Melvin Edmonds, vocalist with After 7 and brother of Babyface, dies at 65
The singer formed the group in their hometown of Indianapolis and followed with a string of early 90s hits including the classic "Ready or Not"
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Melvin Edmonds, a founding member of Grammy nominated R&B group, After 7, died Saturday. He was 65. According to reports, he passed away from a brief, but undisclosed illness. The Indianapolis-based group was known for a string of early 90s soul music ballads and dance tunes.
His death was confirmed by his son, according to the Indianapolis Star. He was also the older brother of iconic singer/producer Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds.
Edmonds, along with brother Kevon and friend Keith Mitchell formed the group in 1988. The trio were lifelong friends who bonded on the Bloomington campus of Indiana University, where they were members of the IU Soul Revue.
“Weekends and during the summer months we would come to Indianapolis and hook up with my brother Melvin and we’d sing harmony parts together,” Kevon told The Indianapolis News in a 1990 interview. “It just kind of culminated over a period of years.”
In 1989, the group released its debut album entitled After 7, including three of its best known hits “Can’t Stop,” “Ready or Not” and “Heat of the Moment,” all written and produced by Babyface and L.A. Reid.
Those three singles were Billboard Hot 100 chart toppers with the first two hitting the Top 10.
Edmonds left the group in 1995 after they released their third album Reflections, but returned in 2016 for its comeback LP, “Timeless.” Three more of their songs, “Runnin’ Out,” “I Want You” and “Let Me Know”, made it into the Top 10 of Billboard’s adult R&B songs chart.
Melvin Edmonds is survived by four children: Melvin, Jason, Chris and Courtney.
