Apr 04, 2008 11:18 AM
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Lou Pearlman(an Orlando con man who made millions with a penny stock pump and dump scheme and a fraudulent savings program) was inspired by the success of the New Kids on the Block in the 1980s to create his own clean-cut boy band. After a series of auditions in 1992 and 1993, he recruited A. J. McLean, Howie Dorough and Nick Carter. Following the departure of two previous members, Sam Licata(later performed as Phoenix Stone) and Charles Edwards, Kevin Richardson came on board. The group took its final member in April 9, 1993, when Brian Littrell, Richardson's cousin, joined the group after a phone audition. Lou Pearlman called on his friend, Bob Curiano, to be the first one to write and produce for the Backstreet Boys. Their first two songs ever recorded were Lover Boy, which was written and produced by Bob Curiano, and Get Ready, a cover tune. Their first concert, on July 8, 1993, was performed for 3, 000 teenagers at SeaWorld in Orlando, Florida. Pearlman later booked them at grade-school assemblies and shopping malls, and assigned management duties to Johnny Wright, who had worked with New Kids on the Block. Wright is often credited by industry insiders for being the man who actually made the Boys famous.
European popularity grew, and the Backstreet Boys kicked off 1996 being voted the No.1 International Group by TV viewers in Germany - "I'll Never Break Your Heart" went gold there and hit No.1 in Austria. The group earned their first Platinum record in Germany and toured Asia and Canada.They became one of the most successful debuting artist in the world with their 1st album.
By 1997, pop music was returning to the forefront in United States, with the likes of the Spice Girls and Hanson. Jive Records and Pearlman decided to bring the boys back to their home country after 8.5 million discs had been sold worldwide.They began recording their second album, Backstreet's Back, releasing "Quit Playing Games With My Heart" in August, coinciding with the release of their second international album, the band released a self-titled album in the US which collected songs from both international albums. They hit big on the U.S. charts, and debuting at #1 in Germany, Norway, Switzerland, Finland and Austria. The two albums sold over 28 million copies worldwide(14 million copies in the U.S.)
In December 1997, the band embarked on a 60-city, 20-country tour.
In 1997, Littrell(soon joined by McLean, Richardson and Dorough) brought a lawsuit against Lou Pearlman, as Lou Pearlman was taking an unusually high percentage of the profits made by the band(75%), leaving the Boys barely enough to survive after credits to writers and performers are given separately. The lawsuit also claimed that Pearlman had hidden and misused money earned by the band, and prompted similar lawsuits from other prominent boy bands such as'N Sync. The case was settled in 1998.
In 1998, Littrell underwent open-heart surgery in the middle of their sold-out US 39-city tour, at the insistence of his then girlfriend(and now wife) Leighanne Wallace; he had twice postponed the surgery in the past. He had been struggling with a heart murmur since he was born, almost dying at the age of 4 due to a bacterial infection. Shortly after, the Backstreet Boys cancelled an appearance in Minnesota after learning that Howie Dorough's sister had died of lupus. In October 1998, the band received the keys to the city from the mayor of Orlando in honor of the tornado relief concert the group headlined in March that raised over$25, 000.
On February 17, 1999, the Boys received their first Diamond award from the RIAA for shipment of 10 million copies of their self-titled album. At that time, they had hired a new manager team called "The Firm", famous for managing bands including Limp Bizkit and Korn. Along with their new management team, the Backstreet Boys sued Pearlman several more times, until he renegotiated the settlement on terms more favorable to the band. Executives of the Firm stated that the Backstreet Boys had bought out Pearlman's stake in the band.
