Collection of Babyface
As a singer, producer, and songwriter, Babyface was an inescapable
presence in virtually every major facet of pop music during the '90s.
His own recordings helped rejuvenate the R&B tradition of the
smooth, sensitive, urban crooner and made him a staple of urban
contemporary radio. Yet their considerable success was eclipsed by his
songwriting and production work for other artists, which linked him with
some of the biggest stars and hit singles of the decade (and not just
in the realm of R&B). You'd be hard-pressed to name a '90s hitmaker
with a track record more consistently successful and versatile than
Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds.
Kenneth Edmonds was born April 10, 1959, in Indianapolis and began
playing in local R&B bands as a teenager. He served a stint in
Bootsy Collins' backing unit (where he earned his nickname) and
subsequently joined the funk outfit Manchild, which signed a record deal
in 1977 and released three albums. After their breakup, Babyface and
partner Antonio "L.A." Reid formed an urban funk group called the Deele
in the early '80s, which scored a few sizable hits on the R&B
charts. Babyface and Reid began producing and writing for other artists
on the side, landing hits in Pebbles' "Girlfriend" and the Whispers'
"Rock Steady"; following the Deele's third album in 1988, the duo left
to continue their outside activities full-time, co-founding the LaFace
label in 1989. Further hits followed in Bobby Brown's "Every Little
Step," Sheena Easton's "The Lover in Me," and Karyn White's "The Way You
Love Me" and "Superwoman," all of which performed well on both the pop
and R&B charts.
Babyface had actually recorded a little-noticed solo album in 1986,
titled Lovers, but with his newfound success having marked him as one to
watch, his solo career now began in earnest. Released in 1989, Tender
Lover caught fire, spinning off four singles over the next year,
including the R&B chart smashes "It's No Crime" (number one) and
"Whip Appeal" (number two; both also reached the pop Top Ten); the album
also went double platinum. Now firmly established as a powerhouse,
Babyface went on to co-write hits for Johnny Gill ("My, My, My,"
nominated for the Best R&B Song Grammy), Whitney Houston ("I'm Your
Baby Tonight"), and Madonna ("Take a Bow"); his biggest success,
however, came with Boyz II Men, whose recording of "End of the Road"
became one of the longest-running number ones in pop history (the
Babyface-penned follow-up "I'll Make Love to You" was also pretty
successful in its own right). He was co-nominated for an Album of the
Year Grammy for his production on The Bodyguard soundtrack and went on
to work with artists like Celine Dion, Mariah Carey, Gladys Knight,
Aretha Franklin, En Vogue, and Mary J. Blige. As if that weren't enough,
LaFace had become a highly successful and lucrative imprint, breaking
artists like Toni Braxton, TLC, OutKast, and Usher (often with input
from Reid and Babyface).
It's no wonder Babyface wound up taking a break from his own career as a
singer during the early '90s, releasing only a remix album, A Closer
Look, in 1991. The proper follow-up to Tender Lover didn't appear until
1993; even so, For the Cool in You was an even bigger hit than its
predecessor, going triple platinum and producing Babyface's first Top
Five pop hit, the change-of-pace acoustic guitar ballad "When Can I See
You Again" (which won him his first Grammy as a performer for Best Male
R&B Vocal). In 1995, he scored another major success with the
Waiting to Exhale soundtrack, not only producing it but scoring the film
itself and writing nearly all of its songs, including the Whitney
Houston smash "Exhale (Shoop, Shoop)." The same year, he won the first
of three consecutive Grammys as Producer of the Year. Successes just
kept coming in 1996; the guest-laden album The Day spawned another Top
Ten pop/R&B hit in "Every Time I Close My Eyes," and he solidified
his crossover credentials once and for all by winning a Grammy for
Record of the Year as producer of Eric Clapton's "Change the World."
Encouraged by the success of Waiting to Exhale, Babyface and his wife,
Tracey Edmonds, formed their own film production company, which debuted
in 1997 with the acclaimed urban family comedy/drama Soul Food
(Babyface, naturally, masterminded the soundtrack). The next year, he
contributed lyrics to the animated musical The Prince of Egypt, which
went uncredited on the soundtrack album. With the movies taking up more
of his time, his next musical releases were quick one-offs: an MTV
Unplugged album in 1997 and the seasonal Christmas with Babyface the
next year. His production and songwriting activities continued, though
he remained silent as a performer for a few years. In 2000, Epic
released the best-of compilation A Collection of His Greatest Hits,
marking the end of his tenure with the label; he had elected to move to
Arista, where L.A. Reid had been a high-ranking executive. In 2001,
Babyface released a new album, Face2Face, and also produced the punk-pop
soundtrack for the film Josie & the Pussycats. The back-to-basics
Grown & Sexy came in July 2005, followed by 2007's covers-based
Playlist for Mercury. Allmusic by Steve Huey
Album: Lovers (1986)
01. You Make Me Feel Brand New
02. Lovers
03. Chivalry
04. I Love You Babe
05. Mary Mack
06. Faithful
07. If We Try
08. Take Your Time
09. I Love You Babe (Reprise)
http://www66.zippyshare.com/v/8464203/file.html
Album: Tender Lover (1989)
01. It's No Crime
02. Tender Lover
03. Let's Be Romantic
04. Can't Stop My Heart
05. My Kinda Girl
06. Where Will You Go (Prelude)
07. Whip Appeal
08. Soon As I Get Home
09. Given A Chance
10. Sunshine
11. Where Will You Go
http://www19.zippyshare.com/v/71476700/file.html
Album: A Closer Look (1991)
01. Mary Mack
02. Two Occasions (Live)
03. I Love You Babe
04. Chivalry
05. Lovers
06. It's No Crime
07. Love Saw It (duet with Karyn White)
08. Love Makes Things Happen (duet with Pebbles)
09. My Kinda Girl
10. Whip Appeal
11. Lovers (Jazz Lover's Mix)
http://www33.zippyshare.com/v/97425194/file.html
Album: For The Cool In You (1993)
01. For The Cool In You
02. Lady, Lady
03. Never Keeping Secrets
04. Rock Bottom
05. And Our Feelings
06. Saturday
07. When Can I See You Again
08. Illusions
09. A Bit Old Fashioned
10. You Are So Beautiful
11. I'll Always Love You
12. Well Alright
http://www20.zippyshare.com/v/87989477/file.html
Album: The Day (1996)
01. Everytime I Close My Eyes
02. Talk To Me
03. I Said I Love You
04. When Your Body Gets Weak
05. Simple Days
06. All Day Thinkin'
07. Seven Seas
08. The Day (That You Gave Me A Son)
09. How Come, How Long
10. This Is For The Lover In You
http://www56.zippyshare.com/v/3482820/file.html
Album: MTV Unplugged NYC (1997)
01. Change the World
02. Talk to Me
03. Whip Appeal
04. Breathe Again
05. Exhale (Shoop, Shoop)
06. I'll Make Love to You
07. End of the Road
08. I Care About You
09. The Day (That You Gave Me a Son)
10. Gone Too Soon
11. How Come, How Long
http://www62.zippyshare.com/v/42945018/file.html
Album: A Collection of His Greatest Hits (2000)
01. For the Cool in You
02. It's No Crime
03. Whip Appeal
04. Never Keeping Secrets
05. Every Time I Close My Eyes
06. When Can I See You Again
07. Reason for Breathing
08. This Is for the Lover in You
09. How Come, How Long
10. Change the World (Live)
11. I Love You Babe
12. Soon as I Get Home
13. Where Will You Go
14. When Men Grow Old
http://www21.zippyshare.com/v/40178073/file.html
Album: Face2Face (2001)
01. Outside In (Inside Out)
02. There She Goes
03. What If
04. Stressed Out
05. Baby's Mama
06. How Can U Be Down
07. Work It Out
08. I Keep Callin'
09. With Him
10. Wish U Was My Girl
11. U Should Know
12. Don't Take It So Personal
13. Still In Love With U
14. Lover And Friend
http://www64.zippyshare.com/v/59014826/file.html
Album: Love Songs (2001)
01. I Said I Love You
02. All Day Thinkin'
03. This Is for the Lover in You
04. Lady, Lady
05. For the Cool in You
06. A Bit Old-Fashioned
07. Never Keeping Secrets
08. When Can I See You
09. Whip Appeal
10. Soon as I Get Home
11. Given a Chance
12. Sunshine
13. Every Time I Close My Eyes
14. When Your Body Gets Weak
15. Lovers
16. You Make Me Feel Brand New
http://www11.zippyshare.com/v/44438518/file.html
Album: The Essential Babyface (2003)
01. I Said I Love You
02. Never Keeping Secrets
03. Every Time I Close My Eyes
04. Talk to Me
05. When Can I See You
06. For the Cool in You
07. My Kinda Girl
08.Whip Appeal
09. Soon as I Get Home
10. Well Alright
11. The Day (That You Gave Me a Son)
12. How Come, How Long
13. This Is for the Lover in You
14. Medley I'll Make Love to You End of the Road [Live]
15. Medley I'll Make Love to You End of the Road (Continued) [Live]
http://www51.zippyshare.com/v/9739410/file.html
Album: A Love Story (2004)
01 - God Must Love You
02 - Red Dress
03 - The Getting 2 Know U
04 - Makin' Love
05 - Love Song
06 - The Sentimental Reasons
07 - The Loneliness
08 - Wish That I Could Tell You
09 - Together Forever
10 - Still My Boo
http://www16.zippyshare.com/v/39260001/file.html
Album: Grown & Sexy (2005)
01. Tonight It's Goin' Down
02. Grown & Sexy
03. Mad, Sexy, Cool
04. Can't Stop Now
05. Goin' Outta Business
06. Drama, Love & 'Lationships
07. Sorry For The Stupid Things
08. Good To Be In Love
09. The Loneliness
10. She
11. God Must Love U
12. Gettin' To Know U
13. She's International
http://www7.zippyshare.com/v/71543021/file.html
Album: The Other Side of Cool (2005)
01. It's No Crime [IJ Extended Mix]
02. For the Cool in You [Chicago House Club Vocal Mix]
03. My Kinda Girl [Scratch Mix]
04. Whip Appeal [The Ultimate Whip][Mix]
05. Tender Lover [The Long Mix]
06. Every Time I Close My Eyes [Timbaland Remix]
07. How Come, How Long [Laws & Craigie Remix]
08. Rock Bottom [CJ Deep Club Mix]
09. This Is for the Lover in You [Puffy's Face to Face Mix]
10. When Can I See You [Extended Club Mix]
http://www2.zippyshare.com/v/46131888/file.html
Album: Playlist (2007)
01. Shower The People
02. Fire And Rain
03. Not Going Nowhere
04. Time In A Bottle
05. Wonderful Tonight
06. Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door
07. Longer
08. The Soldier Song
09. Please Come To Boston
10. Diary
http://www3.zippyshare.com/v/29878637/file.html
Album: From The Heart (2009)
01. I Said I Love You
02. All Day Thinkin'
03. This Is for the Lover in You
04. Lady, Lady
05. For the Cool in You
06. A Bit Old-Fashioned
07. Never Keeping Secrets
08. When Can I See You
09. Whip Appeal
10. Soon as I Get Home
11. Given a Chance
12. Sunshine
13. Every Time I Close My Eyes
14. When Your Body Gets Weak
15. Lovers
16. You Make Me Feel Brand New
http://www62.zippyshare.com/v/96715288/file.html
Enjoy!!!!
01. Block Party
01. Can't Stop Thinking About You
01. Jump Into My Life
01. Half Crazy
01. Rub You The Right Way
01. Let's Get The Mood Right
01. My, My, My
01. Perfect Combination
01. One Love