Boston will rename a street after native sons New Edition (L-R Ralph Tresvant, Ricky Bell, Bobby Brown, Michael Bivins and Ronnie DeVoe). Not pictured is Washington, D.C. native Johnny Gill (Photo courtesy of Black Promoters Collective).
The original modern-day boy band, New Edition, continues getting its flowers.
Over the last eight years, the sextet from Boston has garnered the recognition that somewhat eluded them during their heyday, from a miniseries to a star on the prestigious Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Next, the group will receive recognition from the city that birthed their career with “New Edition Day” and the renaming of a local street.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu has declared Aug. 30 as “New Edition Day.”
“Beantown” plans to honor the legendary R&B group, which consists of Ralph Tresvant, Bobby Brown, Ricky Bell, Michael Bivins, Ronnie DeVoe and Johnny Gill, with a community block party in addition to the street renaming.
The original members of New Edition hail from the Roxbury section of Boston, while Gill is a native of Washington, D.C.
In 1987, Gill joined the group when rumors began to swirl that Tresvant had plans to leave the group to launch a solo career.
Two years earlier, New Edition fired founding member Brown, who then launched a tremendously successful solo career, beginning with his solo debut “King of Stage,” released in 1986.
In a statement, Mayor Wu said, “It is an honor to welcome home Roxbury natives New Edition to celebrate their global impact, from our communities here in Boston to the music industry worldwide. This is a unique opportunity to bring Boston’s neighborhoods together in a celebration of culture, pride and community, and I encourage every community member to join us to celebrate New Edition’s tremendous impact.”
New Edition began their journey to pop immortality in 1978.
During the late 1970s, many Boston entertainers competed in local talent shows around the city.
When Brown first began performing in the talent shows, judges and fans told him that he would win if he performed with a group and not as a solo artist.
Therefore, he recruited three local friends from the Orchard Park projects and linked up with manager/choreographer Brooke Payne, who christened them New Edition, as in a new edition of the Jackson Five.
However, when they began recording songs written and produced by Maurice Starr, who would go on to discover New Kids on the Block, he advised them to add a fifth member if New Edition wanted to emulate the Jackson Five.
Payne recommended his nephew DeVoe, who had performed with another local R&B group.
The quintet then went on to release their debut album, “Candy Girl,” which featured hits like “Popcorn Love” and “Is This The End.”
The title track went on to reach number one on the Billboard pop charts, relegating Michael Jackson to second place.
The group then went on to tour the world on the success of “Candy Girl.”
Unfortunately, they returned home to the projects with little money from record sales or concert tickets.
The group immediately left Starr and Streetwise Records to record for MCA Records.
Although Starr had produced a masterpiece with “Candy Girl,” the group did not miss a beat.
In 1984, they dropped their self-titled album and hits like “Mr. Telephone Man,” “Cool It Now” and “Lost in Love.”
Although producers began phasing Brown out in 1985, the hits like “Count Me Out” and “A Little Bit of Love” continued on their “All For Love” album.
In 1986, the group released covers of doo-wop classics like “Earth Angel” on their “Under the Blue Moon” album.
But it was not until 1988, when the group released the Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis-produced album “Heartbreak,” that they became adult stars.
Songs like “If It Isn’t Love” and “Can You Stand the Rain” became instant classics.
And when Gill led on “Boys to Men,” the group was no longer a kiddie group, officially.
After the “Heartbreak” tour, Tresvant started his solo career, while Gill returned to his solo career, which he had begun in 1983.
Brown had already released his signature solo album “Don’t Be Cruel” in 1988, which included the pop hit “My Prerogative.’
The remaining three members, Bell, Bivins and DeVoe, shocked the world in 1990 when they released their own classic album, “Poison.”
The album contained numerous hits like the title cut, “Do Me,” “B.B.D (I Thought It Was Me),” “When Will I See You Smile Again?” and “She’s Dope.”
In 1996, New Edition reunited as an official supergroup with the album “Home Again.”
Unfortunately, the “Home Again” tour proved disastrous and looked like the curtain call for the popular crooners.
However, the group got back together to release the album “One Love” in 2004 on Bad Boy Records.
They continue to tour to this day.
Furthermore, group members have continued to release solo material and Bell Biv DeVoe albums.
Rumors of a new group album have surfaced for years.
But for now, fans must rely on the classics to get their New Edition fix.
But thanks to their hometown, New Edition will become a permanent fixture in the city’s culture and history.
In a statement, Brown said, “Boston is where it all began for us. This honor means the world to me.”
In a 2023 interview, Bivins said, “We probably have one of the biggest, powerful, loyal foundations that we could ever have. They are called ‘N.E. for lifers.’”
And the “N.E. for Lifers” came from Boston.
Therefore, Dearborn Street will receive the designation of “New Edition Way,” proving that their hometown is with them all the way, a play off their 1985 single, “With You All The Way.”
