LOS ANGELES (WTHR) – Hoosier native Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds invited Eyewitness News Anchor Andrea Morehead to his Los Angeles studio to talk about his longtime love affair with Indianapolis and his fans.
Babyface is the perennial king of producing hits about the universal language of love. His schedule is super busy as he is a quadruple threat in the entertainment industry. He's a singer, songwriter, producer, and entrepreneur.
He's a passionate philanthropist for the Children's Diabetes Foundation and performs at fundraising events on behalf of FasterCures. He works tirelessly for the United Negro College Fund and generously donates to the VH-1 Save the Music. And it's always the music that takes priority in his life.
So, in the midst of him working with his band to prepare for the Indianapolis Concert at the Murat, he took a break to talk about his love of music,
"It's the one thing that connects us. You can say the same thing in a gazillion ways and it just works. It depends on what chords you put together, what melody you put together, how you say it," said Babyface. "Every person can sing the same exact song and it could be different. And that's the amazing thing about it."
But how does he make so many hits, over and over again? What's his formula when he's writing and composing music?
"There's no magic formula. Many times the song writes itself and you just kind of really go with that," he said.
Babyface says his musical inspiration is in the moment - it's a feeling. And some of the musical greats are on one accord with his style and penchant for telling great stories with heart and soul.
His work is more than just R& B. It's quite simply - music - that entertainers from all genres feel connected to. Babyface has worked with Madonna, Toni Braxton, Boyz II Men, TLC, OutKast, Usher, Eric Clapton, Mariah Carey, Pink, David Foster, Beyonce, Celine Dion, Ledisi, Colbie Caillat, Jennifer Hudson, Ariana Grande, Barbara Streisand, Whitney Houston, and fellow Hoosier John Mellencamp, to name a few. He produced Mellencamp's hit Walk Tall. When you hear some of their songs, you're hearing Babyface.
His heartfelt melodies and incomparable talent have earned him eleven Grammy Awards and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles. It's not far from one of his musical idols - Indiana's Michael Jackson. But Babyface has never forgotten that his rise to stardom began in Indianapolis at Westlane Middle School.
He said, "It's always nice when I go back and hook up with old friends and family and just reminisce of all the growing up there. You kind of pinch yourself because you're still like I'm just this kid from Riviera Street. I performed at North Central High School. My brother Melvin had this group Soul Innovations and they performed at one of the mixers. And so I was in the sixth grade and that was the first time, I actually sang 'Who's Loving You' by the Jackson Five."
And he was hooked.
"We had a group called 'Tiny Silver and the Elements.' When we were young we used to be on the street and at one corner we'd say if we don't make it to that corner before this car gets here means we're never going to make it. So we'd be running for our lives. I think making it meant to us that our songs would be on the radio and people would know who we are. We weren't thinking about money, about making money or getting a big house one day or buying a car, big cars. I was also in a group called 'Manchild' and I thought at that point, we made it. We should be out of here for good and things looked good for a second and then all of a sudden they weren't so great. And that could have been a moment when I could have given up and just said, you know, this isn't for me. But I didn't know anything but to keep on going forward and to keep working hard at that because I had that passion," he said.
That passion years later moved him into another group called "The Deele." The group created a hit called "Two Occasions."
Babyface also discussed his close ties to the Indianapolis community. He shared his love for former Indiana Black Expo President Charles Williams who passed away from prostate cancer and continues to sing his praises.
Babyface said, "He opened doors for me. Because of Charles Williams I met Michael Jackson. Because of Charles Williams I have a name on a highway."
On April 6th, 1999, state lawmakers passed a House resolution sponsored by the late Representative William Crawford to name 20-miles of I-65 between the two I-465 interchanges, the Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds Highway.
"I can go to a party here and be with movie stars and be with people that are huge and they can talk about all the things they can talk about and I can say, well, I got a highway," he said.
He's a father of two teenaged sons and a seven year-old daughter and he teaches them and inspires young artists that no one is entitled to success. It's earned after years of hard work and honing your craft.
But for some kids, their dreams are dashed with negative influences around them. Indianapolis, like many cities, is dealing with the systemic issue of misguided youth. Babyface very candidly shared his experience and his words of encouragement.
"I had a friend of mine who told me that if I wanted to be as good as a guitar player as Jimi Hendrix then I had to smoke weed and if i don't smoke weed, then I'll never be that good. And so, that was kind of a challenge to me and it kind of put me off so I never smoked weed. And I just decided to kind of practice and learn how to play the guitar to the best that I could," he said. "I never joined in on that because I kind of like I felt like I had a goal, something that I wanted to do, something that I wanted to accomplish. Make up your mind about what you're going to be and who you're going be and who you're not going to be. It is something that drives you inside and that you have to strive to be different. Don't do what everyone else does, especially if it's bad news."
He was on a roll. And the good advice kept coming.
"If there's something that you want to do, you have to study the people that are winning. I listened to Stevie Wonder. I listened to Earth Wind and Fire. I listened to James Taylor and Paul McCartney. I listened to things really closely and tried to figure out what it is that they're doing, how are they writing the songs so that if ever the opportunity came to me that I would be ready when that time happened." he said. "That took a lot of years for me to kind of be in a position to actually become a songwriter, to become a producer, to become an artist. It's a constant thing. Even to this day I work at it. As an artist I work on improving myself. Even when I do a show, I don't always keep it the same. I always try to be the best that I can be."
Perhaps his best in the music industry began in 1989 when his first solo album "Tender Lover" went triple platinum spinning off four R&B/pop crossover hits, including the R&B No. 1's "It's No Crime" and "Tender Lover" plus "My Kinda Girl" and "Whip Appeal."
27 years later, Babyface still has that whip appeal with "Return to the Tender Lover."
It's a new album with nine new original songs about what he sings the best about - love.
Viewers submitted questions for Babyface and he was obliged in answering them.
But Shay Allen wanted to give him a message.
She said, "Tell him my first high school boyfriend told me that 'Every Time I Close My Eyes' was our song and it brought back so many good memories. Just thank him for his music and for helping people make beautiful memories."
And with a very big smile, Babyface shyly said, "Thank you. Thank you very much."
That's his legacy.
He said, "I want people to remember my music. But when they think of me, I want them to just think of me as a nice guy, as a good guy. I'm good with that."
And we're good with that, too.
