The violent death of Riley’s best friend was the last straw.
Teddy Riley, the architect of New Jack Swing, explains in a new UNCENSORED episode on TVOne that he quit the group Guy after a fatal shooting.
In the late 1980s, Guy was on top of the charts with hit singles like “Groove Me” and “Piece of My Love.” New Edition was also riding high with songs like “Can You Stand the Rain” and “If It Isn’t Love.” The two groups toured together in 1989, and members of their respective entourages were not getting along. The tension came to a head on July 9, 1989, in Pittsburgh when New Edition’s production manager Ronald Byrd fatally shot Anthony Bee, Guy’s security chief, in front of a Hyatt Hotel. Bee was 32 years old. Byrd was convicted of manslaughter in 1990 and sentenced to five to 10 years in prison.
The concert planned for that evening was canceled and it was at that moment Riley knew he could no longer be in the group.
“My friend Anthony Bee got shot three or four times by one of the New Edition guys. I don’t want to put his name out there because you know, he’s forgiven. You know he was defending himself, but it was my guy who got shot. The reason why I quit the group was because I lost my best friend and I couldn’t take the pressure,” Teddy Riley said on UNCENSORED.
“I didn’t want to quit the group. Those are my brothers, but I felt like I had to take that break,” he continued. Riley announced he was leaving Guy on stage at Madison Square Garden on the last date of the tour.
Teddy Riley’s UNCENSORED episode premiered on March 21.
