II (Boyz II Men album)

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II
II cover
Studio album by Boyz II Men
Released August 30, 1994 (US)
September 12, 1994 (UK)
Recorded 1994
Genre R&B
Length 57:31
Label Motown
Producer Babyface, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Tim & Bob
Professional reviews
Boyz II Men chronology
Christmas Interpretations
(1993)		 II
(1994)		 The Remix Collection
(1995)

II was the second regular studio album by vocal quartet Boyz II Men, released in August 1994 on Motown Records. It contained the #1 singles "I'll Make Love To You" and "On Bended Knee", the latter of which replaced the former at the top of the Billboard Hot 100, making the group the third artist to replace themselves at #1 in the US after Elvis Presley and The Beatles and the first to achieve the feat in 30 years. "I'll Make Love to You" also spent 14 weeks at the top of the Hot 100 making them the first artist to achieve consecutive double digit runs at the top, with their prior single "End Of The Road" topping the charts for 13 weeks and also equalled the record set by Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" for the longest run at the top, a record which they held previously with "End Of The Road". Other singles released achieved major success, including "Water Runs Dry", which reached #2, and "Thank You", which reached #21. "Vibin'", however, only reached #52.

The album itself debuted at #1 in the Billboard 200 with 350,000 copies sold. It spent a total of 5 weeks at #1 and was the third best-selling album in 1995 in the United States and sold 12 million copies in the United States; it was a hugely successful album there. It didn't make a huge impact in the UK, where it only made #17 on the albums chart. A Spanish language version, II: Yo Te Voy a Amar, was also issued.

The spoken track "Khalil (Interlude)" is a tribute to their road manager Khalil Roundtree who was shot in Chicago, Illinois while the band was opening for for MC Hammer's Too Legit to Quit tour.

Contents

[edit] Track listing

  1. "Thank You" (Michael S. McCary, Nathan Morris, Wanya Morris, Shawn Stockman, Dallas Austin) 4:34
  2. "All Around the World" (James Harris III, Terry Lewis, Michael S. McCary, Nathan Morris, Wanya Morris, Shawn Stockman, Daddy-O) 4:56
  3. "U Know" (Michael S. McCary, Nathan Morris, Wanya Morris, Shawn Stockman, Tim Kelley, Bob Robinson) 4:46
  4. "Vibin'" (Michael S. McCary, Nathan Morris, Wanya Morris, Shawn Stockman, Tim Kelley, Bob Robinson) 4:26
  5. "I Sit Away" (Tony Rich) 4:34
  6. "Jezzebel" (Wanya Morris, Shawn Stockman, The Characters: Troy Taylor & Charles Farrar) 6:06
  7. "Khalil (Interlude)" (Nathan Morris, Shawn Stockman) 1:41
  8. "Trying Times" (Wanya Morris, Tim Kelley, Bob Robinson) 5:23
  9. "I'll Make Love to You" (Babyface) 4:07
  10. "On Bended Knee" (James Harris III, Terry Lewis) 5:29
  11. "50 Candles" (Shawn Stockman, Tim Kelley, Bob Robinson) 5:06
  12. "Water Runs Dry" (Babyface) 3:22
  13. "Yesterday" (Paul McCartney, John Lennon) 3:07

[edit] Chart positions

Album - Billboard (North America)

Year Chart Position
1994 The Billboard 200 1

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

Preceded by
The Lion King (soundtrack) by Various artists		 Billboard 200 number-one album
September 17 - September 30, 1994
October 8 - October 14, 1994
October 29 - November 4, 1994
March 11 - March 17, 1995		 Succeeded by
From the Cradle by Eric Clapton