Babyface

Released: October 7, 1986

Songwriter: Babyface Darnell Bristol Kayo Roberson

Producer: LA Reid Babyface

[Intro:]
Oh, Mary Mack
All dressed in black
With silver buttons all down her back
Say you found another lover
Instead of me
Tell ya what I'm gonna do
I'm gonna set you free

[Verse 1:]
Girl when you leave my sight
Where you go it's no mystery
I'm not blind to your whereabouts
And it's time you came clean with me
In your heart you belong to me
But it's clear where you'd rather be
And though it hurts and it could break my heart
Baby I wanna know when it concerns me

[Chorus:]
All I wanna know is
When he kissed your lips
Did it feel the same as me?
And if it does
Then I will let you go
I will bow out gracefully

[Repeat x2:]
Oh, Mary Mack

[Verse 2:]
Babe if your love is real
Then you would not lie to me
Ooh girl and if you love me still
Then explain explain this hotel key
It's kinda sad after all I've done
That you would turn your back on me
Was it love or did he twist your arm?
To make you turn away turn away from me

[Repeat Chorus:]

All I wanna know
Babyface to play

[Repeat Chorus x2:]

All I wanna know
All I wanna know

[Bridge:]
Oh, Mary Mack
All dressed in black
With silver buttons all down her back
Say you found another lover
Instead of me
Tell ya what I'm gonna do
I'm gonna set you free

[Repeat Chorus x2:]

[Repeat x4:]
All I wanna know

Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds (born April 10, 1959 in Indianapolis, Indiana) is a Grammy Award-winning producer, singer, and songwriter responsible for a string of hits in the 1980s and 1990s. He has written and produced more than 20 number-one hits and won 11 Grammys—including three for Producer of the Year—for his work with Boyz II Men, Whitney Houston, Eric Clapton, Alicia Keys, and Toni Braxton, as well as his own work as an artist.

Babyface got his nickname from funk legend Bootsy Collins after joining his backing band in the 1970s. He joined the group Manchild in the late ‘70s—a group that also included his frequent collaborator Daryl Simmons—before moving out West and working with the group The Deele in the early 1980s, forming a bond with his bandmate and future production partner L.A. Reid. After producing the hit “Two Occasions” for The Deele, L.A. & Babyface broke off and became one of the biggest superproducer duos in R&B, rivaling the hits of fellow superproducer duo Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis.

L.A. & ‘Face had their hands in a string of #1 R&B hits in the late '80s and early '90s from artists such as Pebbles (“Girlfriend”), Karyn White (“Superwoman”), The Whispers (“Rock Steady”), Johnny Gill (“My, My, My”) and many more. They were also instrumental in the success of post-New Edition era Bobby Brown as they produced his #1 hits “Don’t Be Cruel,” “Every Little Step,” “On Our Own,” and “Humpin' Around.” They made history with Boyz II Men in 1992 as they wrote and produced “End of the Road,” which spent a record-breaking 14 consecutive weeks atop the pop chart.

more tracks from the album

Lovers

From the album

Lovers (1986)

Babyface popular songs

Mary MackBabyface

Babyface

Lovers