''Cooleyhighharmony'' is the debut studio album by American R&B group

Boyz II Men Boyz II Men ( ) is an American vocal harmony group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, best known for emotional ballads and a cappella harmonies. Formed in 1985, they have been a trio composed of baritone Nathan Morris, tenor Wanya Morris, Wanyá Mo ...

, released by

Motown Records Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...

on April 30, 1991. The album was written mainly by Boyz II Men members Nathan Morris,

Wanya Morris Wanyá Jermaine Morris ( ) (born July 29, 1973) is an American singer, best known as a member of the Contemporary R&B, R&B group Boyz II Men. He competed on the Dancing with the Stars (American season 22), twenty-second season of ''Dancing wit ...

and Shawn Stockman, and produced by

Dallas Austin Dallas L. Austin (born December 29, 1970) is an American songwriter, record producer, and film producer from Columbus, Georgia. Biography Early life During a 2019 interview with DJ Vlad, Dallas Austin detailed previously unknown or unconfir ...

and the Characters. ''Cooleyhighharmony''s title is a tribute to a real high school in Chicago: Cooley Vocational High School. The album debuted at number 58 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 and eventually peaked at number 3. Its original version produced the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 Top 5 singles, " Motownphilly" and " It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday". ''Cooleyhighharmony'' was re-released internationally in 1992 (1993 in the US) with remixes and the inclusion of two hit singles: the worldwide hit single " End of the Road" from the ''Boomerang'' soundtrack and " In the Still of the Nite (I'll Remember)" which was initially recorded for the TV mini-series '' The Jacksons: An American Dream''. ''Cooleyhighharmony'' has been certified nine times Platinum by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

(RIAA) for shipments of over 9 million units in the US. In 2009, a two-disc digitally remastered special edition of the album was released, containing remixes as well as two previously unreleased songs.

Critical reception

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

editor Andy Kellman called the album "a brisk 40-minute set built for front-to-back listening, though the sequencing is more natural with the 'adagio' and 'allegro' halves switched up. For many of those responsible for its multi-platinum status, it is the album of the early '90s." In a mixed review, Amy Linden from ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

'' wrote: "Reversing the usual sequence, the album starts with slow jams and saves the faster jams for last, which only serves to highlight how routine the slow stuff is. Don't they know that you start the party kickin', then get down to the grinding?"

Track listing

Original 1991 edition

1993 US reissue

2009 re-release

In 2009, a two-disc digitally remastered special edition of the album was released by Hip-O Select Records. It contains the 1993 reissue version of the album, plus additional remixes and two previously unreleased tracks.

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''Cooleyhighharmony''. Technical * Vida Sparks *

* Michael Bivins * Jheryl Busby * Dave Way * Dennis Mitchell * Darin Prindle * Chris Trevett * Steve Schwartzberg * Jim "Jiff" Hinger * Mark Partis Additional personnel *Mastering: Chris Bellman *Mastering location: Bernie Grundman Mastering *Creative director: Michael Bivins *Art director: Stephen Meltzer *Design: Kaie Wellman *Assistant designer: Elizabeth Matbeny *Assistant: Darrale Jones *Administrative assistant: Dianne Johnson *Photography: Butch Belaire *Hair and make-up: Helene Andersson *Stylist: Agnes Baddoo Mixing locations * Soundworks Studio, New York City * Soundtract Studio, New York City * Doppler Studios, Atlanta, Georgia

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications and sales

Release history

References

{{Authority control 1991 debut albums Albums produced by Dallas Austin Boyz II Men albums Motown albums Albums produced by Troy Taylor (record producer)