A Boston-based entrepreneur who was the mastermind behind New Kids on the Block and New Edition, Maurice Starr was a failed R&B singer when he decided instead to create, manage, and produce an act who would perform his songs. He assembled New Edition in 1982, handpicking the five Black teenagers who comprised the group. They went on to have several U.S. Top Ten R&B hits before their key members split, most notably Bobby Brown. In 1984, Starr applied the same formula to a quintet of white teenagers and by 1989, New Kids on the Block were the fastest-rising act in the U.S.A. Starr also handled the group's lucrative marketing of posters, T-shirts, and other spin-offs. He later attempted to repeat his success with artists such as Rick Wes, Perfect Gentlemen, Homework, the Superiors, Tommy Page, and Ana.