Candy Girl (RSDBF26)

When Maurice Starr uncovered the talents of a Roxbury, Massachusetts vocal group in the early '80s at a talent show at Dorchester’s storied Strand Theater he saw the second coming of the Jackson 5. The boys didn’t win the compeition (they came in second) but they did win a deal with Starr and Streetwise Records.

Starr came up with the name New Edition (as in a new edition of the Jackson 5) and started recording with the boys the day after the talent show at The Strand. This group of kids (all under 15) had their first single “Candy Girl” shoot to #1 on the Billboard R&B Charts. This led them to their debut album of the same name. New Edition led to Bobby Brown’s solo career, the success of Bell Biv DeVoe and served as a template for the boy bands that followed. Streetwise now reissues this pivotal moment in music on a Candy Swirl colored vinyl run exclusively for RSD Black Friday.