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regina belle

Regina Belle

b. Regina Belle, 17th July 1963, Englewood, New Jersey, U.S.A.

Regina Belle is an R&B singer-songwriter from New Jersey.

Regina was born in Englewood in 1963.

As with many R&B vocalists, she honed her vocal skills in a Gospel orientated environment.

A young Regina attended Englewood's Mount Calvary Baptist Church at first.

She then moved on to sing in the Friendship Baptist Church in Paterson.

It was here that she saw an increasing interest in her vocal prowess.

Regina sang her first solos in these churches at the age of 8.

She went on to study at the Dwight Morrow High School where she was taught trombone, tuba and steel drums.

When she graduated, Regina studied opera at the Manhattan School of Music.

She attended Rutgers University, where she became the first female vocalist with the school's jazz ensemble.

Regina was then introduced to the group the Manhattans, after which she began performing as the group’s opening act.

She recorded the duet ‘Where Did We Go Wrong’ on the group’s 1986 ‘Back To Basics’ album which helped her sign a deal later with Columbia Records.

Regina BelleRegina BelleRegina BelleRegina Belle

all by myself - 1987 / stay with me - 1989 / passion - 1993 / reachin' back - 1995

In 1987, she released her debut album ‘All By Myself’.

‘All By Myself’ features ‘So Many Tears’ and ‘Show Me the Way’.

She followed up this album with ‘Stay with Me’ in 1989, which featured her take on the Donny Hathaway evergreen ‘Someday We'll All Be Free’ b/w ‘Save The Children’.

Regina recorded several duets at this time.

Firstly, she sang ‘Better Together’ with Johnny Mathis (in 1991), and ‘I Can't Imagine’, ‘Without You’ and ‘A Whole New World’ with Peabo Bryson (in 1992), a song which featured in the Walt Disney movie ‘Aladdin’.

‘A Whole New World’ reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100.

It also won the ‘Best Song’ Oscar that year.

In late 1993, Regina released her third album, entitled ‘Passion’.

In 1995, she followed up the album with ‘Reachin' Back’, which was an album re-working of classic Soul material.

Regina BelleRegina BelleRegina BelleRegina Belle

believe in me - 1998 / this is regina - 2001 / lazy afternoon - 2004 / love forever shines - 2008

In 1998, Regina released ‘Believe in Me’, which featured new material.

In 2001, she recorded her version of the Bill Withers/Grover Washington Jnr. song ‘Just the Two of Us’.

The song came from a tribute album, entitled ‘To Grover, With Love’, which sold well, and Regina relocated labels to the Peak-Concord Jazz imprint.

Regina then released the album ‘This Is Regina!’, which featured ‘Ooh Boy’, ‘Don't Wanna Go Home’ and ‘From Now On’.

In 2004, she released an album of jazz standards, entitled ‘Lazy Afternoon’.

The album was produced by the late George Duke, and featured her take on the Isley Brothers' song ‘For the Love of You’ and ‘If I Ruled the World’.

In 2008, Regina released a gospel album, called ‘Love Forever Shines’ for the Pendulum Records imprint.

The album features several Soul/Gospel artists, including Melvin Williams (of the Williams Brothers) and Shirley Murdock.

Regina Belle

higher - 2012

A follow up gospel album (also on Pendulum) entitled ‘Higher’ was released in 2012.

Regina Belle's musical influences include Phyllis Hyman, Billie Holiday, Shirley Caesar, and Nancy Wilson.

As a live performer, she has appeared on stage with the likes of Ray Charles, Boney James, Paul Taylor, The Rippingtons, Gerald Albright, Will Downing, Maze, Frankie Beverly, Phil Perry, Al Jarreau, and Stephanie Mills.

Regina now lives in Atlanta, Georgia and is married to ex-NBA basketball player John Battle.

John is now a pastor in Atlanta, Georgia.

The couple have five children, the eldest of whom is also a mother, making Regina a very young grandmother.

Regina Belle

'with belle's on'

She currently is starring in her own family television series, entitled 'With Belle's On', which is described as an 'Up close and personal look inside the busy life of Multi-Grammy Award winner and Musical Icon Regina Belle'.

Regina Belle

the day life began - 2016

http://withbelleson.tumblr.com

Real Player

Albums:

All By Myself (Columbia Records 1987)

Stay With Me (Columbia Records 1989)

Passion (Columbia Records 1993)

Reachin' Back (Columbia Records 1995)

Believe In Me (MCA Records 1998)

This Is Regina (Peak Records 2001)

Lazy Afternoon (Peak Records 2004)

Love Forever Shines (Pendulum Records 2008)

Higher (Pendulum Records 2012)

The Day Life Began (Shanachie Records 2016)

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