Kenneth Brian "Babyface" Edmonds (born
April 10, 1958) is an American R&B and pop singer-songwriter,
guitarist, keyboardist, record producer, film producer, and entrepreneur.
Kenneth Edmonds was born on April 10, 1958, in Indianapolis, Indiana[1]
to Marvin and Barbara Edmonds. Barbara was a pharmaceutical plant
manager. Edmonds, who is the fifth of six brothers (which also included
future After 7 bandmembers Melvin and Kevon Edmonds, the latter of
whom later had a modestly successful solo career), attended North
Central High School in Indianapolis, Indiana and as a shy youth,
wrote songs to express his emotions.[citation needed] When he was
in eighth grade, Edmonds's father died of lung cancer, leaving his
mother to raise her sons alone. At this stage, Edmonds became determined
to have a career in music.[1]
[edit] Career
[edit] Early career
Edmonds later played with funk performer Bootsy Collins, who tagged
him "Babyface" while he was still a teen. He also played
in the groups Manchild (which had a 1977 hit "Especially for
You" with band member Daryl Simmons), as he was a guitarist
for the band. Then, as a keyboardist in the light-funk and R&B
group The Deele (which also included drummer Antonio "L.A." Reid,
with whom he would later form a successful writing and producing
partnership). One of his first major credits as a songwriter for
outside artists came when he wrote the tune "Slow-Jam" for
the R&B band Midnight Star in 1983. The tune was on Midnight
Star's double-platinum No Parking on the Dance Floor album, and while
it never hit the charts, the song is still played on quiet storm
shows. Babyface remained in The Deele until 1988, when both he and
Reid left the group.
[edit] Commercial success
In the late 1980s, he contributed to the creation of new jack swing,
writing and producing music for the likes of Bobby Brown, Karyn White,
Pebbles, Paula Abdul and '80s icon Sheena Easton.
In 1989, Edmonds co-founded LaFace Records with Reid. Two of the
label's early artists TLC were successful, becoming one of the best
selling female groups in music history, and Toni Braxton. Braxton's
eponymous 1993 debut album went on to sell over eight million copies,
and earned her the 1994 Grammy Award Best New Artist. TLC's first
two albums on LaFace—1992's Ooooooohhh... On the TLC Tip and
1994's CrazySexyCool—combined to sell more than 15 million
copies in the U.S. CrazySexyCool won the 1996 Grammy Award for Best
R&B album.
Babyface helped form the popular late-90s R&B group Az Yet.
Edmonds works with many successful performers in contemporary music. “I’m
Your Baby Tonight,” produced for Whitney Houston, was his first
#1 Top 40 hit in the US. He also wrote and produced Boyz II Men's "End
of the Road" and "I'll Make Love To You," both of
which established records for the longest stay at #1 on the Billboard
Hot 100 chart. He co-wrote, co-produced, and provided backing vocals
on Madonna's 1995 7-week #1 hit "Take a Bow," and shared
billing with Eric Clapton on the chart-topping Grammy winner "Change
the World" from the Phenomenon soundtrack. He also wrote and
produced the #1 hit "Exhale (Shoop Shoop)" for Whitney
Houston as well as the rest of the critically acclaimed 10 million
selling Waiting to Exhale soundtrack in 1995, which spawned additional
hits for Whitney Houston, Brandy and Mary J. Blige.
Additionally, Edmonds has produced and written music for many artists
including Patti LaBelle, Chaka Khan, Aretha Franklin, Madonna, Janet
Jackson, Prince, Al Green, Bruno Mars, Beyoncé, Diana Ross,
Sheena Easton, Toni Braxton, Michael Jackson, Michael Bolton, Paula
Abdul, Pebbles, Tevin Campbell, Bobby Brown, Whitney Houston, Brandy,
Mary J. Blige, Tamia, Shola Ama, 3T, Sisqo, Dru Hill, Fall Out Boy,
Céline Dion, Katharine McPhee, Mariah Carey, Vanessa L. Williams,
En Vogue, Eric Clapton, Kenny G, Kristinia DeBarge, Lil Wayne, Japanese
singer Ken Hirai, P!nk, Marc Nelson, TLC, and Phil Collins among
others. He received three consecutive Grammy Awards for Producer
of the Year in 1995–1997.
In 1994, he appeared and performed on an episode Beverly Hills,
90210 titled Mr. Walsh Goes to Washington (Part 2).
In the mid-1990s, Edmonds and his then wife Tracey Edmonds expanded
into the business of motion pictures, setting up Edmonds Entertainment
Group and producing films such as Soul Food (1997), Josie and the
Pussycats (2001), and also the soundtrack for the film The Prince
of Egypt, which included contributions from numerous artists, including
Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston. They are the current executive
producers of the hit BET reality series College Hill. Edmonds also
worked with David Foster to compose "The Power of the Dream," the
official song of the 1996 Summer Olympics, performed by superstar
Céline Dion. Linda Thompson provided the lyrics.
Babyface also participated as a duet partner on the Fox reality
show Celebrity Duets.
Babyface was in the studio for about two years with Ashanti to produce
her album The Declaration.[2]
His album Playlist consists of eight cover songs and two original
works. It was released on September 18, 2007. It was the first album
on the newly re-launched Mercury Records label.[3]
He worked on the Lil Wayne album Tha Carter III, on the Kanye West-produced "Comfortable." He
also worked with R&B singer Monica for her upcoming album Still
Standing.
[edit] Awards
On August 30, 2006, Babyface was honored as a BMI Icon at the 6th
annual BMI Urban Awards.[4] Throughout his career, Babyface has won
the BMI Pop Songwriter of the Year trophy seven times and a total
of 51 BMI Awards, which includes Song of the Year for his Toni Braxton
hit, "Breathe Again," in 1994.[5]
[edit] Personal life
In October 2005, Edmonds and his wife, Tracey Edmonds, announced
that they were ending their marriage of thirteen years. They have
two sons, Brandon and Dylan Michael. Edmonds began dating his backup
dancer Nicole "Nikki" Pantenburg (former dancer and personal
friend of Janet Jackson's) in 2007. In September 2008, Edmonds and
Nicole welcomed a daughter, Peyton Nicole Edmonds.[6]
[edit] Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds Highway
In 1999, a 25-mile (40-km) stretch of Interstate 65 that runs through
Indianapolis was renamed Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds Highway.