New Kids on the Block and Wakefield, Massachusetts: Difference between pages

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{{Infobox City

{{Infobox_band |

|official_name = Wakefield, Massachusetts

band_name = New Kids On The Block |

|nickname image = [[Image:NKOTB.jpg|250px|]] |

|motto caption = NKOTB in 1990 | =

|image_skyline =

years_active = [[1984 in music|1984]]–[[1994 in music|1994]] |

|image_caption =

origin = [[Boston]], [[Massachusetts|USA]] |

|image_seal music_genre = [[Pop music|Pop]] | =

|image_flag =

record_label = [[Sony BMG Music Entertainment]]<br/>[[Columbia Records]] |

|image_map = Wakefield_ma_highlight.png

current_members = [[Jordan Knight]]<br/>[[Jonathan Knight]]<br/>[[Joe McIntyre|Joey McIntyre]]</br> [[Donnie Wahlberg]]</br> [[Danny Wood]] |

|map_caption = Location in Massachusetts

|subdivision_type = Country

|subdivision_name = [[United States]]

|subdivision_type1 = State

|subdivision_name1 = [[Massachusetts]]

|subdivision_type2 = County

|subdivision_name2 = [[Middlesex County, Massachusetts|Middlesex County]]

|established_title = Settled

|established_date = 1639

|established_title2 = Incorporated

|established_date2 = 1812

|established_title3 =

|established_date3 =

|government_type = [[Open town meeting]]

|leader_title = <!--[[Town Administrator|Town<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Administrator]]-->

|leader_name =

|leader_title1 = <!--Board of <br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Selectmen-->

|leader_name1 =

|area_total = 20.5

|TotalArea_sq_mi = 7.9

|area_land = 19.3

|LandArea_sq_mi = 7.5

|area_water = 1.1

|WaterArea_sq_mi = 0.4

|population_as_of = 2000

|settlement_type = [[New England town|Town]]

|population_total = 24804

|population_density = 1282.5

|population_density_mi2 = 3321.6

|elevation = 30

|elevation_ft = 100

|timezone = [[Eastern Standard Time Zone|Eastern]]

|utc_offset = -5

|timezone_DST = [[Eastern Standard Time Zone|Eastern]]

|utc_offset_DST = -4

|latd=42 |latm=30 |lats=23 |latNS=N

|longd=71 |longm=04 |longs=24 |longEW=W

|website = http://www.wakefield.ma.us/

|postal_code_type = ZIP code

|postal_code = 01880

|area_code = [[Area code 339|339]] / [[Area code 781|781]]

|footnotes =

}}

'''Wakefield''' is a town in [[Middlesex County, Massachusetts|Middlesex County]], [[Massachusetts]], [[United States]] located ten miles northeast of [[Boston]]. The population was 24,804 at the 2000 census.

==History==

'''New Kids On The Block''' (later '''NKOTB''') was a successful [[Boy band|boy band]] of the late 1980s and early 1990s. Assembled in [[Boston, Massachusetts|Boston]] in [[1984]] by producer [[Maurice Starr]]; the members consisted of brothers [[Jordan Knight]] and [[Jonathan Knight]], [[Joe McIntyre|Joey McIntyre]], [[Donnie Wahlberg]] and [[Danny Wood]]. The group went on to sell over 70 million albums worldwide, and roughly paved the way for acts like [[Backstreet Boys]] and [[*NSYNC]].

{{sect-stub}}

Wakefield was first settled in [[1639]] and was officially incorporated in [[1812]]. Wakefield is made up of various parts including Greenwood, Montrose, and Westside. Originally part of Reading, it was set off as a separate community and originally known as South Reading until Cyrus Wakefield donated land for the construction of Town Hall and a grateful population renamed their community in his honor.

One of the oldest and largest manufacturers of flying [[model airplane]] toys in the world, [[Paul K. Guillow, Inc.]] is located in Wakefield. The company is particularly notable for it's extensive line of [[balsa wood]] model airplane kits.

==Early years==

In the early 1980s, Maurice Starr formed [[R&B]]/[[pop music|Pop]] quintet [[New Edition]], and guided their early success. After breaking ties with them, Starr and his business partner, Mary Alford, sought to create a white counterpart act. Auditions were held around Boston, at which some 500 teenaged boys auditioned. Among them was 15-year-old Donnie Wahlberg, whom Starr and Alford were immediately impressed by, and who would become the first member.

Wakefield gained media attention on December 26, 2000, when [[Wakefield Massacre|Michael McDermott]], an employee at Edgewater Technology, fatally shot seven of his co-workers.

Donnie assisted in helping to recruit other members. Among them were his younger brother [[Mark Wahlberg|Mark]] and his best friend Danny Wood. Wahlberg later coaxed former classmates Jonathan and Jordan Knight, both of whom had exceptional singing voices, into joining. As the group began to take shape, Mark became disillusioned with its direction and opted to quit. Another of Donnie's neighborhood friends, Jaime Kelley, took his place. Kelley, though, would eventually be dismissed for lack of concentration and discipline. Starr replaced him with 12-year-old Joey McIntyre, whom the other guys initially resented for being the one to replace their friend. With the final line-up in place, Starr rehearsed the boys diligently and scored the group (which was being called '''Nynuk''') a record deal at [[Columbia Records]]. The label, however, demanded Starr change the name of the group. Subsequently they settled on '''New Kids On The Block''', after a [[hip hop music|rap]] song that Donnie had written for the album.

==MusicGeography==

Wakefield is located at {{coor dms|42|30|4|N|71|4|16|W|city}} (42.501345, -71.071324){{GR|1}}

[[Reading, Massachusetts]] (West), [[Melrose, Massachusetts]] (South), [[Stoneham, Massachusetts]] (Southwest), [[Lynnfield, Massachusetts]] (North), and [[Saugus, Massachusetts]] (East) border Wakefield.

===''New Kids On The Block''===

[[Image:NewKidsOnTheBlock.jpg|thumb|200px|''New Kids On The Block'' (1986)]]In April 1986, Columbia Records released the group's [[New Kids On The Block (album)|self-titled debut album]]. The album was almost exclusively written and produced by Maurice Starr, and featured very mid [[1980s|80s]] sounding bubble gum pop ditties.

According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the town has a total area of 20.5 [[km²]] (7.9 [[square mile|mi²]]). 19.3 km² (7.5 mi²) of it is land and 1.1 km² (0.4 mi²) of it (5.56%) is water.

The first single, "Be My Girl" received minor airplay around the group's native Boston, but failed to capture nationwide attention. The albums second single, "Stop It Girl," fared even worse. Subsequently, ''New Kids On The Block'' wound up flopping. Though the boys were disappointed, Starr remained diligent and persuaded the label to allow the group to record a second album.

Wakefield has two lakes: Crystal Lake and [[Lake Quannapowitt]]. Crystal Lake is used as a reservoir for some of the town's drinking water. Lake Quannapowitt is used for a wide variety of recreational activities, including boating, windsurfing and fishing.

''(Note: Though a commercial failure upon its original release, 'New Kids On The Block' would eventually go triple platinum, in response to the group's later popularity.)''

In 1847, Lake Quannapowitt was named for the Indian, James Quannapowitt, one of the signers of the old Indian Deed of 1686. The earliest settlers referred to the lake simply as the "Greate Pond" or "Reading Pond."

===''Hangin' Tough''===

[[Image:HanginTough.jpg|thumb|left|200px|''Hangin' Tough'' (1988)]]

After the failure of the first album, Starr had the boys back in the studio for most of 1987 and 1988 recording their sophomore effort. The album's first single was "Please Don't Go Girl," a ballad led by Joey, released in spring 1988. Failure seemed destined to happen a second time when the song became another that went unnoticed by the listening public. As a result, Columbia Records made plans to drop the New Kids from the label. At the eleventh hour, however, a radio station in [[Florida]] began playing the song. Scoring listener approval, it soon became the most requested song on their play list. When Columbia caught wind of the positive response, they decided to keep the group on its roster and put more effort into promoting the single. National attention soon followed and it eventually climbed to #10 on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles Chart — becoming the group's first hit.

Long regarded as "Wakefield's greatest natural resource," [[Lake Quannapowitt]] covers an area of 247 acres. Its outlet is the [[Saugus River]] to the [[Atlantic Ocean]]. Wakefield Common sits to the south of the lake, and is the site of many recreational activities and events throughout the year.

The group's second album, ''[[Hangin' Tough]]'', was released to modest fanfare in [[September]]. They, in the meantime, began opening up for fellow teen-pop act [[Tiffany (singer)|Tiffany]] on her national concert tour. ''Hangin' Tough's'' sales began to steadily increase as the group's national attention slowly rose. At year's end, the album's second single "You Got It (The Right Stuff)" was released. The song was given a huge boost when [[MTV]] took notice to the group and began playing the video in regular rotation. By early 1989, it cracked the top five. The New Kids hit paydirt with their next single, "I'll Be Loving You (Forever)," which hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart in June. At this time, they were scheduled to open for Tiffany once again on a second tour, but their sudden popularity caused a reversal where [[Tiffany (singer)|Tiffany]] opened for them (though the two acts were technically billed as "co-headliners").

In 1991, a group of local citizens formed "The Friends of Lake Quannapowitt" to advocate for the lake and to educate the public about this natural resource. The group has also raises money for projects that benefit the lake and the surrounding areas.

More top five singles followed into the summer and fall, including: "Hangin' Tough" and "Cover Girl." Columbia Records also released, from the groups previously-overlooked debut album, "Didn't I (Blow Your Mind)." The song went top ten on the strength of the group's popularity and effectively jump-started the sales of that album as well. NKOTB became the first 'teen' group in history to notch four Top 10 hits from one album. By year's end, ''Hangin' Tough'' had climbed to #1 on the Billboard 200 Albums Chart and had gone 8x [[platinum]]. Meanwhile, a top ten charting [[holiday]] album, ''[[Merry, Merry Christmas]]'', was released in the fall — spawning off another top 10 hit, "This One's For The Children" peaked at #7 and proceeds were donated to the United Cerebral Palsy, the New Kids' favorite charitable cause. In January [[1990]], ''Hangin' Tough'' won [[American Music Award]] for "Best Pop/Rock Album" and spent 132 weeks on the Billboard charts.

==Demographics==

===''Step By Step''===

As of the [[census]]{{GR|2}} of 2000, there were 24,804 people, 9,747 households, and 6,608 families residing in the town. The [[population density]] was 1,282.0/km² (3,321.6/mi²). There were 9,937 housing units at an average density of 513.6/km² (1,330.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 96.94% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 0.45% [[African American (U.S. Census)|Black]] or [[Race (United States Census)|African American]], 0.08% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 1.43% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], 0.01% [[Pacific Islander (U.S. Census)|Pacific Islander]], 0.20% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 0.90% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were 0.82% of the population.

[[Image:StepByStep_NKOTB.jpg|thumb|200px|''Step By Step'' (1990)]] By early 1990, New Kids On The Block had become the most popular act in the world. In June, they followed up ''Hangin' Tough'' with ''[[Step By Step (album)|Step By Step]]'', which featured some of the songs co-written by the members themselves and sold over 3 million copies. The first single, the title track, raced to #1 on the pop chart. It was followed up with the top ten (#7) "Tonight", which extended the consecutive Top 10 singles chart run to an amazing nine records.

There were 9,747 households out of which 30.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.1% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.2% were non-families. 26.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 3.09.

They were performing 250 concerts a year, with an extravagant worldwide concert tour that summer, called ''The Magic Summer Tour'', sponsored by Coke. Thier pay-per-view special was the biggest in calbe tv history to that date, and by early 1991, thier long-form videos had amassed more than three and a half million sales, that's 70-times [[ITA]] platinum. During this time, the group became heavily merchandised and had more than 140 products that were licensed with NKOTB trademarks, which included lunch boxes, packing trunks, cuddly sleeping bags, pillow cases, T-shirts, [[Celebrity doll|dolls]], and even a Saturday morning cartoon in their likeness. A video game based on the group was even set to be introduced for the [[NES|Nintendo Entertainment System]], but was never released.

In the town the population was spread out with 22.6% under the age of 18, 5.8% from 18 to 24, 32.7% from 25 to 44, 23.8% from 45 to 64, and 15.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 90.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.8 males.

The NKOTB Official Fan Club, with membership over 100,000 names, was logging some 30,000 letters a dat. 100,000 calls per week were pouring into 1-900-909-5KIDS, the Offical NKOTB Hotline, as well. In one promotion alone, 180,000 New Kids schoolbook covers were distributed to students via 80 radio stations nationwide.

The median income for a household in the town was $66,117, and the median income for a family was $77,834. Males had a median income of $51,591 versus $39,327 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the town was $30,369. About 1.7% of families and 3.1% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 1.7% of those under age 18 and 4.6% of those age 65 or over.

The New Kids topped [[Forbes]] list of most paid entertainers of 1990 — beating out the likes of [[Michael Jackson]] and [[Madonna (entertainer)|Madonna]]. Further capitalizing on the fame, at year's end, Columbia Records released [[No More Games/The Remix Album]] — a compilation of the group's biggest hits remixed.

In the blink of an eye, however, tastes in music changed. Just as [[punk rock]] and [[new wave]] broke the [[disco]] trance in the lates [[1970]]'s, in 1990 the rage and intelligence of [[Jane's Addiction]], [[Midnight Oil]], [[Sinead O'Conner]], [[The Cure]], and others were breaking through; [[Nirvana]], [[Alice in Chances]], and the reast of [[Seattle]] were waiting in the wings. In 1990, the Bush-Raegan era was unraveling, [[Milli Vanilli]] was stripped of their [[Grammy Award]], [[Columbia Records]] had a brand new youthful president in [[Don Lenner]], and [[M ariah Carey]] was the 20-year-old new kid at the top of evert Top 40 radio playlist. Radio programmers virtually ignored the next two singles ("Let's Try Again" and 1991's "Games").

==Government==

By early 1991, the group had become so over-exposed that a public and commercial backlash had formed. Sensing that it was time to give the American market a break, the group released no new material that year — but continued to tour throughout [[Europe]] and [[Asia]]. That summer, Donnie produced the debut album of his brother Mark's group [[Marky Mark And The Funky Bunch]] — which scored a #1 hit with "Good Vibrations," and a platinum album.

{{sect-stub}}

==Education==

==="If You Go Away"===

{{sect-stub}}

As their touring itinerary was nearing its end in early [[1992]], the group released a new stand-alone single, "If You Go Away," which peaked at #16 on the charts. Meanwhile, as the music industry was still reeling from the [[Milli Vanilli]] lip-synching scandal, the group found themselves accused by a former engineer of not having sung all of the 1988 hit album ''Hangin' Tough''. They immediately struck back, going on a minor publicity blitz to refute the allegation. Though they managed to successfully quell the claim, it still didn't stop them from noticing that their popularity had waned as teen-pop had now gone out of fashion. The group went into hibernation while plotting their next move.

Contains three High Schools: [[Wakefield High School]], Northeast Vocational, Our Lady of Nazareth

In 1997, the boys' and girls' basketball teams from Wakefield High School won Division II state championships on the same night.

===''Face The Music''===

[[Image:FaceTheMusic.jpg|thumb|left|200px|''Face The Music'' (1994)]]Faced with the constant derision of people outside their teen market and the maturation of that base, the fact that they themselves were no longer teenagers, and that the 'type' of music that had once made them famous had faded from the lexicon — the group split off from Maurice Starr, shortened their name to '''NKOTB''' and attempted to make a comeback in January 1994 with ''[[Face The Music (New Kids on the Block album)|Face The Music]]''.

==Transportation==

Their first release in over three years, this album had a grittier and more harder-edge sound. In spite of some positive critical reception, not surprisingly, the album sold poorly. The group went on tour to support the album, but were now faced with the reality of their time as pop music icons having peaked, as their venues were now basically clubs and theaters — as opposed to the arenas and stadiums that had been the case before. Group member Jonathan Knight, meanwhile, departed the tour early. Shortly thereafter the remaining four decided to cancel the rest of the tour, and subsequently disbanded.

{{sect-stub}}

==Media==

==Post-New Kids On The Block==

* The town is covered by two daily newspapers, the locally owned ''[[The Wakefield Daily Item|Daily Item]]'' and an edition of the ''[[Daily Times Chronicle]]''; and by one weekly newspaper, the [[Wakefield Observer]].

After the group's demise, all of the group members married and started families, and began to venture into other avenues.

==Points of interest==

*'''Jonathan Knight'''<br>Left the entertainment business altogether and began a new career in [[real estate]].

{{sect-stub}}

[[Lake Quannapowitt]] is popular amongst the old and the young in terms of running/walking around the 3 mile body of water.

==Annual events==

*'''Jordan Knight'''<br>In 1999, during a teen pop revival released a moderately successful solo album, ''JK'', on [[Interscope Records]]. Scored a top 10 hit "Give It To You." Opened up for [[Nsync]] that summer. Continues to record and tour. Knight appeared on [[VH1|VH-1's]] [[The Surreal Life]] in 2004, and in 2005 appeared in the Five reality show [[Trust Me - I'm A Holiday Rep]], along with British comedian [[Syd Little]] and glamour model [[Jodie Marsh]].

* Town Day

* [[Independence Day]] Parade

* Homecoming Celebration in [[Autumn]]

* Concerts on the Common ([[Summer]])

==Notable residents==

*'''Joe McIntyre'''<br>In 1999, during a teen pop revival, released a moderately successful solo album, ''Stay The Same'', on Columbia Records. Scored a top 20 hit with the albums title track. He has also released further albums 'Meet Joe Mac', 'One Too Many' - a live compilation album of McIntyres work and most recently '8:09'. McIntyre later became a regular on the [[FOX]] television show ''[[Boston Public]]'' and has performed in [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] musicals including ''[[Wicked (musical)|Wicked]]''. He was a contender on the reality show ''[[Dancing with the Stars (USA)|Dancing with the Stars]]''. Continues to record and tour.

{{sect-stub}}

==References==

*'''Danny Wood'''<br>Formed a Boston-based record label. Produces other acts and occasionally performs with other musicians, but largely prefers to remain out of the spotlight.

<references />

==External links==

*'''Donnie Wahlberg'''<br>Has become the most successful since the group — following in the footsteps of his brother Mark, he too has forged a new career in acting and has been involved in movies such as ''[[Southie (film)|Southie]]'', ''[[The Sixth Sense]]'', and the critically-acclaimed mini-series ''[[Band of Brothers]]''. He starred in the short-lived police drama series ''[[Boomtown (television series)|Boomtown]]'', in which he played "Detective Stevens." Donnie also had the lead role in the horror film ''[[Saw II]]'' which opened #1 at the box office in its opening weekend, October 28th, 2005, with $31 million dollars.

{{Massachusetts}}

===Non reunion===

In 1999, during the teen pop revival, MTV attempted to reunite the group and get them to perform on that year's [[MTV Video Music Awards|VMA's]]. All members were on board, except Jonathan — and subsequently the performance didn't happen. In 2003 [[Aamer Haleem]], host of VH1's [[Bands Reunited]], also attempted to coerce each of the members of New Kids On The Block to reunite for a one-night performance for the show. Jonathan this time agreed, as did Jordan — Joe, Donnie and Danny, however, all declined.

[[Category:Towns in Massachusetts]]

== Related Articles ==

[[Category:Middlesex County, Massachusetts]]

*[[New Kids On The Block discography]]

[[Category:Puritanism|Watertown, Massachusetts]]

[[fr:Wakefield (Massachusetts)]]

==See also==

[[lmo:Wakefield, Massachusetts]]

* [[List of best selling music artists]]

[[Category:American musical groups]]

[[Category:Boy bands]]

[[Category:Rhythmic Top 40 acts|NKOTB]]

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