Regina Belle (born July 17, 1963) is an American singer-songwriter who started her career in the mid-1980s. Known for her singles " Baby Come to Me" (1989) and " Make It Like It Was" (1990), Belle is most notable for three hit duets, all with

Peabo Bryson Robert Peapo "Peabo" Bryson ( ; born April 13, 1951) is an American singer and songwriter. He is known for singing soul ballads (often as a duet with female singers) including the hit singles " Tonight, I Celebrate My Love", "You're Looking Like ...

: " Without You", the love theme from the

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

'' Leonard Part 6'', recorded in 1987; "

A Whole New World "A Whole New World" is the signature song from Walt Disney Animation Studios, Disney's 1992 animated feature film Aladdin (1992 Disney film), ''Aladdin'', with music by Alan Menken and lyrics by Tim Rice. A duet originally recorded by singers B ...

", the main theme of the

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

's animated feature film ''Aladdin'' recorded in 1992, with which Belle and Bryson won a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

; and " I Just Can't Imagine". The theme song "

Far Longer than Forever "Far Longer than Forever" is the theme song from the animated movie ''The Swan Princess''. The song was written by composer Lex de Azevedo and lyricist David Zippel, with production by Robbie Buchanan. The song is performed by Regina Belle and Jef ...

" from the animated movie '' The Swan Princess'', performed with

Jeffrey Osborne Jeffrey Linton Osborne (born March 9, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter, musician and lyricist. He is the former drummer and lead singer of the American R&B/soul group L.T.D. (band), L.T.D., with whom he began his musical career in 1970. B ...

, was nominated for a

Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Januar ...

in 1995 for Best Original Song.

Biography

Early life and education

Belle was born in

Englewood, New Jersey Englewood is a city in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Englewood was incorporated as a city by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 17, 1899, from portions of Ridgefield Township and the remaining portions of Engle ...

. It was at Englewood's Mount Calvary Baptist Church, and then Paterson's Friendship Baptist Church (presided over by Belle's uncle, the Reverend Fred Belle), that Belle began attracting attention with her vocal abilities. She sang her first solo in church at the age of eight. She attended Dwight Morrow High School, where she studied

trombone The trombone (, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's lips vibrate inside a mouthpiece, causing the Standing wave, air c ...

tuba The tuba (; ) is the largest and lowest-pitched musical instrument in the brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, the sound is produced by lip vibrationa buzzinto a mouthpiece (brass), mouthpiece. It first appeared in th ...

, and

steel drum The steelpan (also known as a pan or steel drum) is a musical instrument originating in Trinidad and Tobago from Afro-Trinidadians. Steelpan musicians are called pannists. In 1992, the steelpan was declared Trinidad and Tobago’s national in ...

s. After graduation, Belle studied opera at the

Manhattan School of Music The Manhattan School of Music (MSM) is a private music conservatory A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music a ...

. She attended

Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...

and became the first female vocalist with the school's jazz ensemble. Belle's musical influences include

Phyllis Hyman Phyllis Linda Hyman (July 6, 1949 – June 30, 1995) was an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Hyman's music career spanned the late 1970s through the early 1990s, and she was best known for her expansive contralto range. Some of her most ...

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday made significant contributions to jazz music and pop ...

Shirley Caesar Shirley Ann Caesar-Williams (Birth name, née Caesar; born October 13, 1938), known professionally as Shirley Caesar, is an American Gospel music, gospel singer. Her career began in 1951, when she signed to Federal Records at the age of 12. Thro ...

Patti LaBelle Patricia Louise Holte (born May 24, 1944), known professionally as Patti LaBelle, is an American Rhythm and blues, R&B singer and actress. She has been referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Godmother of Soul". LaBelle began ...

, and Nancy Wilson. 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 on their '' Back to Basics'' album, which helped to attract the attention of

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

. She recorded a second duet, " Maybe Tomorrow", which appeared on the B-side of "Where Did We Go Wrong". Columbia eventually signed her to a record deal.

Career

In 1987, she released her debut album, '' All by Myself''. It includes her first hits "So Many Tears" and "Show Me the Way". The same year, Belle recorded her first successful duet with Peabo Bryson: the song " Without You", the love theme from the

'' Leonard Part 6'', also released in 1987. The song was her first single to appear on the Adult Contemporary chart, peaking at #8 and was also her first single to appear in four charts, including the UK Singles, peaking at #85, her best position in this chart until 1989. Her follow-up album, '' Stay with Me'', released in 1989. Belle recorded a duet in 1991 with

Johnny Mathis John Royce Mathis (born September 30, 1935) is an American singer. Starting his 69-year career with singles of standard (music), standard music, Mathis is one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century and became highly popular as ...

, "Better Together", which appeared on his album ''Better Together: The Duet Album''. Continuing her tradition of duets, Belle teamed up with

for four songs: " Without You" (in 1987), "I Can't Imagine" (in 1991), "

" (in 1992) and "Total Praise" (in 2009). Later in 1993, she released her platinum-selling third album, '' Passion''. The album featured the

hit "

". The theme song "

" from the animated movie '' The Swan Princess'', performed with

, was nominated for a

in 1995 for Best Original Song. She released ''

Reachin' Back ''Reachin' Back'' is the fourth studio album by American singer Regina Belle. It was released by Columbia Records on September 5, 1995, in the United States. A cover album of classic songs, it is dedicated to Philadelphia soul music. The album pea ...

'' in 1995 followed by '' Believe in Me'' in 1998. Regina Belle performs at the White House

In 2001, her cover of "Just the Two of Us" from the tribute album ''To Grover, With Love'' made a surprising return to the ''Billboard'' charts. Within months Belle would sign with the jazz-oriented independent label Peak-Concord Jazz. She released the album '' This Is Regina!'', which featured the R&B hit single "Ooh Boy", and also released were "Don't Wanna Go Home" and "From Now On" with Glenn Jones. In 2004, she released a jazz standard album, '' Lazy Afternoon'', produced by

George Duke George Martin Duke (January 12, 1946 – August 5, 2013) was an American keyboardist, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer. He worked with numerous artists as arranger, music director, writer and co-writer, record producer and as ...

. The album included covers of the

Isley Brothers Isley is an English surname. The name can also be used as an anglicized variant for the German surnames Eisele and Eisler. Notable people with the surname include: *The Isley Brothers, American musical group ** Ernie Isley (born 1952), American ...

' "For the Love of You" and

Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (August 3, 1926 – July 21, 2023), known professionally as Tony Bennett, was an American jazz and traditional pop singer. He received many accolades, including 20 Grammy Awards, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, ...

's "If I Ruled the World". In 2007, she collaborated with

smooth jazz Smooth jazz is commercially oriented crossover jazz music. Although often described as a "genre", it is a debatable and highly controversial subject in jazz music circles. As a radio format, however, smooth jazz radio became the successor to e ...

saxophonist Paul Taylor, co-writing and singing on his album ''Ladies Choice''. Belle 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 Shirley Murdock (born May 22, 1957) is an American R&B singer-songwriter. She is best known for her guest appearance alongside Charlie Wilson on Zapp and Roger's 1986 single " Computer Love", as well as her 1986 single, "As We Lay". The latt ...

. On June 5, 2012, Belle released on Pendulum her second gospel album, called ''Higher'', on which she stated: "I think that, with the second CD 'Higher''I had a better understanding of where I wanted to go ompared to ''Love Forever Shines''. Belle has appeared in concert with many other performers, including

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential musicians in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Gen ...

, Boney James, Paul Taylor, The Rippingtons,

Gerald Albright Gerald Albright (born August 30, 1957) is an American jazz saxophonist. He earned Grammys for the albums ''24/7 (Gerald Albright and Norman Brown album), 24/7'' in 2012 and ''Slam Dunk'' in 2014 and was nominated for ''New Beginnings (Gerald Albr ...

Will Downing Wilfred "Will" Downing (born November 29, 1963) is an American R&B, soul, neo soul, and jazz singer and songwriter. He has released 22 studio albums. Biography Early life Downing was born and raised to a working-class family in Bedford-Stuy ...

Maze A maze is a path or collection of paths, typically from an entrance to a goal. The word is used to refer both to branching tour puzzles through which the solver must find a route, and to simpler non-branching ("unicursal") patterns that lead ...

, Frankie Beverly,

Phil Perry Philip Eugene Perry (born January 12, 1952) is an American Contemporary R&B, R&B singer, songwriter, musician and a former member of the soul group, The Montclairs, from 1971 to 1975. He was also known for performing the opening song to Disney� ...

Al Jarreau Alwin Lopez Jarreau (March 12, 1940 – February 12, 2017) was an American singer and songwriter. His 1981 album '' Breakin' Away'' spent two years on the ''Billboard'' 200 and is considered one of the finest examples of the Los Angeles pop and ...

, and

Stephanie Mills Stephanie Dorthea Mills (born March 22, 1957) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. She rose to stardom as Dorothy Gale in the original seven-time Tony Awards, Tony Award winning Broadway theatre, Broadway run of the musical ''The Wiz'' ...

Personal life

Belle has been married twice. Her first marriage was to saxophonist and flute player Horace Alexander Young from 1985 until 1990, and together they adopted a daughter named Tiy (born 1989). Belle married former NBA basketball player John Battle on June 25, 1991. The couple has four children together, two of whom are adopted: daughter Winter, and son Jayln. After suffering miscarriages of two sets of twin boys, the couple had daughter Sydni (born 1994) and Nyla (born November 10, 1995). Belle has two grandchildren from Winter, Thea and Joshua. Belle successfully battled a brain tumor in 2009. However, she is now deaf in her left ear. Belle and her husband reside in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, Georgia. John is a pastor of a church in Atlanta.

Discography

Studio albums

Compilations

* 1997: ''Baby Come to Me: The Best of Regina Belle'' * 2001: ''Super Hits'' * 2006: ''Love Songs''

Singles

Awards and nominations

American Music Award The American Music Awards (AMAs) is an annual American music awards show produced by Dick Clark Productions since 1974. Nominees are selected on commercial performance such as sales and airplay. Winners are determined by a poll of the public and ...

**1991, Favorite Soul/R&B Female Artist (Nominated) *

, - , 1991 , "Make It Like It Was" , Best Female R&B Vocal Performance , , - , rowspan="2" , 1994 , rowspan="2" , "A Whole New World" (with Peabo Bryson) , Record of the Year , , - , Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals , , - , 1999 , ''Believe in Me'' , Best Traditional R&B Vocal Album , , - , 2002 , ''This is Regina'' , Best Traditional R&B Vocal Album , *

MTV Movie Awards The MTV Movie & TV Awards is a film and television awards show previously presented annually on MTV. It began as the MTV Movie Awards in 1992, when its 1992 MTV Movie Awards, first edition was held, and adopted its current name in 2017, beginnin ...

**1993, Best Song From a Movie: "A Whole New World" (with Peabo Bryson) (Nominated)

References

External links

Regina Belle
official website *
Regina Belle 2016 Audio Interview
at Soulinterviews.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Belle, Regina 1963 births Living people 20th-century American singers 20th-century American women singers 21st-century American women singers 21st-century American singers 20th-century African-American women singers American contemporary R&B singers American women pop singers American soul singers Musicians from Englewood, New Jersey Singers from New Jersey American ballad musicians Concord Records artists Grammy Award winners Dwight Morrow High School alumni 21st-century African-American women singers