Regina Belle
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| Regina Belle | |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Regina Belle |
| Label(s) | Columbia (1986-1996) MCA (1997-1999) Peak / Concord (2000-2004) Pendulum Records (2008-present) |
| Website | Peak Records Artist Page |
Regina Belle (born July 17, 1963) is a Grammy award winning singer who sings Adult Contemporary, Quiet Storm, Smooth Jazz, Urban contemporary, Broadway, and Contemporary R&B songs. Regina is married to ex-NBA basketball player John Battle. She has four daughters and one son and resides in Atlanta, Georgia[1].
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Early life
Regina Belle was born in Englewood, New Jersey. Her early musical experience was in gospel music. She also studied trombone, tuba and steel drums and graduated from Dwight Morrow High School.[2]. She also studied opera at the Manhattan School of Music. At Rutgers University, she became the first female vocalist with the school's jazz ensemble. Regina's musical influences include Phyllis Hyman, Billie Holiday, Donny Hathaway, and Nancy Wilson [3][4].
She was introduced to the Manhattans by New York radio DJ Vaughn Harper and began working as their opening act. She recorded the duet "Where Did We Go Wrong" with the group which helped to attract the attention of Columbia Records. They eventually signed her to a record deal[5].
[edit] Career
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In 1987, she released her debut album All By Myself . In 1989, Belle released her second album, "Stay with Me". Several tracks on the album charted. "Baby Come To Me", the album's first single, topped the R&B charts at # 2 and was followed by "What Goes Around" which reached # 3. "This Is Love" reached # 7 and "Make It Like It Was" was a # 1 single on the R&B charts and a # 5 on the Adult Contemporary chart [6]. Belle recorded a duet in 1991 with singing superstar Johnny Mathis, "Better Together" which appeared on his album Better Together: The Duet Album. Continuing her tradition of duets, Belle teamed up with Peabo Bryson for the song "A Whole New World", which was the featured pop single from the soundtrack to the 1992 Disney movie "Aladdin". The song hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100, went gold, won the Grammy Award in 1993 for "Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal and a "Best Song" Oscar in the same year [7] [8].
During the same year, Belle released her third album, "Passion". The album featured the previously mentioned "A Whole New World", "Dream In Color" and "If I Could", which reached # 9 on the R&B charts [6].
Belle's post-Disney career was mostly relegated to the R&B charts, without her former crossover success. After a five-year hiatus without any original content released, Belle put out the album "Believe in Me" in 1998. Although the album had two hit singles, the lead single being "I've Had Enough" (it was also remixed into a sizable dance music hit), the album didn't met MCA Records sales goal. She left MCA Records in 1999 due to artistic differences. In 2001 Regina Belle's cover of "Just the Two of Us" from the tribute album "To Grover, with Love" again hit the charts. The album eventually made # 4 on the Top Contemporary Jazz Albums. In 2001, after signing with the jazz oriented independent label Peak-Concord Jazz, she released the album "This Is Regina!" which featured another hit single, "Ooh Boy". Two more singles, the funky "Don't Wanna Go Home" and "From Now On" with Glenn Jones were lifted from the album, "This Is Regina!", which went gold.
In 2004 she released a jazz standard album, "Lazy Afternoon" produced by George Duke. The album included covers of the Isley Brothers' "For the Love of You" and Tony Bennett's "If I Ruled the World". In 2007, she collaborated with Smooth Jazz saxophonist Paul Taylor, co-writing and singing on his album "Ladies Choice" which scored # 1 on the Billboard Smooth Jazz chart.
Regina has appeared in concert with many other performers, including Ray Charles, Boney James, Paul Taylor, The Rippingtons, Gerald Albright, Will Downing, Maze, Frankie Beverly, Phil Perry, Howard Hewitt, Al Jarreau, and Stephanie Mills [9].
Belle has released her debut gospel album Love Forever Shines on May 13, 2008 via Pendulum Records. The 14-track collection features guests Melvin Williams (of the Williams Brothers) and Shirley Murdock. The first single "God Is Good" has already been made available digitally on iTunes. [10] [11] The album debuts at # 3 on Billboard Top Gospel Albums, at # 5 at Billboard Top Christian/Gospel Albums, at # 14 on The Top Independent Albums, at # 119 on The Billboard 200 and at # 15 on Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. (Issue Date: 2008-05-31).
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
| Year | Album | U.S. Pop | U.S. R&B | U.S. Jazz | U.S. Gospel |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | All My Myself | 85 | 14 | - | - |
| 1989 | Stay with Me | 63 | 1 | - | - |
| 1993 | Passion | 63 | 13 | - | - |
| 1995 | Reachin' Back | 115 | 18 | - | - |
| 1997 | Baby Come To Me: The Best Of Regina Belle | - | - | - | - |
| 1998 | Believe in Me | - | 42 | - | - |
| 2001 | This Is Regina! | - | 61 | - | - |
| 2004 | Lazy Afternoon | - | 58 | 9 | - |
| 2006 | Love Songs | - | - | - | - |
| 2008 | Love Forever Shines | - | - | - | - |
[edit] Singles
| Year | Song | U.S. Pop | U.S.R&B | U.S. A/C | U.S. Club/Dance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | "You Got the Love" | - | - | - | - |
| 1987 | "Please Be Mine" | - | 2 | - | - |
| 1987 | "Show Me The Way" | 68 | 2 | - | - |
| 1987 | "So Many Tears" | - | 11 | - | - |
| 1988 | "Without You" (with Peabo Bryson) (Theme from Leonard VI) | - | - | - | - |
| 1988 | "How Could You Do It To Me" | - | 21 | - | - |
| 1989 | "Baby Come To Me" | 60 | 1 | - | - |
| 1989 | "All I Want Is Forever" (with James "J.T." Taylor) | - | - | - | - |
| 1990 | "Make It Like It Was" | 43 | 1 | 5 | - |
| 1990 | "This Is Love" | - | 7 | 29 | - |
| 1990 | "What Goes Around" | - | 3 | - | - |
| 1993 | "A Whole New World" (Aladdin's Theme) (with Peabo Bryson) | 1 | 21 | 10 | - |
| 1993 | "If I Could" | 52 | 9 | 12 | - |
| 1993 | "Dream In Color" | - | 63 | - | - |
| 1994 | "The Deeper I Love" | - | - | - | - |
| 1995 | "Love T.K.O." | - | 29 | - | - |
| 1998 | "I've Had Enough" | - | - | - | 25 |
| 2001 | "Oooh Boy" | - | 63 | - | - |
| 2004 | "For the Love of You" | - | 60 | - | - |
| 2008 | "God Is Good" | "DEBUT Top 25 Gospel in R&R/BDS and Mediabase after 1 week at radio" | - | - | - |
[edit] Awards & Nominations
- 1991 Nomination for best rhythm and blues female singer, American Music Awards.
- 1994 Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal, winner, with Peabo Bryson, for "A Whole New World (Aladdin's Theme)","Best Song" Oscar for "A Whole New World"(Alladin's Theme).
- 1999 Grammy Nomination for Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance, Believe In Me.
- 2002 Grammy Nomination for Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance, This Is Regina.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Harrington, Richard (November 9), “Free to be Regina Belle”, Washington Post: WE05, <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/08/AR2007110800847.html>.
- ^ Beckerman, Jim. "For Regina Belle, time for a special payback", The Record (Bergen County), October 31, 2004. Accessed July 9, 2007. "It was at Englewood's Mount Calvary Baptist Church, and then Paterson's Friendship Baptist Church (presided over by Belle's uncle, the Rev. Fred Belle), that Regina Belle began attracting attention with her vocal abilities. She sang her first solo in church at age 8; by the time she graduated from Dwight Morrow High School at age 17, she was the church's star singer
- ^ Bryant, Scott Poulsen. 1993. Regina: A showstopper with star power. Essence 24, no. 4: 56-60. http://proquest.umi.com. (accessed May 6, 2008).
- ^ "Biography: Regina Belle," Peak Records, www.peakrecords.com/bios/reginabio.htm (April 26, 2005).
- ^ Paoletta, Michael 1998. Regina Belle displays diva diversity on new MCA set. People 110, no. 20: 26-27. http://search.ebscohost.com (accessed May 5, 2008)
- ^ a b Regina Belle Artist Chart History. Retrieved on 2008-04-28.
- ^ Scott, Ron. 2004. Belle's Lazy afternoon. New York Amsterdam News 95, no. 37: 17. http://search.ebscohost.com (accessed May 5, 2008).
- ^ Lopez, Robert. August 3, 2007. Regina Belle knows about sacrifices. Knight Ridder Tribune Business News. http://proquest.umi.com (accessed May 6, 2008).
- ^ Watrous, Peter (July 1), “Jazz Festival; Ray Charles's Silences, Regina Belle's Wildness”, The New York Times, <http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0CE7D91E31F932A35754C0A967958260>.
- ^ REGINA BELLE RELEASES GOSPEL ALBUM: Multi-Grammy Award winner’s debut gospel project, 'Love Forever Shines,' in stores soon.. EURweb.com (March 7, 2008).
- ^ Quinn, Gwendolynn (March 5, 2008). Multiple GRAMMY Winner REGINA BELLE Releases Debut Gospel Album. The Industry Cosign.
[edit] Sources
- Richard De La Font Booking Agency , accessed 16 Oct 2005.
- Soul Tracks: “Regina Belle Biography”, accessed 16 Oct 2005.
- VH1.com: “Regina Belle”, accessed 16 Oct 2005.
- R&B Haven: “Regina Belle”, accessed 08 Sep 2006.
[edit] External links
- "You Got The Love" music video
- Pendulum Records Official Site
- Regina Belle at Wenig-LaMonica Associates
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Belle, Regina |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | American singer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | July 17, 1963 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Englewood, New Jersey |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
