New Edition - Mr. Telephone Man

What this video is

Released in late 1984, 'Mr. Telephone Man' arrived at a pivotal moment for Black teen pop in America. New Edition — five young men from Boston's Roxbury neighborhood — had already proven themselves with 'Candy Girl' and 'Cool It Now,' and this single cemented their position as standard-bearers for a youthful, melodic R&B crossover sound. The song reached No. 1 on the Black Singles chart and No. 12 on the Billboard…

Why it matters

A key artifact in the evolution of the teen R&B vocal group format, 'Mr. Telephone Man' bridges the Jackson 5 tradition and the New Jack Swing era that New Edition members would help birth. The video documents the group at their commercial peak as a unified quintet, before individual members would…

The director

Jay Dubin is a New York-born director who transitioned from a physics background into music video directing in the early 1980s. He became one of the most prolific music video directors of the decade, working with artists including Billy Joel, Hall & Oates,…