Bobby Brown
1 min read
Robert Barisford Brown (born February 5, 1969, in Roxbury, Boston, Massachusetts) is an American R&B singer, songwriter, and actor. He grew up in the Orchard Park Projects and rose to early fame as a founding member of the vocal group New Edition, contributing to hits such as "Candy Girl" and "Cool It Now." He departed the group in 1985 to pursue a solo career, and his second solo album, Don't Be Cruel (1988), became a commercial landmark, yielding five top-ten singles on the Billboard Hot 100, including the number-one "My Prerogative" and the Grammy Award-winning "Every Little Step." Alongside producer Teddy Riley, he is recognized as a pioneer of new jack swing, a fusion of hip-hop and R&B.
Brown's connection to Ghostbusters II (1989) is both musical and on screen. He performed the two songs he contributed to the film's soundtrack: "On Our Own," a major hit single, and "We're Back." He also appeared in a cameo role as the Mayor's Doorman, credited as Bobby Baresford Brown, greeting city officials at Gracie Mansion. Both the cameo and the soundtrack are referenced in the GBFans.com wiki, including a trivia note that he appears in IDW Publishing's Ghostbusters comic issues alongside the late Whitney Houston.
