BOSTON (WHDH) - A special celebration this weekend for Boston-based R & B group New Edition, which has been more than 40 years in the making.
The city proclaimed Saturday to be New Edition Day, and the group will be honored with a street named after them in the heart of Roxbury where they grew up.
“It feels like sometimes the great things like a bottle of wine ages with time, and New Edition has stood the test of time,” said founding member Michael Bivins.
Other members of the group say they’re proud of all of their accomplishments that have led them to this point.
“It feels like the culmination of a lot of blood sweat and tears that really started in 1978,” said Ronnie DeVoe.
New Edition got their start performing at local talent shows.
Despite their rise to fame, they’ve always remembered where they came from, Roxbury’s Orchard Park Projects.
“Knowing that we’re representing our city across the world and we’re continuing to pour back into it is such an amazing thing,” said DeVoe.
When asked about the impact Roxbury had on their music, Bivins tells 7NEWS some of the lyrics in their most popular songs were derived from their personal experiences.
“Some of the stories that were told in Candy Girl come directly from our expereinces,” said Bivins. “Everything we saw in life from the triumphs in the hood, and even some of the crying and the fights and the deaths…really painted the picture for us of wanting to do better and be better. And all of that was spoken through our music.”
The music changed in 1985 when singer Bobby Brown famously left the group to pursue a solo career.
Three of New Editions original members then reunited in 1989 to form Bel Biv DeVoe. Their song Poison launched the group to new heights.
Bel Biv DeVoe’s career came full circle when they performed at the Hatch Shell on Boston’s Charles River Esplanade as part of the Boston Pops Fourth of July Spectacular this year. The concert venue is also the setting of the Candy Girl music video.
The group tells 7NEWS they hope others are inspired by their story of achieving success coming from Roxbury, a majority minority community.
“We are really a reflection of a lot of the individuals from that same community in Boston, and communities that are very similar across the country and across the world, said DeVoe. “To give that glimmer of hope that if you put in the work and have that never give up mentality, you too can succeed.”
Saturday’s celebration begins with the street naming ceremony at 10:00 a.m, then continues with a community block party at the Orchard Gardens Boys and Girls Club.
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