Was New Edition Better Off Without Bobby Brown?

[Tribal Outkast]

Don’t Be Cruel was his 2nd album breh. First joint was produced by ol boy from Cameo

People forget about King of Stage.

 

[Fat Fred Jones]

Gill is the 2nd best replacement in an R&B group, Temptations lead singer David Ruffin would be the best, he replaced Elbridge Bryant in 1964.

What about when Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes moved that drummer, Teddy Pendergrass to lead singer?

 

[Anton]

Really??


Well shyt.. I did not know that

how you not know this?

 

[Why-Fi]

Exponentially better off, Gill era is better and it's not even close

the thing about it, he came with jimmy jam and terry lewis. so to be honest i think it hardly mattered. those men are wizards. with that same set up can you really be sure bobby wouldn’t have been better?

 

[Take It In Blood]

i cant watch Ralph wihout seeing Young Pharoah now

 

[General Mills]

how you not know this?

I know this song.. For some reason I always assumed it was under the New Edition banner and he had his own single


I’m pretty damn good with all things 80’s. I totally missed this one tho

 

[Seven1986]

Yes. Like others have said, they had their best success and album without him. More importantly Johnny Gill gave New Edition a mature sound that allowed them to expand their audience and get out of the cookie cutter/child type sound.

The unknown question is what would have happened if Bobby stayed in the group? Johnny would have never been added to the group. Ralph was singing essentially everything with an occasional verse from Ricky Bell. However between the time Bobby left the group and the time he dropped his solo album (which was around the same time as NE), Bobby had grown up and became his own man. So I'm thinking he would have demanded more verses and more shine. And I'm wondering if Bobby would have helped changed New Edition's image. Ralph as the pretty boy nice guy and Bobby as the bad boy. A good counter balance to broaden appeal.

Is there a chance Don't Be Cruel, Every Little Step, Rock Wit'Cha, My Prerogative, Roni is all given to New Edition since Bobby would still be in the group? Maybe a few tracks are given to them and other tracks are given to someone else. I can definitely see Ralph singing on Rock Wit'Cha and Roni.

I remember I read a rumor that Ralph sang some parts of "Every Little Step" because Bobby was too high when it was time to record the song.

 

[The God Poster]

Ronnie legit served no purpose in the group .. he was just there. Like someone said above Bobby was New Edition .. without him there really wasn’t a group. They could have went without his shenanigans but it worked in his favor. He had the best solo career and well .. Whitney.

Can Mike even sing??

Reminds me I been meaning to make a thread on R&B groups with non singing members. B2K & Pretty Ricky come to mind

 

[lord canon]

NE needs BB
Like The Jacksons need MJ

 

[Sbp]

What about when Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes moved that drummer, Teddy Pendergrass to lead singer?

I believe Teddy was an addition to the group he didn't replace anyone. Besides the the group wasn't popular at that point anyway. Most groups went through several lineup changes before finding mainstream success. So Teddy's situation is not the same as Johnny coming in to a well established group and not only contributing but making a significant impact. Even David Ruffin doesn't compare because the Temps were essentially bench warmers at Motown when he joined the group.

 

[SunnyD]

Can Mike even sing??

Reminds me I been meaning to make a thread on R&B groups with non singing members. B2K & Pretty Ricky come to mind

As long as you don’t slander Omarion, that’s ok. No Omarion, slander shall prosper

 

[Hathaway]

My nikka Bobby Crack

 

[TheSuperkick!]

My nikka Bobby Crack

Can dudes even dance like this anymore?

 

[Sbp]

Can Mike even sing??

Reminds me I been meaning to make a thread on R&B groups with non singing members. B2K & Pretty Ricky come to mind

When they were teens he'd sing a few lines on some I definitely remember popcorn love, Mary Ann and their Christmas song theirs probably a coupleof more. In their harmonies he sings the lowest parts. Ralph did an interview years ago saying that they were originally all supposed to share leads or atleast have the whole groups voices be featured regularly. But once they became successful some of the management pushed for him to sing the majority of the songs and a lot of the producers they worked with knew they'd have a better chance of their song being noticed with the lead singer sounding like a young MJ

 

[Sbp]

Can dudes even dance like this anymore?

I can