Before the Legend

Amber Communications Group, Inc.'s imprint Colossus Books has published Before the Legend: The Rise of New Kids on the Block and...a Guy Named Maurice Starr - The Early Years, a remarkable true story as told by author and former record producer Tony Rose, the primary architect along with Maurice Starr of the Roxbury/Boston Black Music Scene.

On July 20th, 21st, 23rd and 24th at a sold out Giants Stadium, (1990), the New kids On The Block with their record producer and manager Maurice Starr, made a triumphant entrance into new York city. Their lives had been filled with hard work, determination, dedication, confidence, success and many failures, but they never lost their belief, love, and loyalty for Maurice Starr and one another.

Theirs is a history filled with respect for people of all backgrounds, cultures and colors. This is the true story of the mean streets of Boston, its rappers, singers and dancers; the funk, pop, blues, rock and soul..the back alleys, down south and the recording industry.

Five working-class boys living in the "blue collar districts" of Boston, called North Dorchester and Jamaica Plain, and a record producer from the black ghetto of Roxbury would go to the dizzying heights of the music world at a speed so phenomenal, that it shattered all existing record sales and concert tour sales.

From the bottom, to the top, this is the true, undoctored, hard-hitting, fact-filled story of Donnie Wahlberg, Jordan Knight, Jonathan Knight, Danny Wood, Joe McIntyre.............. New Kids On The Block.........and a guy named Maurice Starr.

"Come with me and let me tell you the true story, the real story, the only story. I was there"..Tony Rose.

Tony Rose, was born and raised in the Whittier St. Housing Projects in Roxbury/Boston, Massachusetts. During the eighties, he held production deals with Virgin Records, Atlantic Records and Pavilion / CBS / Sony Records through his Solid Platinum Records and Productions, recording, producing and licensing numerous top ten records and albums throughout the world.

His over thirty year friendship and musical collaborations with the legendary Maurice Starr and Boston music legend Prince Charles Alexander resulted in the albums "Gang War" and "Stone Killers" produced by Rose, sharing the charts with Michael Jackson's "Thriller" for six consecutive months in the number one, two and three positions throughout the world, and receiving a Gold and Platinum Albums and two Ampex Golden Reel Awards for recording and engineering, in his Boston-based Hit City Recording Studio, New Kids On The Block.