Regina Elaine 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 "Make It Like It Was" is a 1990 R&B/Soul song by American singer–songwriter Regina Belle. Released on March 17, 1990 by Columbia Records, The song was written by Carvin Winans. This single was released from Belle's 1989 album, '' Stay with Me' ...

" (1990), Belle's most notable for two hit duets, both 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 1983 hit "Tonight, I Celebrate My Love" with Roberta Flack. Bryson ...

: " Without You", the love theme from the

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

Leonard Part 6 ''Leonard Part 6'' (also known as ''Leonard Part VI'') is a 1987 American spy parody film. It was directed by Paul Weiland and starred Bill Cosby, who also produced the film and wrote its story. The film also starred Gloria Foster as the vill ...

'', recorded in 1987 and "

A Whole New World "A Whole New World" is the signature song from Disney's 1992 animated feature film ''Aladdin'', with music by Alan Menken and lyrics by Tim Rice. A duet originally recorded by singers Brad Kane and Lea Salonga in their respective roles as t ...

", the main theme of the

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

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

Grammy award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

. The theme song " Far Longer than Forever" from the animated movie ''

The Swan Princess ''The Swan Princess'' is a 1994 American animated fantasy film based on the ballet ''Swan Lake''. Featuring Michelle Nicastro, Howard McGillin, Jack Palance, John Cleese, Steven Wright, Sandy Duncan, and Steve Vinovich, the film is directed by ...

'', 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., with whom he began his musical career in 1970. Biography Earl ...

, was nominated for a

Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...

in 1995 for

Best Original Song This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

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, which at the 2020 United States census had a population of 29,308. Englewood was incorporated as a city by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 17, 1899, from por ...

. 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 Dwight Morrow High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school located in Englewood, in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States, operating as part of the Englewood Public School District. The school also serves students from Engle ...

, where she studied

trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, 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 vibrating lips cause the Standing wave, air column ...

tuba The tuba (; ) is the lowest-pitched musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, the sound is produced by lip vibrationa buzzinto a mouthpiece. It first appeared in the mid-19th century, making it one of the ne ...

and

steel drum The steelpan (also known as a pan, steel drum, and sometimes, collectively with other musicians, as a steelband or steel orchestra) is a musical instrument originating in Trinidad and Tobago. Steelpan musicians are called pannists. Descripti ...

s. After graduation, Belle studied opera at the

Manhattan School of Music The Manhattan School of Music (MSM) is a private music conservatory in New York City. The school offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in the areas of classical and jazz performance and composition, as well as a bachelor's in mu ...

. She attended

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

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 is best known for her music during the late 1970s through the early 1990s, some of her most notable songs were "You Know How to Love Me" ...

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 had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop si ...

Shirley Caesar Shirley Ann Caesar-Williams (born October 13, 1938), known professionally as Shirley Caesar, is an American gospel singer whose career has spanned seven decades. She has won 11 Grammys in addition to Dove Awards and Stellar Awards; Caesar is kno ...

Patti LaBelle Patricia Louise Holte (born May 24, 1944), known professionally as Patti LaBelle, is an American R&B singer, actress and businesswoman. LaBelle is referred to as the " Godmother of Soul". She began her career in the early 1960s as lead singe ...

, and Nancy Wilson. She was introduced to

the Manhattans The Manhattans are an American popular R&B vocal group. Their work "Kiss and Say Goodbye", recorded in 1976, and 1980's " Shining Star", both sold millions of copies. The Manhattans have recorded 45 hits on the ''Billboard'' R&B Chart, includi ...

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 record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

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

Career

In 1987, she released her debut album ''

All by Myself "All by Myself" is a song by American singer-songwriter Eric Carmen released in 1975. The verse is based on the second movement (''Adagio sostenuto'') of Sergei Rachmaninoff's circa 1900–1901 '' Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor'', Opus 18. The ...

.'' It includes her first hits "So Many Tears" and "Show Me the Way". In the same year, Belle recorded her first successful duet with Peabo Bryson: the song " Without You", the love theme from the

'', also released in 1987. The song was her first single to appear on the

Adult Contemporary (chart) The Adult Contemporary chart is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine and lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary radio stations in the United States. The chart is compiled based on airplay data submitted to ''Billboard'' by sta ...

, peaking at #8 and was also her first single to appear in four charts, including the

UK Singles The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, 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 of popular music. Starting his career with singles of standard music, he became highly popular as an album artist, with several dozen of his albums achieving gold or platinum s ...

, "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 " Far Longer than Forever" from the animated movie ''

'', performed with

was nominated for a

in 1995 for

. 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 Glenn Jones (born September 27, 1962 in Jacksonville, Florida) is an American R&B/soul singer. He is best known for his songs "Show Me", "We've Only Just Begun (The Romance Is Not Over)" and "Here I Go Again" which reached No. 1 on the Billboa ...

. In 2004, she released a jazz standard album, '' Lazy Afternoon'', produced by

George Duke George M. 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 a pr ...

. 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 mus ...

' "For the Love of You" and

Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (born August 3, 1926), known professionally as Tony Bennett, is an American retired singer of traditional pop standards, big band, show tunes, and jazz. Bennett is also a painter, having created works under his birth ...

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

smooth jazz Smooth jazz is a genre of commercially-oriented crossover jazz and easy listening music that became dominant in the mid 1970s to the early 1990s. History Smooth jazz is a commercially oriented, crossover jazz which came to prominence in the 19 ...

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, who is best known for her 1986 R&B hit single "As We Lay" and for her vocals on Zapp and Roger's hit single " Computer Love". Her lead vocal special guest appearance w ...

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

Boney James Boney James (born James Oppenheim September 1, 1961) is an American saxophonist (tenor, alto and soprano), songwriter, record producer and recording artist. He is a four-time Grammy Award nominee (Best Pop Instrumental Album, 2001, 2004, 2014 an ...

, Paul Taylor,

The Rippingtons The Rippingtons are an American contemporary jazz group, mainly relating to the genres smooth jazz, jazz fusion, jazz pop, and crossover jazz. Formed in 1985 by guitarist and band leader Russ Freeman, their career has spanned more than three de ...

Gerald Albright Gerald Albright is an American jazz saxophonist. He earned Grammys for 24/7 in 2012 and Slam Dunk in 2014 and has been nominated for New Beginnings in 2008 and for Sax for Stax in 2009. Biography Born in Los Angeles, Albright grew up in its ...

Will Downing Wilfred "Will" Downing (born November 29, 1963) is an American singer and songwriter. He is married to singer Audrey Wheeler, who was a member of the R&B group Unlimited Touch. Biography Downing enrolled in Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn, ...

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 lea ...

Frankie Beverly Frankie Beverly (born Howard Beverly, December 6, 1946) is an American singer, musician, songwriter, and producer, known primarily for his recordings with the soul and funk band Maze. Beverly formed Maze, originally called Raw Soul, in his ...

Phil Perry Philip Eugene Perry (born January 12, 1952) is an American 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’s sitcom, '' Goof ...

Al Jarreau Alwin Lopez Jarreau (March 12, 1940 – February 12, 2017) was an American singer and musician. 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 R ...

, and

Stephanie Mills Stephanie Dorthea Mills (born March 22, 1957) is an American singer and songwriter. She rose to stardom as "Dorothy" in the original seven-time Tony Award winning Broadway run of the musical ''The Wiz'' from 1974 to 1979. The song " Home" from t ...

Personal life

Belle has been married twice. Her first marriage was to saxophonist and flute player

Horace Alexander Young Horace Alexander Young (born November 4, 1954) is an American saxophonist and flute player. He currently teaches woodwind instruments and jazz studies at Washington State University since 1998; in 2015, he was appointed to serve as chair of the C ...

from 1985 until 1990, and together they adopted 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 which 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 capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, 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, generally held in the fall, created by Dick Clark in 1973 for ABC when the network's contract to air the Grammy Awards expired, and currently produced by Dick Clark Produc ...

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

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

, - , 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 (formerly the MTV Movie Awards) is a film and television awards show presented annually on MTV. The first MTV Movie Awards were presented in 1992. The ceremony was renamed the MTV Movie & TV Awards for its 26th editi ...

**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 singers 21st-century American women singers 20th-century African-American women singers American contemporary R&B singers American women pop singers American soul singers People from Englewood, New Jersey Singers from New Jersey Ballad musicians Concord Records artists Grammy Award winners Dwight Morrow High School alumni 21st-century African-American women singers