About Bobby Brown
Robert Barisford Brown Sr. (born February 5, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, and dancer. Alongside frequent collaborator Teddy Riley, he is recognized as a pioneer of new jack swing: a fusion of hip-hop and R&B. Brown rose to fame as a founding member of the R&B/pop vocal group New Edition, contributing to hits like "Candy Girl", "Cool It Now", and "Mr. Telephone Man". He left the group in 1985 to pursue a solo career but later reunited with them for their Billboard 200 number-one album Home Again (1996). Brown's debut album, King of Stage (1986), featured the number-one R&B single "Girlfriend". However, it was his second album, Don't Be Cruel (1988) named after an Elvis Presley song with the same name, that brought him commercial and critical success, producing five Billboard Hot 100 top 10 singles, including the number-one hit "My Prerogative" and the Grammy Award–winning "Every Little Step". In 1989, Brown contributed two songs to the Ghostbusters II soundtrack. His next album, Bobby (1992), was certified 3× Platinum by the RIAA and featured the singles "Humpin' Around", "Get Away", and "Good Enough". Brown has also appeared in films, including A Thin Line Between Love and Hate (1996) and Two Can Play That Game (2001). In 1992, Brown married Whitney Houston, with whom he had daughter Bobbi Kristina Brown. Their widely-publicized relationship was marked by drug issues and domestic disputes, attracting significant media attention. Brown and Houston starred in the 2005 reality television series Being Bobby Brown. Houston filed for divorce in 2006, and it was finalized a year later in 2007. New Edition was founded in 1980 under the name "The Bricks" by 12-year-old Brown and childhood friends Michael Bivins and Ricky Bell. Brown's first full lead vocal performance was on the New Edition ballad "Jealous Girl", which was a minor hit when it also charted in 1983. After performing in several talent shows in the Boston area, they signed a deal with fellow Bostonian Arthur Baker's Streetwise Records, who released their debut album Candy Girl. The title track, on which Brown sang co-lead alongside Bell and Tresvant, was the group's first number-one hit on Billboard's R&B Singles Chart in 1983 and also became an international hit reaching number one in the United Kingdom and New Zealand.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.