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.
Sleigh Ride
Babyface Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Come on, it's lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with you
Outside the snow is falling and friends are calling, "Yoo-hoo!"
Come on, it's lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with you
Giddy-up, giddy-up, giddy-up, let's go
Let's look at the show
We're riding in a wonderland of snow
Just holding your hand
We're gliding along with a song of a wintery fairyland
Our cheeks are nice and rosy and comfy-cozy are we
We're snuggled up together like two birds of a feather would be
Let's take that road before us and sing a chorus or two
Come on, it's lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with you
There's a birthday party at the home of Farmer Gray
It'll be the perfect ending of a perfect day
We'll be singing the songs we love to sing without a single stop
At the fireplace while we watch the chestnuts pop
Pop, pop, pop
There's a happy feeling nothing in the world can buy
When they pass around the coffee and the pumpkin pie
It'll nearly be like a picture print by Currier and Ives
These wonderful things are the things we remember all through our lives
These wonderful things are the things we remember all through our...
Just hear those sleigh bells jingling, ring-ting-tingling, too
Come on, it's lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with you
Outside the snow is falling and friends are calling, 'Yoo-hoo!'
Come on, it's lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with you
Giddy-up, giddy-up, giddy-up, let's go
Let's look at the show
We're riding in a wonderland of snow
Giddy-up, giddy-up, giddy-up, it's grand
Just holding your hand
We're gliding along with a song of a wintery fairyland
Our cheeks are nice and rosy and comfy-cozy are we
We're snuggled up together like two birds of a feather would be
Let's take that road before us and sing a chorus or two
Come on, it's lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with you
The lyrics of Babyface’s “Sleigh Ride” are about the joy of the winter season and spending time with loved ones. The opening lines of the song are about the sound of sleigh bells ringing during the holidays. Babyface goes on to describe the perfect winter’s day and the beauty of being with the person he loves. He sings about how wonderful it is to be outside in the fresh snow and sees it as an opportunity to spend time with someone he cares about. The lyrics also reference a party at Farmer Gray’s home where they will sing songs, watch chestnuts pop in the fireplace, and eat pumpkin pie.
In this song, Babyface celebrates the joys of winter and the warmth of being with family and friends. It’s a song that brings back memories of winter fun and holiday cheer. The lyrics capture the excitement and happiness of the season and the magical feeling of being with loved ones during the holidays.
Line by Line Meaning
Just hear those sleigh bells jingling, ring-ting-tingling, too
Let's enjoy the sound of the sleigh bells that are jingling and ringing while we travel
Come on, it's lovely weather for a sleigh ride together with you
The weather is perfect for us to go on a sleigh ride together
Outside the snow is falling and friends are calling, 'Yoo-hoo!'
The snow is falling and my friends are calling out to us. Let's go outside and enjoy the snow together
Giddy-up, giddy-up, giddy-up, let's go
Let's get the sleigh moving by urging the horses to go faster
Let's look at the show
Let's enjoy the sights around us as we ride on the sleigh
We're riding in a wonderland of snow
We're enjoying the scenic beauty of the winter wonderland while riding on the sleigh
Giddy-up, giddy-up, giddy-up, it's grand
It's amazing and exciting to be on this sleigh ride with you
Just holding your hand
Holding hands while enjoying this sleigh ride is comforting
We're gliding along with a song of a wintery fairyland
We're gliding on the sleigh while singing and enjoying the beauty of the wintery wonderland around us
Our cheeks are nice and rosy and comfy-cozy are we
Our cheeks are red due to the cold, but we are feeling comfortable and cozy together on this sleigh ride
We're snuggled up together like two birds of a feather would be
We're snuggled up and close like two birds that are similar in nature and can be together in harmony
Let's take that road before us and sing a chorus or two
Let's take the road ahead and sing along some songs together
There's a birthday party at the home of Farmer Gray
We can attend a birthday party at Farmer Gray's house
It'll be the perfect ending of a perfect day
Attending Farmer Gray's birthday party will be the perfect end to our wonderful day
We'll be singing the songs we love to sing without a single stop
We'll enjoy singing our favorite songs without any interruption or inconvenience
At the fireplace while we watch the chestnuts pop
We'll sit by the fireplace and enjoy watching chestnuts pop while we sing and enjoy ourselves
There's a happy feeling nothing in the world can buy
The feeling of happiness we are experiencing cannot be bought with money
When they pass around the coffee and the pumpkin pie
We'll be served coffee and pumpkin pie while we enjoy this happy feeling
It'll nearly be like a picture print by Currier and Ives
The moment will be so beautiful and perfect that it'll look like a painting by Currier and Ives
These wonderful things are the things we remember all through our lives
These happy moments are the things that we will cherish and remember forever
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Songtrust Ave, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Leroy Anderson, Mitchell Parish
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind