Jack Swinger is back! Bobby Brown was born on February 5, 1969, in Boston, Massachusetts, to Herbert James Brown and Carole Elizabeth Williams Brown, and raised in a family of eight children in the Orchard Park Housing Projects in the Roxbury neighborhood. Brown began singing in the church choir at the age of 12 and, with his friends Ricky Bell, Michael Bivins, Ralph Tresvant, and Ronnie DeVoe, formed an ensemble. After winning several talent shows, they were discovered by producer and talent scout Maurice Starr, who landed them a recording contract with a small label called Streetwise in 1983.
Brown left the New Edition in 1986 to pursue a solo career. His first album, King of Stage, was a modest success. The ballad “Girlfriend,” on the other hand, peaked at number one on the R&B chart. Brown’s second album, Don’t Be Cruel, debuted at number 13 on the Billboard 200 Album chart in 1988 and remained there for 16 weeks. It eventually sold 12 million copies and was the year’s best-selling album. The same year, “My Prerogative” peaked at number six on the Billboard Hot 100.
In 1989, Brown scored four hits. “On Our Own” reached no. 4 on the R&B chart, “Rock Wit’cha” reached no. 33, “Roni” peaked at no. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart while “Every Little Step” peaked at no.6 on that chart.
Brown won the Grammy Award for “Best R&B Vocal Performance Male” for “Every Little Step” at the 32nd Annual Grammy Awards in 1989, and the album won the Soul Train Music Award for “Best R&B/Soul Album – Male.” Don’t Be Cruel earned Brown the American Music Award for “Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist” and “Favorite Soul/R&B Album” in 1990.
Brown married Whitney Houston at Houston’s mansion in Mendham, New Jersey, on July 18, 1992. They had a daughter named Bobbi Kristina Houston Brown, who died by suicide in 2015. His third album Bobby’s single “Humpin’ Around” was also released and peaked at no. 8 on the R&B chart. It also sold 2 million copies and was nominated at the 35th Annual Grammy Awards for “Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male.”
Houston died in 2012, and Brown married Alicia Etheridge in Hawaii later that year, a Howard University graduate from Culver City, California. Bodhi Jameson Rein Brown and Hendrix Estelle Sheba Brown were the couple’s two daughters. Cassius Brown, LaPrincia Brown, Landon Brown, and Robert Brown Jr. were also children from previous relationships.
Mayor Bill Edwards of South Fulton, Georgia, presented Brown with the “Every Little Step” award in 2018. In 2021, Boston Acting Mayor Kim Janey will dedicate Bobby Brown Way, a street in Roxbury, in honor of the chart-topping soloist Bobby Brown.