Babyface

Kenneth Brian Edmonds

R'n'B singer, songwriter, producer, label executive. ([b]Note[/b]: when appearing with L.A. Reid, please use [a154765])

Born 10th April 1959 in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. Brother of [a=Kevon Edmonds] and [a=Melvin Edmonds], ex-husband to [a=Tracey E. Edmonds] (1992 - 2005). He has written and/or produced over 26 No.1 R&B hits and won 11 Grammy Awards. [a=Bootsy Collins] tagged him ''Babyface'' because of his cute face while he was still a teen.

He was a guitarist with [a=Manchild (9)] in the late 1970s and a keyboardist with [a=Deele] till the late 1980s, a group that included his later partner [a=L.A. Reid] with whom he would build one of the most succesfull writing and producing duos of r'n'b, [a=L.A. & Babyface]. In 1986 he started his solo career and up to 2014 he had released 10 albums. He was one of the basic figures that created the new jack swing sound, producing [a=Bobby Brown], [a=Karyn White], [a=Pebbles], [a=Paula Abdul] and [a=Sheena Easton] co-founding [l=LaFace Records] in 1989, with the label's early artists [a=TLC], [a=Usher], [a=Toni Braxton] becoming huge stars. He helped forming [a=Az Yet] and in the 1990s he produced [a=Madonna], [a=Whitney Houston], [a=Boyz II Men], [a=Michael Jackson], [a=Eric Clapton] and a long series of others and in the next decades he produced [a=Lil Wayne], [a=Ariana Grande], even [a=Barbra Streisand].

In 1988 he duetted with [a=Karyn White] for "Love Saw It" that was included in [url=http://www.discogs.com/Karyn-White-Karyn-White/release/460838]"Karyn White"[/url] album, in 1992 he duetted with [a=Toni Braxton] for "Give U My Heart" that was included in the soundtrack of [url=http://www.discogs.com/Various-Boomerang-Original-Soundtrack-Album/release/1810821]"Boomerang"[/url]. In 1994 he duetted with [a=Jon B] for the single [url=http://www.discogs.com/Jon-B-Someone-To-Love/release/651610]"Someone To Love"[/url] that was included in the soundtrack [url=http://www.discogs.com/Various-Bad-Boys-Music-From-The-Motion-Picture/master/118179]"Bad Boys"[/url] and in the same year he duetted with [a=Lisa Stansfield] for "Dream Away" that was included in the soundtrack of [url=http://www.discogs.com/James-Horner-London-Symphony-Orchestra-The-Pagemaster-Original-Motion-Picture-Soundtrack/release/6582552]"Pagemaster"[/url], the same year he duetted with [a=El DeBarge] for the single [url=http://www.discogs.com/El-DeBarge-Featuring-Babyface-Where-Is-My-Love/release/4506483]" Where Is My Love?"[/url] that was included in the album [url=http://www.discogs.com/El-DeBarge-Heart-Mind-Soul/release/3329000]"Heart, Mind & Soul"[/url]. In 1995 he was guest of [a=Quincy Jones] along with [a=Barry White], [a=Portrait] and [a=Tamia] for the single [url=http://www.discogs.com/Quincy-Jones-featuring-Babyface-and-Tamia-with-Portrait-and-Barry-White-Slow-Jams/release/3749255]"Slow Jams"[/url] that was included in [url=http://www.discogs.com/Quincy-Jones-Qs-Jook-Joint/release/388941]"Q's Jook Joint"[/url], in 1996 he had [a=Shalamar] and [a=LL Cool J] as his guests in his single [url=http://www.discogs.com/Babyface-This-Is-For-The-Lover-In-You/release/236635]"This Is For The Lover In You"[/url]. In 1997 he duetted with [a=Jay-Z] and [a=Foxy Brown] for the single [url=http://www.discogs.com/Ja%C3%BF-Z-Featuring-Babyface-Foxy-Brown-Sunshine/release/256136]"Sunshine"[/url], in 1998 he duetted with [a=Des'ree] for the cover of [a=Bruce Springsteen]'s "Fire" that was included in the soundtrack [url=http://www.discogs.com/Various-Hav-Plenty-Music-From-The-Motion-Picture/release/775433]"Hav Plenty"[/url] and in 2000 he duetted with [a=Gwyneth Paltrow] for a cover of [a=Temptations]'s "Just My Imagination" that was included in the soundtrack [url=http://www.discogs.com/Various-Otiginal-Soundtrack-Duets/release/1625959]"Duets"[/url].

In 2001 he had [a=Snoop Dogg] as guest for "Baby's Mama" that was included in his solo album [url=http://www.discogs.com/Babyface-Face2Face/release/1291491]"Face To Face"[/url], in 2005 he contributed to the [a=Luther Vandross] tribute album [url=http://www.discogs.com/Various-So-Amazing-An-All-Star-Tribute-To-Luther-Vandross/release/3538476]"So Amazing"[/url], covering [a=Brenda Russell (2)]'s "If Only For One Night" (a hit for [a=Luther Vandross] in 1995). In 2007 he released the cover album [url=http://www.discogs.com/Kenny-Babyface-Edmonds-Playlist/release/3883489]"Playlist"[/url] paying tribute to some of his favourite classics (written by [a=Bob Dylan], [a=Eric Clapton], [a=James Taylor (2)], [a=Dan Fogelberg], [a=Jim Croce], [a=Dave Loggins] and [a=David Gates]). In 2009 he duetted with [a=Michael Jackson] for "You Are My Life" that was included in the album [url=http://www.discogs.com/Michael-Jackson-Invincible/release/1104570]"Invincible"[/url]. In 2014 he released a whole duet album with [a=Toni Braxton] and in the same year he recorded a cover of "Evergreen" as a duet with [a=Barbra Streisand] for her album [url=http://www.discogs.com/Streisand-Partners/release/6082861]"Partners"[/url]

http://www.babyfacemusic.com
http://www.islanddefjam.com/artist/home.aspx?artistID=7383
http://www.facebook.com/Babyface
http://plus.google.com/108047507126289763113
http://instagram.com/babyface
http://www.myspace.com/babyfaceislandrecords
http://twitter.com/KennyEdmonds
http://www.youtube.com/user/BabyfaceVEVO
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth_%22Babyface%22_Edmonds