New Kids On The Block Greatest Hits(inside3)

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»as the dizzying breakthrough year for New Kids On The Błock—Jon Knight (age 20), his brother Jordan (19), Joe Mclntyre (16); Donnie Wahlberg (20), and Danny Wood (20). Into their fifth summer together, the five Boston youths were the uniwersał omniscience of teen existence, on the strength of an album called Hangin' Tough that re-defined the term “phenomenon.” In record biz landmarks, the album (which had sold 4 million copies to that point, on its way to 8-times RIAA platinum) and itstitletune, “Hangin’Tough” (also platinum) simultaneously took over the #1 positions on Billboard’s Top Pop Albums and Hot 100 singles charts on September 9th. Following the success of “Please Don’t Go Girl” (#10), “You Got It (The Right Stuff)” (#3, RIAA gold), and Tli Be Loving You (Forever)” (#1, RIAA gold)—they became the first ‘teen’ group in history to notch four Top 10 hits from one album. This incredible chart run, spanning morę than 15 months, went over the top with the album’s fifth hit, “Cover Girl” (#2, RIAA gold). Neither the Osmonds nor the Jackson 5 (both of whom the New Kids had compared themselves to in interviews) had ever achieved such chart success from one LP.

“Hangin’ Tough” spent 132 weeks (that’s morę than two and a half years) on the Billboard chart. Three morę hits — a single from their Merry, Meny Christmas album entitled "This One’s For the Children” (#7, RIAA gold, proceeds donated to United Cerebral Palsy, the New Kids’ favorite charitable cause), “Step By Step” (#1, RIAA platinum b/w the non-album track “Valentine Girl”), and “Tonight” (#7), the latter two from the 3-million selling Step By Step album — extended the consecutive Top 10 singles chart run to an amazing nine records. Meanwhile, 100,000 calls per week were pouring into 1-900-909-5KIDS, and the Official Fan Club, with membership over 100,000 names, was logging some 30,000 fan letters a day. In one promotion alone, 180,000 New Kids schoolbook covers were distributed to students via 80 radio stations nationwide. They were performing 250 concerts a year, with 1990’s “Magie Summer” tour alone attended by 2 million fans. Their pay-per-view special was the biggest in cable tv history to that datę, and by early 1991, their long-form videos had amassed morę than three and a half million sales, that's 70-times ITA platinum. Morę than 140 products were licensed with New Kids trademarks, from lunch boxes and packingtrunks to cuddly sleeping bags.    ^ggg^    _mm

In the blink of an eye, however, tastes in musie change. Just as punk rock and new wave broke the disco trance in the late 1970s, in 1990 the ragę and intelligence of Jane’s Addiction, Midnight Oil, Sinead 0’Connor, The Cure and others were breaking through; Nirvana, Alice In Chains, and the rest of Seattle were waiting in the wings. In 1990, the Bush-Reagan era was unraveling, Milli Vanilli was stripped of their Grammy award, Columbia Records had a brand new youthful president in Don lenner, and Mariah Carey was the 20-year old new kid atthe top of every Top 40 radio playlist. When New Kids On The Błock (with their manager Dick Scott and producer Maurice Starr) became subjects of a Saturday morning ABC-TV cartoon series in September 1990, and all those 9-year old little brothers came running into 16-year old big sister's bedroom to proclaim, “I love them!” it was the beginning of the end. Radio programmers virtually ignored the next two singles (“Let’s Try It Again” and 1991’s “Games”), and a new title didn’t limp into the Top 20 until one year later, “If You Go Away,” by which time the group had been re-named NKOTB. The finał single to chart was 1994’s “Dirty Dawg” (with a rap by Def Jam’s Nice & Smooth) from the Face The Musie album.

The New Kids sold some 60 million records and videos, generated hundreds of millions of dollars of concert revenues, and managed to walk away with their fair shares. Thanks to their caring families back in Dorchester, they also managed to stay centered through the madness and insanity of world tours and throngs of teenage fans awaiting them at every hotel, recording studio, and night club they were even rumored to be visiting. They were consummate entertainers who brought pleasure to millions of fans, and their sense of community pride—typified by the telethons in which they participated, and their strong public service messages that discouraged drug use by teens — set them apart from many rock and hip-hop groups. In 1998’s heady atmosphere of Hanson, Backstreet Boys, ‘N Sync, Five, 98°, Boyzone, Take That and all the rest, we sometimes lose sight of pure teen eestasy. New Kids On The Błock did, indeed, have the right stuff.

Liner notes by Arthur Levy

Compilation produced by Al Ouaglieri	A&R Coordinators:	Patti Matheny & Darren Salmieri	Connect with Sony Online at
Mastered by Darcy M. Proper. Sony Musie Studios. NY	Project Director: Joy Gilbert		www.sonymusic.com
Additional engineering bySeth fosterM^	Art Director: Frank Harkins		0r visit the official fansites at
Sony Musie Studios, NY	Packaging Manager: Lity lew		www.nkotb.comwww.joeymcintyre.com