Kenneth Edmonds was born on April 10, 1958, in Indianapolis, Indiana, to Marvin and Barbara Edmonds. Barbara was a pharmaceutical plant manager. Edmonds, who is the fifth of six brothers (including future After 7 band members Melvin and Kevon Edmonds, the latter of whom went on to have a modestly successful solo career), attended North Central High School in Indianapolis, Indiana, and as a shy youth, wrote songs to express his emotions.
When he was in eighth grade, Edmonds's father died of lung cancer, leaving his mother to raise her sons alone. At this stage, Edmonds became determined to have a career in music.
Edmonds later played with funk performer Bootsy Collins, who tagged him "Babyface" because of his cute face while he was still a teen.
He also played in the groups Manchild (which had a 1976 hit "Especially for You" with band member Daryl Simmons), as he was a guitarist for the band. Then, as a keyboardist in the light-funk and R&B group The Deele (which also included drummer Antonio "L.A." Reid, with whom he would later form a successful writing and producing partnership).
One of his first major credits as a songwriter for outside artists came when he wrote the tune "Slow-Jam" for the R&B band Midnight Star in 1983. The tune was on Midnight Star's double-platinum No Parking on the Dance Floor album, and while it never hit the charts, the song is still played on quiet storm shows. Babyface remained in The Deele until 1988, when both he and Reid left the group.
In the late 1980s, he contributed to the creation of new jack swing, writing and producing music for the likes of Bobby Brown, Karyn White, Pebbles, Paula Abdul and Sheena Easton.
In 1989, Edmonds co-founded LaFace Records with Reid. Three of the label's early artists TLC, Usher, and Toni Braxton were successful, the former becoming one of the best selling female groups in music history.
Braxton's eponymous 1993 debut album went on to sell over eight million copies, and earned her the 1994 Grammy Award Best New Artist. TLC's first two albums on LaFace—1992's Ooooooohhh... On the TLC Tip and 1994's CrazySexyCool—combined to sell more than 15 million copies in the U.S. CrazySexyCool won the 1996 Grammy Award for Best R&B album.
Babyface helped form the popular late-90s R&B group Az Yet.
Edmonds works with many successful performers in contemporary music. “I’m Your Baby Tonight,” produced for Whitney Houston, was his first #1 Top 40 hit in the US.
He also wrote and produced Boyz II Men's "End of the Road" and "I'll Make Love to You," both of which established records for the longest stay at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
He co-wrote, co-produced, and provided backing vocals on Madonna's 1994 Bedtime Stories, which featured the 7-week #1 hit "Take a Bow," and shared billing with Eric Clapton on the chart-topping Grammy winner "Change the World" from the Phenomenon soundtrack.
He also wrote and produced the #1 hit "Exhale (Shoop Shoop)" for Whitney Houston as well as the rest of the critically acclaimed 10 million selling Waiting to Exhale soundtrack in 1995, which spawned additional hits for Houston, Brandy and Mary J. Blige.
Additionally, Edmonds has produced and written music for many artists including Carole King, Patti LaBelle, Chaka Khan, Aretha Franklin, Madonna, Janet Jackson, Faith Evans, Al Green, Beyoncé, Diana Ross, Sheena Easton, Toni Braxton, Michael Jackson, Michael Bolton, Paula Abdul, Pebbles, Tevin Campbell, Bobby Brown, Whitney Houston, Brandy, Mary J. Blige, Tamia, Shola Ama, 3T, Sisqó, Dru Hill, Fall Out Boy, Céline Dion, Honeyz, Katharine McPhee, Mariah Carey, Vanessa L. Williams, Chanté Moore, En Vogue, Kenny G, Kristinia DeBarge, Lil Wayne, Japanese singer Ken Hirai, P!nk, Marc Nelson, TLC, and Phil Collins among others.
He received three consecutive Grammy Awards for Producer of the Year in 1995–1997.
In 1994, he appeared and performed on an episode of Beverly Hills, 90210 entitled "Mr. Walsh Goes to Washington (Part 2)".
In the mid-1990s, Edmonds and his then wife Tracey Edmonds expanded into the business of motion pictures, setting up Edmonds Entertainment Group and producing films such as Soul Food (1997), Josie and the Pussycats (2001), and also the soundtrack for the film The Prince of Egypt, which included contributions from numerous artists, including Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston.
They are the current executive producers of the hit BET reality series College Hill. Edmonds also worked with David Foster to compose "The Power of the Dream," the official song of the 1996 Summer Olympics, performed by superstar Céline Dion. Linda Thompson provided the lyrics.
Babyface also participated as a duet partner on the Fox reality show Celebrity Duets.
Babyface was in the studio for about two years with Ashanti to produce her album The Declaration.
His album Playlist consists of eight cover songs and two original works. It was released on September 18, 2007. It was the first album on the newly re-launched Mercury Records label.
He worked on the Lil Wayne album Tha Carter III, on the Kanye West-produced "Comfortable." He also worked with R&B singer Monica for her sixth studio album Still Standing.
He has written and produced over 26 #1 R&B (many of which hit the pop charts at either #1 or the top ten) hits throughout his career.
Seven Seas
Babyface Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
All day thinking of you
Watching the days go by, I started to cry
But they weren't tears of sadness
They only meant I love you
And I want to tell you girl that I, oh, I
I'll travel 'round the seven seas for you
I wrote my love a symphony
To show you there's nothing I won't do
Baby I'll walk around the china wall for you
If there's a way I'll do it all for you
Anything you want me to, you know I would do
People think I'm crazy, they say
I'm just a nothing
Letting my life pass me by
Believing you're with me
Well I can't speak for no one
But in my heart I know you love me
And that's why I'll always tell you I
Oh I, oh I, oh I
Hook
Do do do do do do
Do do do do do do do do
Do do do do do do
Hook
The lyrics of Babyface's song Seven Seas express the depth of the singer's love for someone special. Sitting by the window all day, the singer is lost in thought and watching the days go by. Although tears flow from his eyes, they aren't tears of sadness but tears that indicate his profound love for the person he is thinking about.
The singer expresses his willingness to do anything for his beloved. He says he will travel around the seven seas and walk around the China wall for her because he wrote his love a symphony to show that there is nothing he wouldn’t do for her. The singer is prepared to do anything to make his love's dreams come true.
People may think the singer is crazy for being so devoted, but the singer doesn't mind as he knows that his love is true. He doesn't care about what others say because his love for her is so strong that it is all that matters. He will always tell her he loves her and that he's willing to do anything to make her happy.
Line by Line Meaning
Sitting by the window
I am sitting by the window, thinking about you all day.
All day thinking of you
I think of you all the time.
Watching the days go by, I started to cry
Seeing the days go by without you made me sad.
But they weren't tears of sadness
Although I was crying, it wasn't because I was sad.
They only meant I love you
My tears were a symbol of how much I love you.
And I want to tell you girl that I, oh, I
I want to express my love to you.
I'll travel 'round the seven seas for you
I will go to any length to be with you, even traveling across the world.
It's written in the melody I adore you
My love for you is evident in the melody of the song.
I wrote my love a symphony
I composed a musical piece expressing my love for you.
To show you there's nothing I won't do
I want to demonstrate to you that there is nothing I wouldn't do for you.
Baby I'll walk around the china wall for you
I'd do anything, even walk around the Great Wall of China just for you.
If there's a way I'll do it all for you
If there is a means to show my love for you, I will do it.
Anything you want me to, you know I would do
I will never hesitate to do whatever it takes to make you happy.
People think I'm crazy, they say
Others may consider me foolish or irrational.
I'm just a nothing
I may not have much, but I have my love for you.
Letting my life pass me by
I don't care that life doesn't offer me much else, as long as I have you.
Believing you're with me
I believe in my heart that you love me back.
Well I can't speak for no one
I can't speak on behalf of others.
But in my heart I know you love me
In my heart, I am certain that you love me too.
And that's why I'll always tell you I
Because I know you love me, I will always express my love to you.
Oh I, oh I, oh I
I love you.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: EDMONDS, NELSON, Kenneth Edmonds, Marc Nelson
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind