If BET’s “The New Edition Story” (see preview, left) has you looking to make a playlist of tracks by New Edition and its spinoff acts, we’ve ranked our 14 favorites. Read on…
14. (Honorable Mention) Boyz II Men – “Mowtownphilly” (Writers: Dallas Austin, Michael Bivins, Nathan Morris, Shawn Stockman)
Michael “Biv” Bivens didn’t just help discover and mentor Boyz II Men in their early career, he also co-wrote and rapped on their debut single… which in the music video he performed sitting on a toilet.
13) BBD – “She’s Dope” (writer: Dr. Freeze)
The track was originally simply called “Dope” but was changed to the current title due to concerns slang-impaired moral guardians would think the song was about drug use.
12) Bobby Brown “My Prerogative” (Writers: Bobby Brown, Gene Griffin)
“I made this money, you didn’t, right Ted?” – Bobby addresses New Jack Swing producer and pioneer Teddy Riley, who played on the song but didn’t produce it.
11) Johnny Gill – “Giving My All to You” (Writer: H. Randall Davis)
Put this song on a loop and you’ll end up married within an hour.
10) Johnny Gill – “Rub You The Right Way” (Writers; Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis)
Put this song on a loop and you will end up pregnant within an hour. Yes, men too.
9) New Edition – “Mr Telephone Man ” (Writer: Ray Parker, Jr.)
Great title, great groove, and amazing demonstration of New Edition’s talent, given that the song sounds like it was written for artists 20 years older.
7) New Edition – “Cool It Now” (Writer: Vincent Brantley, Rick Timas)
Worth it for Ralph Tresvant’s rap alone (at the 2:38 mark), which name checks the members of New Edition and has become a signature call and response for the band’s associated members.
6) Bobby Brown – “Every Little Step (Writers: Babyface, L.A. Reid)
You know the song is good, but what gets it above some other Bobby Brown songs is the music video with the song title in giant white letters.
4) Bell Biv Devoe – “Poison” (tie) (Writer: Dr. Freeze).
Tied for fourth, “Poison” features one of the greatest drum intros to any song in music history; it was also written by the man who gave the world Color Me Bad’s “I Wanna Sex You Up.”
4) Bell Biv Devoe – “Do Me! “(tie) (Writer: Bell Biv Devoe and Carl E. Bourelly)
“Do Me!” is so good it made “the time was 6:00 on the Swatch watch” into a cool euphemism for having sex. Or maybe that was just me.
3) Bobby Brown – “On Our Own” (writers: L.A. Reid, Babyface, Daryl Simmons)
Bobby’s cut from the Ghostbusters 2 soundtrack is notable for giving us the rhyme “too hot to handle, too cold to hold” and for being the only good thing about that movie.
2) New Edition – “Candy Girl”
New Edition’s first hit might not be their best song, but it’s definitely their most fun, and one of the best Jackson Five impressions ever.
1) Ralph Tresvant – “Sensitivity” (Writers: Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis)
This smoother-than-warm-butter ode to treating your girlfriend nicely isn’t just Tresvant’s best solo song, it’s the best song from any New Edition member solo or as a group, period.
