New Edition is the second studio album released by American quintet New Edition on July 6, 1984 in North America. It was their first album on MCA Records. It was also their first album without manager/producer Maurice Starr who would depart from the group during the making of the album after the group accused him of stealing their monetary earnings from their platinum debut. The album was produced by Vincent Brantley & Rick Timas, Grammy-nominated producer Michael Sembello & Richard Rudolph, Ray Parker, Jr. and Peter Bunetta and Rick Chudacoff. The album reached #6 on the Billboard 200 and #1 on the Irish Albums Chart, and the R&B/Hip Hop Albums Chart.
Background
Over a year after their first album, New Edition were a million-selling pop act by the time of this release. They had also gone through a nasty court battle with their former mentor and producer Maurice Starr. Around the time of the making of this album, the group and Starr argued over monetary earnings that the group felt that had been taken away by Starr, who has to this day steadfastly denied taking the boys' earnings from them. The dispute came after the group members received their checks in their mailboxes only to discover that they were only given $1.87 despite the success of their debut album, Candy Girl and their accompanying US tour. Angered, New Edition filed a lawsuit against Starr and demanded out of their contract. Starr relented and gave the boys the freedom to leave. The bitter split eventually led to Starr's creating "the white New Edition": New Kids on the Block. Meanwhile, the boys left Starr's label, the independent Streetwise Records in February 1984 and signed a new contract through Jump & Shoot Productions with MCA. Being given a bevy of producers including R&B mainstay Ray Parker, Jr. and writer-producer Mike Sembello of "Maniac" fame among them, the group released their self-titled second albumin the summer of 1984 to huge success.
Release and reaction
Thanks to more thorough promotion and music tailored for more of a mainstream audience, New Edition won new fans upon the release of this album. The first two singles: "Cool It Now" and "Mr. Telephone Man" both became top twenty pop hits and reached number one on the R&B singles chart. The album peaked at number six on the Billboard pop albums chart and number one on the R&B albums chart. It later spawned the top forty pop hit with the ballad "Lost in Love" and the uptempo top forty R&B single, "My Secret ". The album was certified double-platinum. This album was also promoted under a more clean-cut pop image for the group, much different from the streetwise persona they had during their first album, a marketing decision that various group members would later admit that they weren't thrilled about at the time.
