Bobby Brown

The bad boy of New Edition, Bobby Brown was also the biggest solo star of the hitmaking R&B boy band. Raised in the Roxbury section of Boston, Brown saw James Brown for his first concert and began singing soon after with school friends Michael Bivins and Ricky Bell.  With the addition of fellow locals Ralph Trevsant and Ronnie DeVoe, the teenaged group hooked up with two breakout Boston producers, Arthur Baker and Maurice Starr. Brown sang co-lead on the group's first single, 1982's "Candy Girl," which went Top 20; Brown was also featured on a follow-up hit, "Mr. Telephone Man" (without Starr, who'd gone onto form the New Kids on the Block). After three successful years Brown fell out with the group and launched a solo career. His solo debut King of Stage didn't do the trick, but the follow-up, 1988's Don't Be Cruel, was both a multi-platinum hit and a landmark of new jack swing, the mid-'80s cross of hip-hop with old-school R&B. The second of the album's four singles, "My Prerogative," became Brown's signature tune and established his tough, self-reliant persona.  The follow-up Bobby employed the same all-star team of writers and producers (including Babyface and L.A. Reid) and was also a success, charting two further Top Ten hits in "Humpin' Around" and "Good Enough." The most notable guest on the album was Whitney Houston. She and Brown were wed on July 18, 1992 and it proved to be a famously tragic marriage. The couple was rumored to be locked in a cycle of domestic abuse and drug addiction, despite numerous attempts to clean up Brown's image (including a reality TV show featuring the couple, 2005's "Being Bobby Brown" (E! 2005-06). After their divorce two years later, Houston confirmed that they'd smoked crack and that he was at least verbally abusive. Brown was arrested for battery on Houston in 2003 and his misadventures continued with arrest for nonpayment of child support in 2004, and a DUI conviction in 2012. His music career likewise became erratic as he flopped with his fourth album, 1997's Forever, and spent the next two decades bouncing in and out of New Edition reunion tours. Even after completing court-ordered rehab, he was often seen wandering the stage, making lewd facial gestures, while the rest of New Edition did their choreographed steps. Nonetheless, the 2017 BET miniseries "The New Edition Story" brought a popular revival for Brown and the group. Though counted out more than once by fans, Brown launched another comeback in September 2018, touring with four-fifths of New Edition in a Bobby Brown/Bell Biv DeVoe package.