1980's). They serenaded Angela Griffin on a UK Talk Show and the poor woman almost lost it.
My dad loved them and All-4-One. He is a doo wop fan, so when they came out with this, he was an instant fan. It was cool to be able to blast songs I liked without him complaining. :)
Yo! What's up to all my fellow Philadelphians out there listening during the snowstorm ❄! These guys were really great and we are proud of them. I just bought their Greatest Hits on vinyl. Double album too. You should listen to It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday. The song was originally from the movie Cooley High (which is a good movie too) from 1975. That's why Boys II Men named their 1st album Cooleyhighharmony.
I listened to B2M so much when I was younger and I listen to grunge and metal now. We're missing these skilled craftsman singers and groups. They fell from grace pretty hard but they were the shit.
If you follow the lyrics, this song tells their story. The guy that talks in the song is Mike Bivens from New Edition and BBD, he introduced Boyz I l Men. The song title was perfect because not only were they from Philly but they were now artists for Motown.
This was their very first single. The summer of 1991 was sweet!! The rap is done by Michael Bivens and tells the story of how the group 'auditioned' for Bivens. You need to look up Bell Biv Devoe (BBD) and Another Bad Creation (ABC) and listen to some of their tracks. BBD - "Poison","....ABC - "Iesha", "Playground" Next Boyz II Men songs...."It's So hard to say Goodbye to Yesterday" and "Mama Song"
I forgot all about this song! I will always love their smooth ballads the most but this song still has their awesome voices and was fun. I have always really, really loved Boyz II Men!
I’m having fun re-watching some old videos of yours and it just reminded me that me and my husband lost Gilbert as a good acquaintance and we just recently lost Coolio as a really good acquaintance so thanks for putting out these videos because it reminds us that we are not immortal. Sending love to you and yours from Orlando, Florida, Heather and Rick.
