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Bobby Brown
Background information
Birth name	Robert Beresford Brown
Also known as	Bobby, B. Brown, Triple B, Brown Bomber
Born	February 5, 1969 (age 38) Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Genre(s)	R&B New jack swing
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter
Years active	1978–present
Label(s)	MCA
Associated acts	New Edition

Robert Beresford "Bobby" Brown (born February 5, 1969 in Roxbury, Massachusetts) is an American Grammy Award-winning R&B singer and dancer. Brown began his career with the popular boy band New Edition in 1980 and was later ousted from the group due to behavioral problems. He embarked on a solo career in 1986 and had a string of Top 10 Billboard hits. Brown is the husband of R&B singer Whitney Houston and the star of his own reality show, Being Bobby Brown On Bravo. On September 13, 2006, Houston's publicist announced that after 14 years, the singer filed for a legal separation from Brown.

Contents 1 Biography and career 2 Legal issues 3 Being Bobby Brown 4 Discography 4.1 Albums 4.2 Singles 5 References 6 External links

The descendent of slaves acquired by the slave trading family that founded Brown University. He began singing with schoolmates Michael Bivins and Ricky Bell in 1980. The group, which would later include Ralph Tresvant and Ronnie DeVoe, developed into New Edition and, after a few talent show wins, were discovered by producer Maurice Starr. Starr signed the group to his label and co-authored its debut hit, "Candy Girl", in 1983, which helped get New Edition a deal with MCA. Along with "Candy Girl", Brown and New Edition scored several other pop and R&B hits in the early 1980s, including "Mr. Telephone Man", "Cool It Now", and "Is This The End". After a few moments of teen stardom, Brown longed to move on to an adult solo career. His disruptive behavior led to Brown being kicked out of New Edition in 1985; he was replaced by Johnny Gill in 1988. Brown released his debut solo album, King of Stage, in 1986, and while it didn't make a name for Brown as a pop star, it did spawn an R&B hit in the ballad "Girlfriend". King of Stage gave little indication that Brown was about to become a breakout star on the cutting edge of modern R&B.

For his follow-up, Brown sought a more distinctive musical identity in the budding new jack swing movement. He enlisted the emerging production/songwriting team of L.A. Reid and Babyface to handle the majority of the record, with new jack pioneer Teddy Riley coming onboard in a limited capacity as well. The result, Don't Be Cruel, was a state-of-the-art, star-making affair. Released in the summer of 1988, the record produced Brown's first pop Top Ten hit in the title track, but really started to take off when the driving statement of purpose "My Prerogative" went to number one toward the end of the year. From there, Don't Be Cruel just kept spinning off hits: the ballad "Roni", the dance tune "Every Little Step" (which showed off Brown's rapping skills and earned him a Grammy in 1989 for Best Rhythm and Blues Vocal Performance-Male), and another ballad "Rock Wit'cha" all hit the Top 10 in 1989, with the former two both making it all the way to number three. Don't Be Cruel topped the album charts and sold a whopping seven million copies, making Brown a superstar. That same year, he was tapped to provide the theme song for Ghostbusters II and responded with the number two smash "On Our Own", another rap/R&B mixture and "We're Back"; he also contributed a rap to friend Glenn Medeiros' number one pop hit "She Ain't Worth It." Brown was so popular at this point that even his 1990 remix album Dance!...Ya Know It! went platinum.

And then, somehow, the momentum began to slow. Countless other artists expanded on the new jack swing blueprint, with Brown's former New Edition colleagues Tresvant, Gill, and Bell Biv Devoe at the forefront. Moreover, Don't Be Cruel made L.A. Reid and Babyface into hot commodities, and their sound was all over the airwaves. In 1989 he met pop singer Whitney Houston at the Soul Train Music Awards. In 1990 Bobby Brown reunited with his old New Edition groupmates at the 1990 Video Music Awards which also included his replacement Johnny Gill. In 1993 he reunited with them again for New Edition's spin-off trio Bell Biv DeVoe's song Word To The Mutha! which featured all six members. Just before his new album, Bobby, was released in the summer of 1992, Brown married Dance-pop singer Whitney Houston, who sang the duet "Something in Common" on the new record. Bobby's lead single, "Humpin' Around", was a smash on both the pop and R&B charts, reaching the Top 5 on the former; however, Bobby didn't sustain the momentum of Don't Be Cruel. Whatever the reason, sales of Bobby topped out at around two million copies, despite several more R&B hits in "Good Enough", "Get Away", and "That's the Way Love Is." In 1993, Georgia police arrested Brown for an overly suggestive stage performance, an incident that would prove to be the first of many legal difficulties for Brown over the next few years. In 1994 with his solo career at a stand-still, Brown and his the rest of the members of New Edition started talks of a reunion album and tour. In 1996 the group with all six members Ronnie DeVoe, Bobby Brown, Ricky Bell, Michael Bivins, Ralph Tresvant, and Brown's replacement Johnny Gill came back together for their reunion album Home Again. The album went to number #1 on the charts and spawned the hits Hit Me Off, I'm Still Love With You, You Don't Have To Worry, and One More Day. The group then embarked on a tour with R&B acts Keith Sweat and Blackstreet as their opening acts. The tour started off good but midway into the tour things started getting bad as the group started having internal conflicts and egos spirring out of control especially Bobby Brown as he started to wonder why he reunited with the group. Johnny Gill and Ricky Bell also threatned to quit the tour by missing shows. Brown and Tresvant also missed shows on the tour. Their conflicts took a turn for the worse on a tour date in New Mexico when Bobby was extending his solo set and cutting into Bell Biv DeVoe's time so New Edition and Bell Biv DeVoe member Ronnie DeVoe went onstage during Brown's set and tryed to pull him off the stage. Brown then dropped his mic and left the stage starting a fight between Ronnie and Bobby and their unruly entourages as both of their security fired guns at each other but they misfired. The show was halted and in the aftermath Bobby Brown left the tour early along with Michael Bivins for unknown reasons. The remaining four continued the ill-fated Home Again Tour and the group again decided to separate with Brown making bad comments about his fellow group members. The fall of 97 he released his album Forever which featured the single Feelin' Inside as well as an appearance by his wife Whitney Houston and sister Coop B. The album failed to make the charts and was considered a flop. New Edition fans were also upset with Brown over his comments made about them. As Bivins, Tresvant, DeVoe, Bell, and Gill moved on to other projects, Bobby's career started to fall as he continued to get in trouble with the law. He also starred in a few movies during his time away from the studio. After serving 65 days in jail in 2000 he stated he wanted to get his life back in order. By the summer of 2001 Brown was reportedly working on a new album but was halted by a seizure. In 2002 he was in talks with Irv Gotti CEO of The Inc. (formely Murder Inc.) to sign with the label and then collaborated with The Inc.'s main artist hip-hop star Ja Rule on his hit song Thug Lovin' from his fourth album The Last Temptation. He also got into more trouble later that year for speeding and possession of drugs. While Bobby got into trouble his old groupmates in New Edition reunited without him and started performing in small club venues and on Tom Joyner Skys Shows. The group caught the attention of Bad Boy Records CEO Sean "P. Diddy" Combs and he signed the group which featured Michael Bivins, Ralph Tresvant, Ronnie DeVoe, Ricky Bell, and Johnny Gill. While New Edition prepared for another reunion this time minus the group's bad boy Bobby was in and out of jail for probation violations, failure to pay child support, and domestic violence against Whitney Houston. His old groupmates said they were on good terms with Bobby and would welcome him back into the group anytime he was ready. Bobby Brown made surprise appearances on some of the tour dates and during a segment on VH1's Behind The Music Brown stated that he wanted to return to the group. In the fall of 2005 New Edition performed a some of their hits on BET's 25th Year Celebration and brought Brown onstage to perform Mr. Telephone Man. Brown then brought the house down with his big solo hit My Prerogative. It was announced later that Brown has rejoined New Edition and the group was a six man group again. He then started performing at concerts as a special guest with some of his fellow groupmates including Bell Biv DeVoe and Johnny Gill. At a Bell Biv DeVoe show which Brown performed with them because Ricky's voice went out it was announced that New Edition will have a new album and tour in 2008 with all six members. It will be their second album since Home Again as a sextet. In October 2004 "Don't Be Cruel" appeared in popular video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, playing on R&B, Soul radio station CSR 103.9. Brown has now rejoined New Edition. The group plans to record a new album, slated for a 2008 release.

In 1995, Brown was arrested after being accused of raping an under age prostitute. (Charges were later dropped when Brown settled out of court.) Several months later, Brown was charged with battery in Los Angeles after allegedly kicking a hotel security guard who tried to halt a party in Brown's room (he was sentenced to two years' probation). The same year, Brown checked himself into the Betty Ford Clinic to battle drug and alcohol problems. However, in August 1996, he wrecked Houston's leased Porsche while speeding in Florida; reportedly, his blood-alcohol level was twice the legal limit. In the midst of all this chaos, Brown found time to record with the fully reunited New Edition, whose comeback album, Home Again, entered the charts at number one that fall. Brown toured with the group, but departed for good when the tour was over. Meanwhile, the tabloids were having a field day over Brown and Houston's rumored marital problems; in 1997, Brown was accused of spousal abuse when Houston suffered a cut on her cheek during a yachting trip, although both Brown and Houston denied the reports.

In the summer of 1998, Brown was arrested for sexual battery stemming from an alleged incident in the Beverly Hills Hotel, although no charges were filed for lack of evidence. He served five days in a Florida jail stemming from his drunk-driving incident, and after spending time in rehab, he was arrested again for allegedly having shown up at the jail drunk. Brown reportedly violated his probation by testing positive for cocaine several times; while those charges were dropped, he was sentenced to 75 days in jail for refusing to take another drug test in the summer of 2000. Upon his release, Brown began working in earnest on a new album, which was derailed for a time when he suffered a seizure in the summer of 2001, reportedly from heat exhaustion and dehydration. It wasn't until 2002 that he really came back into the media spotlight; following a duet with rapper Ja Rule, he was captured by the police for marijuana possession and driving without a license after a routine stop for speeding.

In 2003, Brown was charged with breaking the domestic violence law in the USA against Houston. [1]

In late 2005, Brown was charged with urinating on a car owned by one of Whitney Houston's former lovers. He pleaded no contest and was sentenced to 50 hours of community service.

Writer Kola Boof (alleged to be one of Osama Bin Laden's "sex slaves") has said that the terrorist had an infatuation with Brown's wife, Houston, and that he allegedly planned to have Brown killed so he could make Houston one of his wives.

On September 13, 2006, Brown's marriage to Houston, which had been dogged by tabloid rumors and other legal issues from the very beginning, came to an end when Houston filed for a legal separation. One month later (October 2006), Houston officially filed for a divorce from Brown. [2]

On February 25, 2007, Brown was arrested at his daughter's cheerleading competition in Attleboro, MA for failing to appear in court and failing to pay fines. According to the court, Brown owed the mother of his children, Kim Ward, $19,000 in backed child support payments. Brown was being held in jail until he came up with the money.

The Washington, DC radio station Hot 99.5 offered to pay Brown's child support in exchange for one week of appearances on the radio station on February 28, 2007. Brown agreed and was released from jail when the outstanding $19,150 in late child-support payments was paid by the station.^[1] On March 2, 2007, in a live interview with the Hot 99.5 morning show, Brown backed out on his offer to appear on the show and promptly hung up on morning show host Kane. Hot 99.5 is now seeking repayment of the cash that was payed to Bobby's children.[3] Brown said he planned to repay the station. However, on the 7th of March Brown claimed that his friends put together the money to bail him out.

In June 2005, Brown launched his own reality series, Being Bobby Brown, on the Bravo television network. Running for thirteen episodes, the reality show focused on the personal lives of the singer and wife Whitney Houston and their accompanying family, mostly of Bobby's children, brother Tommy and father. The show was one of the highest-rated shows on the Bravo channel, partially for Houston's off banter quotes, including the oft-repeated hell to the naw.^{[citation needed]} The show has yet to be renewed and will not likely be after Houston filed for divorce.^{[citation needed]} Houston was said to be the reason for the show's success.^{[citation needed]}

Year	Album	Label
1986	King Of Stage	MCA
1988	Don't Be Cruel	MCA
1989	Dance!...Ya Know It!	MCA
1992	Bobby	MCA
1993	B.Brown Posse	MCA
1993	Remixes In The Key Of B	MCA
1997	Forever	MCA

Year	Song	Chart positions				Certification (RIAA)	Album
		US Hot 100	US R&B	US Dance	UK singles
1986	"Girlfriend"	57	1	-	-	-	King of Stage
1987	"Girl Next Door"	-	31	-	-	-	King of Stage
1988	"Don't Be Cruel"	8	3	-	13	-	Don't Be Cruel
1988	"My Prerogative"	1	1	7	6	Gold	Don't Be Cruel
1989	"Roni"	3	2	-	21	Gold	Don't Be Cruel
1989	"Every Little Step"	3	1	17	6	Gold	Don't Be Cruel
1989	"On Our Own"	2	1	15	4	Platinum	Ghostbusters 2 soundtrack
1989	"Rock Wit'cha"	7	3	-	33	Gold	Don't Be Cruel
1990	"She Ain't Worth It" (with Glenn Medeiros)	1	43	-	12	-	Glenn Medeiros
1992	"Humpin' Around"	3	1	15	19	Gold	Bobby
1992	"Good Enough"	7	5	-	41	Gold	Bobby
1993	"Get Away"	14	3	3	-	-	Bobby
1993	"That's the Way Love Is"	57	9	31	56	-	Bobby
1993	"Something In Common" (with Whitney Houston)	-	-	-	16	-	Bobby
1995	"Two Can Play That Game"	-	-	-	3	-	Remixes in the Key of B
1997	"Feelin' Inside"	-	-	-	40	-	Forever
2002	"Thug Lovin'" (Ja Rule featuring Bobby Brown)	42	16	10	24	-	The Last Temptation

• Being Bobby Brown Official Website
• Bobby Brown at the Internet Movie Database
• Bobby Brown Online (Fan Site)
• Whitney's Comeback by Urban Celebrity News
• Bobby Brown Discography with Covers, Lyrics, Charts