End of the Road

For other uses, see End of the Road (disambiguation).

"End of the Road"
Single by Boyz II Men
from the album Boomerang Original Soundtrack and Cooleyhighharmony (1993 re-release)
B-side	Remix
Released	June 30, 1992 (1992-06-30)
Format	CD, CD maxi, 7" single
Recorded	May 1992 in Philadelphia, PA
Genre	R&B
Length	5:48
Label	LaFace/Arista, Motown
Writer(s)	Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, Antonio "L.A." Reid, Daryl Simmons
Producer	Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, Antonio "L.A." Reid, Daryl Simmons
Certification	Platinum
Boyz II Men singles chronology
"Please Don't Go" (1992) "End of the Road" (1992) "In the Still of the Nite (I Remember)" (1992)

"End of the Road" is a 1992 Grammy Award-winning, number-one song recorded in May 1992 by Boyz II Men for the Motown label. Written and produced by Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, Antonio "L.A." Reid and Daryl Simmons. It is Boyz II Men's most successful single and replaced Diana Ross and Lionel Richie's "Endless Love" as Motown's most successful single.^{[citation needed]} It was the last Motown single to reach #1 on the UK singles chart. The song is listed at #43 on Billboard's All Time Top 100.

Chart performances

"End of the Road"
Song by Boyz II Men featuring Brian McKnight from the album Motown: A Journey Through Hitsville USA
Released	November 13, 2007 (2007-11-13)
Recorded	2007
Genre	A Cappella, R&B
Length	3:58
Label	Decca
Producer	Boyz II Men, Brian McKnight, Randy Jackson
Motown: A Journey Through Hitsville USA track listing
12. "War" 13. "End of the Road" (A Capella) 14. "There'll Never Be" (International Bonus Track)

Originally recorded as a soundtrack song for the Eddie Murphy motion picture Boomerang, the song (themed about a breakup where the man really doesn't want the woman to go) topped the charts from August 15 through November 7, 1992, setting a record for most weeks at number one with 13 weeks, beating Elvis Presley's 11-week hold with "Hound Dog" / "Don't Be Cruel". Presley's record had stood 36 years.

However, two weeks after "End of the Road" left the top spot, Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" reached number one, and remained there 14 weeks, one week longer than "End of the Road". Boyz II Men's new record stood only 17 weeks. The group's next single ("I'll Make Love to You"), however, would tie Houston's record, and 1995's Boyz II Men/Mariah Carey collaboration "One Sweet Day" would break it, logging 16 consecutive weeks.

Track listings

• CD maxi

1. "End of the Road" (pop edit) — 3:39
2. "End of the Road" (radio edit w/acappella end) — 4:13
3. "End of the Road" (LP version) — 5:50
4. "End of the Road" (instrumental version) — 5:16

• 7" single

1. "End of the Road" (pop edit) — 3:39
2. "End of the Road" (instrumental version) — 5:16

Cover versions

The song was covered by several artists, including Me First and the Gimme Gimmes on their album Take a Break, We Are Scientists in concert, Gladys Knight on the live medley from her album Just for You, and the Backstreet Boys during their concerts. It was also performed by guitarist Paul Jackson Jr. on his 1993 album A River In The Desert.

An a cappella version was re-recorded for Boyz II Men's 2007 album, Motown: A Journey Through Hitsville USA. Urban jazz bassist Michael Manson covered the song from his 2008 album "Up Front". Marcela Morelo recorded a Spanish version of the song in her 2009 album "Otro plan". South Korean boy group U-KISS did an a cappella version of the hit song. Westlife covered this on a cappella. In addition, Boyz II Men included a Spanish-language version ("Al final del camino") on their Spanish-language compilation Evolución.

During the series finale of the sitcom A Different World, Whitley led everyone in singing "End of the Road" at hers and Dwayne's farewell party as they prepared to leave for Tokyo.

American Idol season ten contestant Stefano Langone performed the song during Idol Goes to the Movies week.

Awards & nominations

1993 Grammy Awards

• Best R&B Performance By A Duo or Group With Vocal – Boyz II Men – "End of the Road" (winner)
• Best R&B Song – Babyface, Daryl Simmons, L.A. Reid – "End of the Road" (winner)

Charts

Peak positions

Chart (1992)	Peak position
Australian ARIA Singles Chart	1
Austrian Singles Chart	19
Canadian Singles Chart	3
Dutch Top 40	1
French SNEP Singles Chart	7
German Singles Chart	6
Irish Singles Chart	1
New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart	1
Norwegian Singles Chart	3
Swedish Singles Chart	2
Swiss Singles Chart	7
UK Singles Chart	1
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	1
U.S. Billboard Hot R&B Singles	1

Year-end charts

Chart (1992)	Position
Australian Singles Chart	3
Dutch Top 40	9
UK Singles Chart	6
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	1

End of decade charts

Chart (1990-1999)	Position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	6

Certifications

Country	Certification	Date	Sales certified
UK	Gold	November 1, 1992	400,000
U.S.	Platinum	December 9, 1992	1,000,000+

Chart successions

Preceded by "Sleeping Satellite" by Tasmin Archer	Irish IRMA number one single 12 November 1992 – 3 December 1992 (3 weeks)	Succeeded by "I Will Always Love You" by Whitney Houston
Preceded by "Sleeping Satellite" by The Tasmin Archer	UK Singles Chart number-one single 31 October 1992 - 21 November 1992 (3 weeks)	Succeeded by "Would I Lie To You?" by Charles and Eddie
Preceded by "Sweat (A La La La La Long)" by Inner Circle	Dutch Singles Chart 14 November 1992 – 5 December 1992 (3 weeks)	Succeeded by "Gebabbel/Vlieg met me mee (live)" by Paul de Leeuw & Willeke Alberti
Preceded by "Achy Breaky Heart" by Billy Ray Cyrus	New Zealand Singles Chart 18 October 1992 – 6 December 1992 (7 weeks)	Succeeded by "Would I Lie To You?" by Charles and Eddie
Preceded by Achy Breaky Heart by Billy Ray Cyrus	Australia (ARIA) 22 November 1992 – 20 December 1992 (4 weeks)	Succeeded by "I Will Always Love You" by Whitney Houston
Preceded by "This Used to Be My Playground" by Madonna	US Hot 100 Singles Chart – Number-one hits of 1992 15 August 1992 – 14 November 1992 (13 weeks)	Succeeded by "How Do You Talk to an Angel" by The Heights

See also

• List of Hot 100 number-one singles of 1992 (U.S.)
• List of number-one R&B singles of 1992 (U.S.)
• List of number-one singles in 1992 (New Zealand)
• List of number-one singles from the 1990s (UK)
• List of European number-one hits of 1992
• Dutch Top 40 number-one hits of 1992
• List of number-one singles in Australia during the 1990s

External links

• "End of the Road" Music Video on YouTube / VEVO official channel
• "End of the Road" at Discogs (list of releases)
• "End of the Road" at Discogs (Promotional version)
• "End of the Road" at Discogs (Japanese version)
• "Al Final del Camino" at Discogs (Spanish version)
• "End of the Road (A Cappella)" at Discogs (2008 single in UK)