Babyface (musician)
Kenneth Edmonds (born April 10, 1959 in Indianapolis ), also known as Babyface , is an American R&B and pop singer , songwriter and producer who has received eleven Grammys in his career .
life and career
Edmonds attended North Central High School in Indianapolis. He later played with Bootsy Collins , among others . In the 1970s he was a member of the Manchild group . In the early 1980s, Edmonds released three albums with the group The Deele . In 1986 he signed a solo contract with Solar Records and released his debut album Lovers . In 1989 he founded the record label LaFace Records with LA Reid .
Edmonds wrote and produced the songs End of the Road by Boyz II Men and Exhale (Shoop Shoop) by Whitney Houston . He also made the Madonna hit Take a Bow from 1994, which stayed at number 1 on the Billboard charts for seven weeks . In 1996 he composed The Power of the Dream , the official song of the 1996 Olympic Games , with David Foster . Edmonds has also worked with TLC , Celine Dion , Mary J. Blige , Jay-Z , Foxy Brown , Mariah Carey , Toni Braxton , Az Yet , Eric Clapton ( Change the World , and Talk to Me , 1996), Aretha Franklin , John, among others Mellencamp ( Walk Tall and Thank You , 2004) and Stevie Wonder together. From 1995 to 1997 he received the Grammy for "Producer of the Year" three times in a row .
On April 15, 2007 , Babyface performed as a guest at a Prince concert .
In 1999, part of Interstate 65 , which runs through his hometown of Indianapolis, was renamed Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds Highway . In 2015, Rolling Stone listed Babyface 90th of the 100 best songwriters of all time .
Babyface married Tracey Edmonds on September 5, 1992, with whom he has two sons: Brandon (* 1997) and Dylan (* 2001). The marriage was divorced on June 22, 2007.
Discography
Studio albums
| year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 DE
|
 AT
|
 CH
|
 UK
|
 US
|
|||
| 1989 | Tender lover | - | - | - | - |
US14th  × 3
(61 weeks)US |
First published: July 30, 1989
|
| 1993 | For the cool in you | - | - | - | - |
US16 × 3
(83 weeks)US |
First published: August 17, 1993
|
| 1996 | The Day |
DE85 (5 weeks) DE |
- | - |
UK34  (13 weeks)UK |
US6th × 2
(46 weeks)US |
First published: October 29, 1996
|
| 1998 | Christmas with Babyface | - | - | - | - |
US101 (5 weeks) US |
First published: October 27, 1998
|
| 2001 | Face2Face | - | - | - | - |
US25 (11 weeks) US |
First published: September 11, 2001
|
| 2005 | Grown & Sexy | - | - | - | - |
US10 (10 weeks) US |
First published: July 26, 2005
|
| 2007 | Playlist | - | - | - | - |
US48 (4 weeks) US |
First published: September 18, 2007
|
| 2015 | Return of the tender lover | - | - | - | - |
US39 (3 weeks) US |
First published: December 4th, 2015
|
More albums
| year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
DE
|
AT
|
CH
|
UK
|
US
|
|||
| 1997 | MTV Unplugged NYC 1997 | - | - | - | - |
US106  (13 weeks)US |
First release: November 25th, 1997
live album |
| 2000 | A Collection of His Greatest Hits | - | - | - | - |
US75 (7 weeks) US |
First published: November 14, 2000
compilation |
| 2014 | Love, Marriage & Divorce | - | - | - |
UK75 (2 weeks) UK |
US4 (17 weeks) US |
First published: February 4th, 2014
collaboration with Toni Braxton |
more publishments
- 1986: Lovers
- 1991: A Closer Look
- 2001: Love Songs
- 2003: The Essential
- 2005: The Other Side of Cool
Singles
| year | Title album |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
DE
|
AT
|
CH
|
UK
|
US
|
|||
| 1989 | It's No Crime Tender Lover |
- | - | - | - |
US7 (18 weeks) US |
First published: August 1989
|
| Tender Lover Tender Lover |
- | - | - |
UK86 (2 weeks) UK |
US14 (17 weeks) US |
First published: November 1989
|
|
| 1990 | Whip Appeal Tender Lover |
- | - | - | - |
US6 (18 weeks) US |
First published: February 22, 1990
|
| My Kinda Girl Tender Lover |
- | - | - | - |
US30 (13 weeks) US |
First published: June 1990
|
|
| 1992 | Give U My Heart Boomerang (OST) |
- | - | - | - |
US29 (16 weeks) US |
First published: July 7, 1992
( feat.Toni Braxton ) |
| 1993 | For the cool in you For the cool in you |
- | - | - | - |
US81 (9 weeks) US |
First published: August 1993
|
| Never Keeping Secrets For the Cool in You |
- | - | - | - |
US15 (23 weeks) US |
First published: October 1993
|
|
| 1994 | And Our Feelings For the Cool in You |
- | - | - | - |
US21 (20 weeks) US |
First published: February 1994
|
| When Can I See You For the Cool in You |
- | - | - |
UK35 (3 weeks) UK |
US4th (36 weeks)US |
First published: June 1994
|
|
| Rock Bottom For the Cool in You |
- | - | - |
UK50 (4 weeks) UK |
- |
First published: July 1994
|
|
| 1996 | This Is for the Lover in You The Day |
- | - | - |
UK12 (8 weeks) UK |
US6th (20 weeks)US |
|
| 1997 | Every Time I Close My Eyes The Day / The Moment |
DE87 (3 weeks) DE |
- | - |
UK13 (4 weeks) UK |
US6th (26 weeks)US |
First published: January 14, 1997
(with Kenny G ) |
| How Come, How Long The Day / At the Close of a Century |
DE17 (19 weeks) DE |
AT9 (10 weeks) AT |
CH10 (19 weeks) CH |
UK10 (7 weeks) UK |
- |
First published: July 7, 1997
(with Stevie Wonder ) |
|
| 2001 | There She Goes Face2Face |
DE93 (2 weeks) DE |
- | - | - |
US31 (15 weeks) US |
First published: May 2001
|
| What If Face2Face |
- | - | - | - |
US80 (15 weeks) US |
First published: September 2001
|
|
As a guest musician
| year | Title album |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
DE
|
AT
|
CH
|
UK
|
US
|
|||
| 1990 | Love Makes Things Happen Always |
- | - | - | - |
US13 (19 weeks) US |
First published: November 6, 1990
(Pebbles feat.Babyface) |
| 1995 | Someone to Love Bonafide |
- | - | - | - |
US10 (30 weeks)US |
First published: April 1995
(Jon B. feat.Babyface) |
| 1996 | Slow Jams Q’s Jook Joint |
- | - | - | - |
US68 (9 weeks) US |
|
| 1997 | (Always Be My) Sunshine In My Lifetime, Vol. 1 |
DE18 (14 weeks) DE |
- | - |
UK25 (2 weeks) UK |
US95 (2 weeks) US |
|
swell
- ↑ Simon Glickman and Kelly Winters: Babyface Biography. musicianguide, accessed on May 10, 2011 .
- ↑ Steve Huey: Babyface Biography. allmusic, accessed on May 10, 2011 (English).
- ↑ Babyface. November 19, 2019, accessed on March 27, 2020 .
- ↑ The 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time. Rolling Stone , August 2015, accessed August 7, 2017 .
- ↑ a b c d Chart sources: DE AT CH UK US
- ↑ a b c d Music Sales Awards: UK , US
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Baby face |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Edmonds, Kenneth |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American R&B and pop singer, songwriter, and producer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 10, 1959 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Indianapolis , USA |