Kenneth Brian Edmonds, better known by his stage name Babyface, was born April 10, 1959, in Indianapolis, Indiana. He was the fifth of six brothers and joined his brother's R&B group After 7 before venturing out into his solo career. As a teen he was described as shy and wrote songs to express his emotions and thoughts, he was determined to have a career in music.
Later Edmonds met funk artist Bootsy Collins, who gave him the stage name "Babyface" because of his youthful appearance. He also performed in the group Manchild, which produced the hit "Especially for You" in 1977 with Edmonds on guitar. He played keyboards and guitar in the R&B and light-funk group The Deeley, which also featured drummer Antonio "L.A.". Reid. Later the partnership with Reed would prove to be a success in writing and producing.
One of his biggest songwriting credits was prepared for other artists when he wrote "Slow Jam" for the R&B band Midnight Star in 1983. The song was on the double platinum album No Parking on the Dance Floor for Midnight Star. Babyface stayed in Deeley until 1988, when he and Reid left the group.
His album Playlist had eight covers and two original songs. It was released in September 2007. This was the first album of the new Mercury Records. In February 2014, Edmunds released a Grammy-winning duet album with Toni Braxton for Motown Records called "Love, Marriage, Divorce". Much of Edmonds work is behind the scenes with writing and producing.
From the late 1980s to the early 90s, he played R&B for Bobby Brown "Ronni", Karyn White "Love Saw It", Pebbles "Girlfriend" and "Mercedes Boy", The Whisperers "Rock Steady" and "In the Mood", The Deele "Two Occasions", Johnny Gill "My My My", After 7 "Ready or Not", The Boys "Dial My Heart", Damian Dame “Right Down To It” and Sheena Easton.
In 1989, Edmonds co-founded LaFace Records with Reid. Three of the label's first artists were TLC, Usher and Toni Braxton. All were very successful. TLC's second album CrazySexyCool, Edmonds wrote and produced some of the hits, making their album the best-selling album of all time by an American girl group. Under his direction, TLC sold over 60 million albums worldwide and a total of 75 million records.
Edmonds has worked with several other artists including Boyz II Men, Tevin Campbell, Patti LaBelle, Chaka Khan, Aretha Franklin, Madonna, Janet Jackson, Faith Evans, Beyonce, Diana Ross, Michael Jackson and more.
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