Marc Nelson

Marc K. Nelson (born January 23, 1971) is an American singer and songwriter. His mother was the late American singer Phyllis Nelson, best known for the songs "I Like You" and "Move Closer". He was an original member of Boyz II Men while still attending Philadelphia's High School of Performing Arts. However, Nelson left the group to pursue a solo career before they released their first album.

This article is about the American R&B and jazz singer. For the TV host in the Philippines, see Marc Saw Nelson.
Marc Nelson
Birth nameMarc K. Nelson
Born (1971-01-23) January 23, 1971
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Singer
  • songwriter
  • actor
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • piano
  • keyboards
Years active1988–present[1]
LabelsCapitol Records (1989–1992)
LaFace Records (1995–1997)
Columbia (1998–2001)
Focused Artist Entertainment (2017–present)
Associated acts

Career

Boyz II Men
Main article: Boyz II Men

Nelson attended the Philadelphia High School for Creative and Performing Arts, in Pennsylvania. There, he and his friend Nathan Morris, joined later by Wanya Morris, Shawn Stockman, and Michael McCary, formed the singing group Unique Attraction. After hearing New Edition's song "Boys to Men" on the radio one evening, the group changed their name to Boyz II Men. In 1989, the group met Michael Bivins and began making arrangements to sign the group to a major label and begin recording. In the interim, the group encountered delays in recording their album. Nelson grew impatient and left the group and began recording his debut solo project.

Solo

After signing a solo deal with Capitol Records, Nelson scored a hit with a cover of Marvin Gaye's "I Want You", which hit #26 on the R&B charts. His follow-up, "Count On Me", reached #48 on the R&B charts. Nelson released his solo album, I Want You, in 1991.

Following the release of his solo album, Nelson began concentrating his talents as a songwriter. Drawing the attention of Babyface, Nelson wrote for artists like Toni Braxton, Brandy, Tamia, Tyrese, and Jon B. Through Babyface, Nelson met the four members of the group Az Yet and was added to the line-up as second lead vocalist; the group was signed to LaFace Records.

Az Yet

As a member of Az Yet, Nelson found success. The group's self-titled debut album, released in 1996, went platinum. A single on the album, "Last Night", went gold and reached #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Their second single, "Hard To Say I'm Sorry" did even better, going platinum and reaching #8 on the Hot 100.

Chocolate Mood

Nelson left Az Yet and began writing intensely. Subsequently, he released his second solo second album, Chocolate Mood, in 1999. The album featured Nelson's biggest solo hit, "15 Minutes", which reached #4 on the R&B charts and #27 on the Billboard Hot 100. He also featured on the duet "After All is Said and Done" with Beyoncé, on the soundtrack to the motion picture The Best Man (1999).

On January 9, 2007, SESAC honored Nelson at their third Jazz Awards Luncheon, for his authorship on "It's On Tonight" by Brian Culbertson. The event honored jazz writers whose works achieved Top 5 status on the jazz charts from January 1, 2006 through December 31, 2006.[2]

Marc: My Words

Nelson released his first independent project, Marc: My Words (Lyric Masters 911) on July 24, 2007. Nelson wrote or co-wrote the lyrics on all 15 tracks of the album. He also produced or co-produced all of the tracks on the album. Nelson extracted the material for the release from his existing catalog of songs written between 2001 and 2007, and began recording the material in 2006. The album features the original version of "I Don't Wanna Be In Love" (co-written by jazz artist Brian Culbertson) which also appears on the 2007 release Crystal City by Andre Ward.

Blayse

Nelson was also a founding member of the R&B super-group Blayse, with fellow R&B veterans Tony Grant of Az Yet, Gary "Lil G" Jenkins of Silk, and Terrell Phillips of Blackstreet. Although the group managed to record several songs, the recordings were never publicly released, the album was never completed, and the group disbanded in December 2007. Lil G returned to Silk, Nelson returned to Az Yet, and Tony Grant toured in the Tyler Perry stage production The Marriage Counselor, from January 2008 through May 2008.

Solo

On July 24, 2017, Nelson returned with a new R&B/Soul single entitled "Wishing You The Worst".[3] The 2017 song was released independently under his newly founded production company, Focused Artist Entertainment.

Nelson was nominated for an Emmy Award for penning the theme song to the 2016 animated Christmas television film "Snowy Day". The song he penned was performed by Boyz II Men and was also the title song.

Nelson acted in a number of stage plays and film productions dating back to 2007.

Discography
Main article: Marc Nelson discography

Singles
  • 1991: "I Want You"
  • 1992: "Count on Me"
  • 1996: "Last Night" (alongside Az Yet)
  • 1996: "Hard To Say I'm Sorry" (alongside Az Yet featuring Peter Cetera)
  • 1997: "That's All I Want" (alongside Az Yet)
  • 1999: "15 Minutes"
  • 2000: "Too Friendly"
  • 2000: "Love's Not Love"
  • 2017: "Wishing You The Worst"

Stage play appearances
  • Love Ain't Supposed to Hurt - Part II: The Wedding
  • Tell Hell I Ain't Coming
  • King Solomon Lives
  • Men Cry in the Dark
  • In-Laws From Hell

References
  1. Kenneth Partridge (2016-02-15). "Boyz II Men's 'Cooleyhighharmony' at 25: Classic Track-by-Track Album Review". Retrieved 2019-10-24.
  2. "SESAC Jazz Awards Luncheon". SESAC.com. 2007. Archived from the original on 2010-11-30. Retrieved 2009-08-29.
  3. "New Music: Marc Nelson - Wishing You The Worst". YouKnowIGotSoul.com. 2017.
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