Twenty-three years ago, the act synonymous with harmonies logged a then-record 13 weeks atop the Hot 100 with its first No. 1.
By 1992, Boyz II Men was on the rise with its mass-appeal mix of smooth R&B and new jack swing. The act had arrived the year before with two smash singles: the uptempo "Motownphilly," which soared to No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100, and a cappella ballad "It's So Hard to Say Goodbye," which fared even better, peaking at No. 2 for four weeks. Both songs were from Boyz II Men's debut album, Cooleyhighharmony, which would go on to spend 133 weeks on the Billboard 200.
With the group's next trip to the Hot 100's top 10, the then-quartet – Michael McCary, Nathan Morris, Wanya Morris and Shawn Stockman – logged its first No. 1, making history in the process. Released from the soundtrack to the Eddie Murphy film Boomerang, "End of the Road" topped the Hot 100 dated Aug. 15, 1992. By the time the tight-harmonied, hopeful ballad wrapped its No. 1 run with a 13th week in charge in the Nov. 7, 1992, Billboard issue, it stood as the longest-leading topper in the chart's archives. (It had bested two 10-week No. 1s: Debby Boone's "You Light Up My Life," from 1977, and Olivia Newton-John's 1981 classic workout anthem "Physical.")