Home for five of the group's original members - Bobby Brown, Ralph Tresvant, Michael Bivins, Ricky Bell, and Ronnie DeVoe - happens to be the Roxbury section of Boston, where the group entered countless talent shows before hitting modest success with a Maurice Starr-produced song, "Candy Girl." Although the group admitted in later years it was not a profitable arrangement for them, the teenagers rapidly developed a strong base and secured a much better record deal with MCA, just a short time later. Catapulting to the top of the charts with one consistent hit after another. New Edition's members' names became as familiar to their listeners' tongues as their predecessors - Michael, Marlon, Jermaine, Tito, and Jackie were in their earlier years to their young J-5 fans.
As the group came back with hit after hit like "Cool It Now," "Mr. Telephone Man," and "Count Me Out," one of the members, Bobby Brown, decided to cool it and do his own musical thing. Although not an instant success, the Brown Bomber bounced back with "Don't Be Cruel," an album which not only sold millions of copies but turned the raunchy but loveable young singer into one of the biggest R&B entertainers of the 80's. Replacing Bobby was a difficult task, but Johnny Gill, a Washington D.C. gospel singer who had already had a couple of hit records with his homegirl, Stacy Lattisaw, was eager to join the vocal group. Bringing a new sound and edge, largely credited to the superior production skills exhibited by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, New Edition reached a more adult contemporary base with the "Heart Break" LP.
Shortly thereafter Ralph Tresvant successfully took the solo plunge with a big hit, "Sensitivity," and Bell Biv DeVoe established themselves as a successful hip-hop trio called BBD. As a result of the group's newfound success and subsequent concert tour, the group found themselves in a position to enjoy life in the fashion of which they had dreamed for so many years. While they chilled, Ronnie DeVoe got involved with the group Wessyde, Michael Bivins was wearing his CEO hat as the head of Biv 10 Records (noted for Boyz II Men and Subway), and Ricky contemplated releasing a solo album. However, feeling the need to express their creativity as a six-man group, they convinced Johnny, who had since spiraled to solo success with Motown, to rejoin them in their quest to soar to unconquerable heights. With the release of "Home Again," which debuted with the phat video for "Hit Me Off," the group's taking back territory that had been relinquished to other acts. They're back home on the pages of Right On!.
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