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Ricardo Pablo J. de Leon

Ms. Louyzza Maria Victoria H. Vasquez
English 10
13 December 2012
One Sweet Day
And I know you're shining down on me from Heaven, like so many friends we've
lost along the way. And I know eventually we'll be together one sweet day
Perhaps not a single person
who experienced the music of the 90s
has not heard a single line from what
many consider as the song of the
decade, Mariah Carey and Boyz II
Mens

One

Sweet

Day.

On

December 2, 1995, the Mariah Carey

Boyz II Men collaboration claimed the
top

spot

of

the

Hot

100

Chart,

beginning its staggering long reign of

The single cover for the song One Sweet Day

16 full weeks (McKenna). The record

set by this single remains unbroken
even today.
Back in the early 90s, the
members of Boyz II Men have just begun in establishing a name and an image
for their group, being the newest recording artists signed under the legendary
Motown Records. More than a year after they released their debut album
Cooleyhighharmony, the group, accompanied by road manager Khalil Roundtree,

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began to open shows for MC Hammer on his 1992 2 Legit 2 Quit tour. In the
evening of May 25, just after the show, their road manager and an assistant of
his were at the front desk of the hotel they were staying in to settle the room
charges for the group. As they left the front desk and entered the elevator, three
men who worked from the nearby parking structure entered as well. While they
were on the elevator, several gunshots were heard and the group found out soon
enough that their road manager and trusted friend Khalil was killed in the
shootout. This, according to Boyz II Men founding member Nathan Morris, was
definitely the biggest loss they have ever experienced in their career, if not in
their lives. Sometime after the death of Khalil, Morris started working on a song
he dedicated to their friend (Canfield, Geffen, and Hansen).
On January 24, 1995, David Cole, a producer of Mariah Careys previous
releases succumbed to spinal meningitis, an illness that he had been battling for
a long time (C+C Music Factorys 18). After the death of her dear friend, she,
too, began writing and developing a song in honor of Coles courage despite his
illness. Mariahs idea of also paying homage to the loved ones her fans have lost
consequently gave her song in development a deeper meaning and purpose
(Nickson 137-138). Carey decided that she wanted to do her new song with Boyz
II Men who have now grown more popular since their debut in 1991 after coming
up with songs that topped the Hot 100 Chart for more than 10 weeks. Though
her then husband and the CEO of her record label, Tommy Mottola was slightly
against this idea of hers, her plan somehow pushed through. Mottola made a call
to the group and a meeting was arranged (Shapiro 93).
At Careys meeting with the all-male group, they realized that they have
been working on two songs of similar message and premise with Mariahs
dedicated to producer David Cole and her fans lost loved ones and Boyz II Mens
written for their road manager Khalil Roundtree. Nathan Morris thought they

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complemented each other. They ended up merging the songs they had written.
They made the pieces of their songs fit as Morris band mates filled in the other
details in the song (Canfield, Geffen, and Hansen).
After their initial progress on the song, Carey incorporated other words and
themes into the song to somehow build connections with those who carried the
AIDS epidemic which was on full force at that time. When the song was
complete, production and finishing touches were handled by Walter Afanasieff,
one of her old producers (Nickson 144).
Since its release on November 14, 1995, the song has been praised by
various critics. A review from Entertainment Weekly states that the song
radiates a breezy sexiness that Carey, for all the brazen hussiness of her public
persona, rarely permits herself to reveal in song (Tucker). In The New York
Times, a closer look at the song suggests that it may serve as a tender eulogy
that suggests that the singers have been personally touched by the AIDS crisis
(Holden). Other critics have also observed that Mariahs and the boys voices are
a perfect match, turning what could be a rather morose ballad into a truly
inspiring and hopeful performance (Lamb).
The collaboration between Carey and the R&B group would exceed any
expectations they had when they wrote the song. On December 2, 1995, the
single would make its way up to the No. 1 spot in Billboards Hot 100 Chart. One
Sweet Day would also go on to be one of the most requested songs in countries
such as New Zealand, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Moreover, the song
would be nominated for six Grammy Awards. However, to the shock of the critics,
the single never won a Grammy (Shapiro 98).
Its reign in the Hot 100 may have ended in March 1996 when Celine Dions
Because You Loved Me took over, but due to its popularity and its content being

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lauded by many critics, One Sweet Day would be performed in events such as
Princess Dianas memorial service in September 1997. It would be one of the
songs of pain and hope the families and friends of those lost in the 9/11 attacks
had to look up to in order to fill in the emptiness they had felt. The song would
also be used to pay homage to those who courageously struggled to live despite
their health problems those who succumbed to illnesses such as cancer, AIDS,
among others.
Perhaps this song will always be attached to the painful idea of having to
lose someone so dear. It will always stand for how depressing it was for Mariah
Carey to lose a person she had worked with for quite a long time. One Sweet
Day will always remind Boyz II Men of their friend Khalil who had been with
them since their journey as musicians began. It has been, from the very
beginning, a song rooted in grief and loss. However, anyone who listens to this
song must also take note of the fact that the song is not all about regrets and
sadness. It is, in fact as seen by the critics and implied by the writers
themselves a song of optimism and hope. It is a song about longing for that
reunion with a lost loved one and knowing that eventually, that reunion would
take place one sweet day.

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Works Cited

Canfield, Jack, Mark Victor. Hansen, and Jo-Ann Geffen. Chicken Soup for the
Soul: The Story behind the Song : The Exclusive Personal Stories behind
101 of Your Favorite Songs. Cos Cob, CT: Chicken Soup for the Soul Pub.,
2009. Print.

"C+C Music Factory's David Cole Succumbs." Jet 87.14 (1995): 18. Print.

Holden, Stephen. "POP MUSIC; Mariah Carey Glides Into New Territory." The New
York Times. The New York Times, 08 Oct. 1995. Web. 10 Dec. 2012.

Lamb, Bill. "Mariah Carey 'Daydream'" About.com Top 40 / Pop. About.com, n.d.
Web. 10 Dec. 2012.

McKenna, Jerry. "Hot 100 Singles Spotlight." Billboard 108.11 (1996): 109. MAS
Ultra - School Edition. Web. 11 Dec. 2012.

Nickson, Chris. Mariah Carey Revisited: Her Story. New York: St. Martin's Griffin,
1998. Print.

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Shapiro, Marc. Mariah Carey: The Unauthorized Biography. Toronto: ECW, 2001.
Print.

Tucker, Ken. "Daydream (1995)." EW.com. Entertainment Weekly, 13 Oct. 1995.

Web. 10 Dec. 2012.