In the late summer of 1992, it felt like every radio in America was tuned to the same slow, aching ballad. Four young men from Philadelphia, singing in harmonies that sounded like they’d stepped straight out of a 1950s street corner, were pleading with a girl not to walk away. You heard it at school dances, in the car, at the mall and, if you were lucky, at the end of a long phone call.
“End of the Road” didn’t just top the charts. It moved in and stayed there for 13 weeks, longer than any song before it on the Billboard Hot 100. Here are ten things worth knowing about the Boyz II Men classic, from a high school bathroom to the Grammy stage. The official video is waiting for you at the end of the article.
▶️ In the mood for a slow one? Scroll down. The official video is at the end of the article.
1. It All Started at a Philadelphia Arts High School
The group came together in 1985 at the Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts, known as CAPA. It was first called Unique Attraction. Nathan Morris and Marc Nelson started it, Wanyá Morris (no relation to Nathan) joined in 1987, and Shawn Stockman came aboard in 1988. The last piece, bass singer Michael McCary, found them rehearsing in a school bathroom, where they liked the echo, and simply joined in on the low notes.
2. Their Name Came From a New Edition Song
The young singers idolized the Boston group New Edition so much that they renamed themselves after its 1988 song “Boys to Men.” That turned out to be fitting, because a member of New Edition would soon change their lives.
3. They Talked Their Way Backstage
One night in 1989, after singing at a Valentine’s Day party at school, the group slipped into a concert at the Philadelphia Civic Center and talked their way backstage. They were hoping to sing for Will Smith. Instead they ran into Michael Bivins of New Edition and sang him an a cappella version of “Can You Stand the Rain” on the spot. Bivins gave them his phone number. Nathan Morris kept calling until Bivins agreed to help them land a record deal with Motown.
4. It Was Written for an Eddie Murphy Movie
By 1992 the group’s debut album, Cooleyhighharmony, was a hit, with “Motownphilly” and “It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday.” While on tour, they ducked back into the studio to record a song for the soundtrack of Eddie Murphy’s romantic comedy Boomerang. It was written by Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds, Antonio “L.A.” Reid and Daryl Simmons, the hottest songwriting team in R&B. The single came out on June 30, 1992.
5. It Was Built Like an Old Doo-Wop Ballad
Part of the song’s magic is how old-fashioned it sounds. It moves at a slow 50 beats per minute in a swaying 12/8 rhythm, just like the doo-wop slow dances of the 1950s. Billboard’s Larry Flick called it a “retrominded pop/R&B tune” with harmonies gliding over “a swaying, doo-wop melody.” Each member gets his moment, a Boyz II Men trademark, and McCary’s deep voice carries the famous spoken passage. Some versions of the single even end with a little a cappella tag.
6. The Video Kept It Simple
The video was directed by Lionel C. Martin, a music video director and former VJ. Filmed in both black-and-white and color, it shows the four singers on chairs in a bare room, outside a train station and walking down a hallway, mixed with scenes from Boomerang. There are no big special effects, just four voices and a lot of feeling. The remastered HD version on the group’s official YouTube channel had drawn close to 300 million views by early 2024.
7. It Broke the Record for Weeks at No. 1
“End of the Road” entered the Hot 100 at No. 53 on July 18, 1992, and climbed fast. It reached No. 1 on August 15 and held the top spot for 13 straight weeks, until “How Do You Talk to an Angel” by the Heights replaced it on November 14. That was a new record. It also spent four weeks atop Billboard’s R&B chart and went to No. 1 in the UK and Australia. Billboard named it the No. 1 song of 1992.
8. Then the Records Kept Falling
Their record didn’t last long. Later that year, Whitney Houston‘s “I Will Always Love You” spent 14 weeks at No. 1. Boyz II Men matched that in 1994 with “I’ll Make Love to You,” then took the record back with “One Sweet Day,” their duet with Mariah Carey, which ruled for 16 weeks in 1995 and 1996. When “On Bended Knee” replaced “I’ll Make Love to You” in 1994, they became only the second act after the Beatles to knock themselves out of the top spot.
9. It Won Two Grammys
At the 1993 Grammy Awards, Boyz II Men won Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals, and Babyface, L.A. Reid and Daryl Simmons won Best R&B Song. The song is certified Platinum in the U.S., and Billboard later ranked it the sixth most successful song of the entire 1990s. In 2025, the magazine put it at No. 16 on its list of the Top 100 Breakup Songs of All Time.
10. Philadelphia Never Forgot
In 2017, Philadelphia renamed a stretch of Broad Street “Boyz II Men Boulevard.” It runs right past CAPA, the school where it all began. The group, now a trio of Nathan, Wanyá and Shawn, still tours, and in 2022 they sang Richie’s “Easy” at the Library of Congress concert honoring Lionel Richie. On January 30, 2026, McCary surprised a Las Vegas audience by joining his old bandmates onstage for “End of the Road.”
How to Enjoy It Today
- Start with the album. Look for the reissued Cooleyhighharmony, which added “End of the Road” as a bonus track after the single’s success.
- Keep going. The group’s second album, II (1994), sold more than 12 million copies in the U.S. and includes “I’ll Make Love to You” and “On Bended Knee.”
- Find the a cappella. Some single versions include an a cappella ending that shows off those harmonies with nothing in the way.
- If you like this, try: New Edition’s “Can You Stand the Rain,” TLC’s “Waterfalls” and more from our 90s Throwback and Soul & R&B sections.
“End of the Road” Quick Facts
| Artist | Boyz II Men |
| Written by | Babyface, L.A. Reid, Daryl Simmons |
| From | Boomerang soundtrack (1992) |
| Labels | LaFace, Arista, Motown |
| Single release | June 30, 1992 |
| Video director | Lionel C. Martin |
| Billboard Hot 100 peak | No. 1 for 13 weeks (August 15 to November 7, 1992) |
| Year-end rank | No. 1 song of 1992 (Billboard) |
| Grammy Awards | Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals; Best R&B Song (1993) |
| RIAA certification | Platinum |
Looking for more countdowns like this one? Head over to our Top Lists page.
Sources
- “End of the Road” on Wikipedia (with its cited sources, including Billboard and Music Week)
- Boyz II Men on Wikipedia
- Boyz II Men official site: “End of the Road”
- Classic Motown: Boyz II Men, “End of the Road”
Photo Credits
- Featured image: Boyz II Men in concert at the State Theatre, Sydney, 2012 by Eva Rinaldi, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Featured image: Boyz II Men at an Earth Day event in Washington, D.C., 1995 by John Mathew Smith, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Featured image: Boyz II Men live at Vega, 2008 by parttimemusic, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Featured image: Boyz II Men Blvd street sign, Broad Street, Philadelphia by Rgs25, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- In-article image: Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts by DrewDAndrea, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- In-article image: Boyz II Men at their Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony, January 2012 by Angela George, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- In-article image: Boyz II Men performing in Glendale, California, 2014 by Justin Higuchi, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
