ing Chávez, Whitaker, and (after this book’s pub-
lication) Trinidad.
McIlvanney, Hugh.The Hardest Game: McIlvanney on
Boxing.Updated ed. New York: Contemporary
Books, 2001. The last part of this work deals with
fights and fighters of the 1990’s. While the focus is
clearly on the heavyweight division, there are
pieces on other top boxers of the period, includ-
ing Jones, Chávez, Whitaker, and De La Hoya, as
well as the Watson and McClellan ring tragedies.
Scott Wright
See also Holyfield, Evander; Sports; Tyson, Mike.
Boy bands
Definition Pop music groups featuring male
singers
Though the music industr y had been creating pop groups
made up of male singers for several decades, the 1990’s ex-
ploded with boy bands that were marketed toward preteen
and teenage demographics. Members of these acts were
known for their attractive looks, vocal harmonies, slick cho-
reography, and glistening production.
Though the term “boy band” was not officially
coined until the 1990’s, male vocal
groups composed of similar for-
mulas dated back to the 1960’s,
when pop act the Monkees simulta-
neously lit up the television screen
and stage. Other early incarnations
included several acts on the soul
record label Motown (whose roster
included the Temptations, the Four
Tops, and the Jackson 5), followed
by the Latin group Menudo in 1977,
which featured future pop sensa-
tion Ricky Martin and continues
to operate today (members are
changed once they turn twenty to
reflect a teenage audience). In the
1980’s, the craze heated up once
again thanks to record producer
Maurice Starr, who introduced New
Edition to the R&B community in
1983 and New Kids on the Block to
pop circles in 1986.
By the time the 1990’s rolled
around, New Edition had splintered off into sev-
eral solo directions. New Kids on the Block main-
tained tremendous success, fueled by the number
one albumStep by Step(1990). However, the group’s
music was far from the only attraction marketed;
everything from a Saturday morning cartoon series
to lunch boxes, bedding sets, buttons, and even
dolls were available to fans. Around the same time in
England, Take That was being given similar treat-
ment thanks to the group’s soulful pop sounds and
handsome looks. The band crossed to American
shores in 1995 thanks to the smash single “Back for
Good.”The Peak of Popularity After these acts helped
build up steam for boy bands, the scene surged in
the latter half of the decade, thanks in part to entre-
preneur/record label owner Lou Pearlman. His first
find was the Backstreet Boys, who broke through in
1997, followed by the like-minded *NSYNC, often
considered the most visible boy bands of the period.
Though the Backstreet Boys racked up over 100 mil-
lion album sales and *NSYNC netted over 56 mil-
lion, the pair was shadowed by 98 Degrees, who
boasted 10 million album sales and members’ prom-
ise that they were not contrived by music industry
moguls.The Nineties in America Boy bands 117
The members of *NSYNC stand with their award for Favorite Pop/Rock New Artist at
the 1999 American Music Awards in Los Angeles.(AP/Wide World Photos)