Angela Winbush (born January 28, 1955) is an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
R&BRhythm and blues is the name given to a wide-ranging genre of popular music created by African Americans in the late 1940s and early 1950s...
/
soulSoul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
singer-songwriter who rose to fame first in the 1980s R&B duo
René & AngelaRené & Angela were an 1980s R&B duo consisting of artist/producers René Moore and Angela Winbush. Angela met René in 1980, formed the group, and subsequently married. The relationship dissolved by the mid 1980s, with the duo falling apart not long after. Both went on to solo careers as...
, also scoring hits as a solo artist. During her career, Winbush has sold over ten million albums and singles worldwide, and has had twenty Top Forty R&B singles and three number one R&B singles.
Early life and career
Born in
St. LouisSt. Louis is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. With an estimated population of 354,361 in 2008, it is the principal municipality of Greater St. Louis, population 2,866,517, the largest urban area in Missouri and sixteenth largest in the United States...
,
MissouriMissouri is a state in the Midwest region of the United States bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. Missouri is the 18th most populous state with a 2008 estimated population of 5,911,605. It comprises 114 counties and one independent city....
, Angela began singing in church. She did not initially aspire to a career in music, instead studying architecture at
Howard UniversityHoward University is a federally chartered, non-profit, private, coeducational, nonsectarian, historically black university located in Washington, D.C., United States....
, singing only to earn extra money. She continued to sing in church while at Howard as well as with gospel legend Richard Smallwood. By 1977, Angela had changed her major to music education, and recorded a demo. She shopped it to various record labels with no success but, through a personal introduction furnished by respected industry veteran, Wayne K. Garfield, the demo was heard by New York disc jockey Gary Byrd, who made the call that landed Angela a spot in
Stevie WonderStevie Wonder is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. Blind from birth, Wonder signed with Motown Records at the age of eleven, and continues to perform and record for the label. He has recorded more than thirty U.S...
's backing vocal group, Wonderlove. Becoming Wonder's protegé, she learned a great deal about writing and arranging songs. While in Los Angeles with Wonder, Angela met singer
René MooreRene Moore was a successful singer-songwriter and producer in the 1980s and is more memorable musically for hits he produced with his soul co-singer Angela Winbush as part of René & Angela, including "I'll Be Good", "Save Your Love ", "Your Smile", and "You Don't Have to Cry".- Biography :Moore and...
; the two never became a couple,and only wrote songs and performed together. René & Angela released their self-titled debut album in 1980, followed by
Wall to Wall in 1982 and
Rise in 1983. During this period they had two moderate hit singles, "I Love You More" and "My First Love".
A Street Called Desire and meeting Ron Isley
During Rene & Angela's early years, Moore and Winbush were asked to produce songs for
Janet JacksonJanet Damita Jo Jackson is an American recording artist and actress. Born in Gary, Indiana, and raised in Encino, Los Angeles, California, she is the youngest child of the Jackson family of musicians...
's 1982 self-titled debut album,
Janet JacksonJanet Jackson is the self-titled debut album by American recording artist Janet Jackson, released in 1982 by A&M Records. Jackson's career as a recording artist was established by her father and manager Joseph Jackson, who arranged her recording contract with A&M Records...
. One of the songs, "
Young Love"Young Love" was the first single from Janet Jackson's self-titled debut album. The song peaked at #64 on the Pop Charts and #6 on the R&B Charts, becoming her first top ten R&B single...
", became Jackson's first top ten R&B hit reaching number six on the chart. They also wrote exclusively for
Stephanie MillsStephanie Mills is an American Grammy Award-winning R&B and soul singer, a former Broadway star, and was originally given the title as "the little girl with the big voice."-Career:...
, who forged a close friendship with Winbush (their "
I Have Learned to Respect the Power of Love"I Have Learned to Respect the Power of Love" is a song by R&B singer, Stephanie Mills, and is the second single from the singer's 1985 self-titled album. The song was written by Angela Winbush and René Moore, both of members of the singing duo, Rene and Angela.The single peaked at the summit of...
", gave Mills her first-ever #1 R&B single, in 1985). Winbush would later write another Mills number one R&B hit with "Something in the Way You Make Me Feel". Between that, Rene & Angela decided to branch out and find a bigger fan base signing with
Mercury RecordsMercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Music Group in the US, and are both subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal Music...
in 1984. They released their breakthrough album,
A Street Called Desire the following year. Among the hit singles included on the album was their first R&B number one with the dance single, "Save Your Love (For #1)", which included guest vocals from rapper
Kurtis BlowCurtis Walker , is better known by his stage name Kurtis Blow, is one of the first commercially successful rappers and the first to sign with a major label...
, making it besides
Chaka KhanChaka Khan, born Yvette Marie Stevens on March 23, 1953, is a Grammy-winning American singer-songwriter best known for such hit songs as "I'm Every Woman", "Ain't Nobody", "I Feel for You" and "Through the Fire". She sang a modernized theme song for the popular children's TV show Reading Rainbow...
's "
I Feel For You"I Feel for You" is a song written by Prince that originally appeared on his 1979 self-titled album. It became a hit single in 1984 for female R&B singer Chaka Khan, appearing on her album, which was also called I Feel For You...
", one of the first songs to prominently feature a rapper. Other hit singles included "I'll Be Good", the mostly Winbush-led "Your Smile" was another number one hit while the subsequent "You Don't Have to Cry", hit number two in the beginning of 1986. Eventually
A Street Called Desire sold over a million copies going platinum, but on the brink of their greatest success, tensions between Winbush and Moore had grown. Moore went on to compose and produce hits for and with Michael Jackson and co-wrote with Winbush four songs for Janet Jackson's first album. Moore would continue to find success as a songwriter, most notably for
Michael JacksonMichael Joseph Jackson , known as the "King of Pop", was an American musician and one of the most commercially successful and influential entertainers of all time...
, but he never found success as a singer.
In 1986, Winbush was introduced to
Ronald IsleyRonald Isley is an American pop, rock, soul, and R&B singer and is known as the lead singer and founding member of the family music group The Isley Brothers...
, lead singer of the influential
Isley BrothersThe Isley Brothers are an African-American R&B, soul music and Funk group. They are one of the few groups to have long-running success on the Billboard charts placing a charted single in every decade since 1959 and as of 2006 were still charting successful albums performing under a repertoire of...
after
Benny MedinaBenny Medina is the CEO of The Medina Company. He has worked in the music business as a producer, talent manager and record executive...
had agreed to ask Winbush to be involved with the Isleys' next record when Isley proposed plans to work with Winbush on a future project. Producing, writing and arranging the Isleys'
Smooth Sailin'Smooth Sailin is a 1987 album released by The Isley Brothers on Warner Bros. Records. This album was the first album that the brothers released as a duo of Rudolph and Ronald after the untimely death of eldest brother O'Kelly, who had died in March of the previous year of a heart attack...
album, Winbush helped the group, now including just Ronald and
RudolphRudolph Isley is one of the founding members of the legendary family group, The Isley Brothers...
(eldest brother
O'KellyO'Kelly Isley, Jr. , was one of the founding members of the legendary family group, The Isley Brothers. Since the group's early years, he contributed heavily to the group's development co-writing some of the Isleys' stand-out hits including "Shout" , "It's Your Thing",...
had died the previous year), score a top 10 R&B hit with the title track.
Sharp and subsequent follow-ups
In turn, Isley opted to manage Winbush and he helped in the process of releasing her debut solo album,
SharpSharp is an R&B album by Angela Winbush.Some of the songs on the album:*"Angel"*"Run to Me"*"C'est Toi "*"Hello Beloved"...
, which was also released in 1987. The album included the huge hit, "Angel" which showcased Angela's multi-octave range. The song reached number 1 position for two weeks in 1987. Other notable hits include the dance track, "Run to Me", "C'est Toi (It's You)" and the Ron Isley duet, "Hello Beloved". In 1988, she wrote and produced two tracks for
Sheena Easton'sSheena Easton is a Scottish singer who achieved worldwide fame in the 1980s. Easton became famous for being the focus of an episode in the British television program The Big Time, which recorded her attempts to gain a record contract, and got her a deal with EMI Records...
gold album
The Lover In Me. They were "Without You" and "Fire and Rain", both of which showcased Easton's lower range and surprisingly soulful vocals. In 1989, Winbush released her follow-up to
Sharp with
It's the Real Thing. The title track reached number two on the R&B chart while subsequent hits "No More Tears" and "Lay Your Troubles Down" continued Winbush's top 40 success on the R&B charts where she was now a fixture on despite failed attempts to cross her over to pop audiences. On June 26, 1993 Winbush and longtime manager/collaborator/lover Ronald Isley, who is thirteen years Angela's senior, married. A year later Winbush released her third self-titled solo album, which included the huge R&B hit, "Treat U Rite". Produced by
Chuckii BookerChuckii Booker is an African American Award-Winning Producer,singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and bandleader.-Biography:...
, the song peaked at number six on the R&B chart making it Winbush's ninth top ten R&B hit altogether in her career. In 1996, Winbush was featured on the Isley Brothers' (rejoined by brothers Ernie and Marvin) hit "Floatin' On Your Love", which was essentially a duet between Winbush and Ron Isley. The song was later remixed by Sean "Puffy" Combs and featured guest vocals from
Lil' KimKimberly Denise Jones , better known by her stage name Lil' Kim, is an American rapper and singer who was part of the group Junior M.A.F.I.A....
and the group
112112 is a Grammy Award winning American R&B quartet from Atlanta, Georgia. Formerly artists on Diddy's Bad Boy Records, the group signed to the Def Soul roster in early 2002. They had great success in the late 1990s and early 2000s.-Biography:112 is an American R&B quartet from Atlanta, Georgia...
in backgrounds. The video for it showcased Winbush serenading Isley's Mr. Biggs character. Winbush continued to collaborate with the Isley Brothers until 2001's
EternalEternal is a 2001 album released by The Isley Brothers on DreamWorks Records. Now popular again with audiences, almost single-handledly for Ronald Isley's "Mr. Biggs" persona, Eternal included production from not only R...
, where afterwards, their marriage had cooled off. In 2002, Winbush and Isley quietly divorced. In 2003, Winbush made news when it was found out she was diagnosed with
ovarian cancerOvarian cancer is a cancerous growth arising from different parts of the ovary.The most common form of ovarian cancer arises from the outer lining of the ovary.. However, recent evidence shows cells that line the Fallopian tube also to be prone to develop into the same kind of cancer as seen in...
. Eventually after a successful surgery, the cancer was in remission and Winbush returned to perform on the road.
Legacy and influence
Since starting out with Rene & Angela, Winbush and Moore have played an influence on various R&B and hip-hop acts. In the latter genre, their music been sampled by acts such as
The Notorious B.I.G.Christopher George Latore Wallace , popularly known as Biggie Smalls , Frank White , and by his primary stage name The Notorious B.I.G., was an American rapper.Raised in the Brooklyn borough of New York City, Wallace grew up during...
(who featured her and
Jay-ZShawn Corey Carter , better known by his stage name, Jay-Z is an American hip hop artist and businessman. He is one of the most financially successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs in America, having a net worth of over $150 million, shipping over 30 million copies of his albums in the United...
on his Rene & Angela-sampled "I Love You More" for the song "I Love the Dough"), Foxy Brown (who sampled her "I'll Be Good" for her 1997 top ten hit, "I'll Be") and singer
AvantMyron Avant , better known simply as Avant is a multi-platinum American R&B singer. Avant, despite some rumours that he is, is in no way family-related to the famed R&B singer, R. Kelly, but he acknowledges high comparison and cites the R&B icon as his biggest influence and aspiration...
re-recorded the Rene & Angela ballad, "My First Love", with singer Keke Wyatt in 2000. In appreciation during Avant's performance of the song on
BETBlack Entertainment Television is an American cable network based in Washington D.C., and targets young African-American audiences in the United States. Robert L. Johnson founded the network in 1980...
's
106 & Park106 & Park is a music video show, set up in a countdown format, that airs weekdays on BET. Currently, it is the network's number one rated show.-History:...
, in 2001, Winbush surprised the audience by singing alongside Avant on the song. As a singer, Winbush is well noted by her gospel-influenced musical humming during her songs. She has influenced the likes of
Syleena JohnsonSyleena Johnson is an American R&B and soul singer-songwriter.-Biography:Johnson took to music early, growing up not only with a musical father but also listening to influential artists such as Aretha Franklin, Al Green, Tina Turner, The Dells, and Mavis Staples...
and
Chante MooreChanté Torrane Moore is an American R&B and jazz singer.-Biography:Born to a gospel minister, she grew up singing in the church and was heavily influenced by the music of George Duke and Lee Ritenour. While in high school, she decided to make a career of singing...
. Winbush and former partner Rene Moore also shared the distinction for being one of the first R&B acts to prominently feature a rap act in a R&B song sharing that distinction with
Chaka KhanChaka Khan, born Yvette Marie Stevens on March 23, 1953, is a Grammy-winning American singer-songwriter best known for such hit songs as "I'm Every Woman", "Ain't Nobody", "I Feel for You" and "Through the Fire". She sang a modernized theme song for the popular children's TV show Reading Rainbow...
and
funkFunk is an American music genre that originated in the late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, soul jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
band
CameoCameo is a funk-influenced R&B group that was formed in the early 1970s. Cameo was initially a 13-member group known as the New York City Players; this name was later changed to Cameo to avoid a lawsuit from The Ohio Players, a more successful group of that era. Since then, Cameo has recorded...
. Winbush also carries the distinction of being one of the few female artists to find success as a songwriter, arranger, producer and session musician (Winbush also is an avid musician playing
pianoThe piano is a musical instrument which is played by means of a keyboard. Widely used in Western music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music, and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
and keyboards).
Personal life
During a 2006 interview on the Christian TV show, Gospel of Music with Jeff Majors http://www.tvoneonline.com/shows/show.asp?sid=109&id=1017, Winbush disclosed that she'd overcome Stage 3 Ovarian Cancer after 6 months of chemotherapy in 2003. Her undying faith in God also got her through having a cyst (benign) removed from her breast, the ending of her marriage to Isley in divorce, and struggles with depression.
Albums
Rene & Angela
- 1980 Rene & Angela
- 1982 Wall To Wall #15 Billboard Chart
- 1983 Rise #33 Billboard Chart
- 1985 Street Called Desire #5 Billboard Chart
- 1996 The Best of René & Angela: Come My Way
- 1997 A Street Called Desire and More (re-release)
- 2002 Classic Masters
Solo albums
- 1987 Sharp
Sharp is an R&B album by Angela Winbush.Some of the songs on the album:*"Angel"*"Run to Me"*"C'est Toi "*"Hello Beloved"...
#7 Billboard Chart
- 1989 It's The Real Thing #12 Billboard Chart
- 1994 Angela Winbush
Angela Winbush is the title of an album released by R&B singer Angela Winbush released on March 15, 1994. The album peaked at number eleven.- Track listing :# Treat U Rite# Inner City Blues# Keep Turnin' Me On# Too Good to Let You Go# Baby Hold On...
#11 Billboard Chart
- 2001 Ultimate Collection
- 2004 Greatest Love Songs
Singles
| Year |
Title |
Album |
US R&B chart |
UK chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record industry. The full chart contains the top 200 singles based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 of this list...
|
| 1980 |
"Do You Really Love Me" |
Rene & Angela |
43 |
- |
| 1980 |
"Everything We Do" |
Rene & Angela |
39 |
- |
| 1981 |
"I Love You More" |
Wall to Wall |
14 |
- |
| 1981 |
"Wall to Wall" |
Wall to Wall |
37 |
- |
| 1982 |
"Imaginary Playmates" |
Wall to Wall |
26 |
- |
| 1983 |
"Banging The Boogie" |
Rise |
33 |
- |
| 1983 |
"My First Love" |
Rise |
12 |
- |
| 1985 |
"Save Your Love (For #1)" |
Street Called Desire |
1 |
66 |
| 1985 |
"I'll Be Good" |
Street Called Desire |
4 |
22 |
| 1985 |
"Your Smile "Your Smile" was the third single from René & Angela's album, Street Called Desire. "Your Smile" was the duo's second number-one single on Billboards R&B chart. It was also a minor hit on the Hot 100 peaking at number forty-seven. Along with the track, " Drive My Love", "Your Smile" was minor hit...
" |
Street Called Desire |
1 |
- |
| 1986 |
"You Don't Have To Cry" |
Street Called Desire |
2 |
- |
| 1986 |
"No How - No Way" |
Street Called Desire |
29 |
- |
| 1987 |
"Angel "Angel" is the first single from Angela Winbush's solo debut, Sharp.As half of the duo of René & Angela, Winbush had two number-one R&B hits with "Save Your Love " and "Your Smile." After a decade, René Moore and Winbush went their separate ways. "Angel", her solo-debut, spent two weeks at the top...
" |
Sharp Sharp is an R&B album by Angela Winbush.Some of the songs on the album:*"Angel"*"Run to Me"*"C'est Toi "*"Hello Beloved"...
|
1 |
- |
| 1987 |
"Run to Me" |
Sharp Sharp is an R&B album by Angela Winbush.Some of the songs on the album:*"Angel"*"Run to Me"*"C'est Toi "*"Hello Beloved"...
|
4 |
- |
| 1988 |
"C'est Toi (It's You) "C'est Toi " was the third single from Angela Winbush's solo debut, Sharp. "C'est Toi " didn't do as well as her previous single "Run to Me" which reached top five; "C'est Toi " peaked at number 47...
" |
Sharp Sharp is an R&B album by Angela Winbush.Some of the songs on the album:*"Angel"*"Run to Me"*"C'est Toi "*"Hello Beloved"...
|
47 |
- |
| 1988 |
"Hello Beloved "Hello Beloved" was the final single from Angela Winbush's solo debut, Sharp. "Hello Beloved" peaked at number 26 on the U.S. R&B chart.-Charts:...
" |
Sharp Sharp is an R&B album by Angela Winbush.Some of the songs on the album:*"Angel"*"Run to Me"*"C'est Toi "*"Hello Beloved"...
|
26 |
- |
| 1989 |
"It's The Real Thing "It's the Real Thing" is the title track and lead single from Angela Winbush's second album, It's the Real Thing. The single spent one week at the top of the U.S. Billboard R&B Singles Sales chart. It climbed to number two on the R&B Singles chart. Oscar-nominated actor Don Cheadle, appears in the...
" |
The Real Thing |
2 |
- |
| 1990 |
"No More Tears "No More Tears" was the second single for Angela Winbush's second album, It's the Real Thing. "No More Tears" reached the Top ten of the airplay chart, and reached number 12 on the US Billboard chart.-Charts:...
" |
The Real Thing |
12 |
- |
| 1990 |
"Lay Your Troubles Down "Lay Your Troubles Down" was the third single for Angela Winbush's second album, It's the Real Thing. "Lay Your Troubles Down" is a vocal duet that features her then husband Ronald Isley. The song became her fourth top 10 solo single summer 1990.-Charts:...
" |
The Real Thing |
10 |
- |
| 1990 |
"Please Bring Your Love Back "Please Bring Your Love Back" is the final single released from Angela Winbush's second album, It's the Real Thing. "Please Bring Your Love Back" peaked at number 70, on the US chart.-Charts:...
" |
The Real Thing |
70 |
- |
| 1994 |
"Treat U Rite"Treat U Rite" is a song written by Angela Winbush and was released as the first single from her third solo album, Angela Winbush. It was her first single in over four years, from her first album of new music in over five years. The song entered the U.S. Billboard R&B chart on February 26, 1994,...
" |
Angela Winbush |
6 |
- |
| 1994 |
"Inner City Blues" |
Angela Winbush |
49 |
- |
| 1996 |
"Floatin' On Your Love" |
Mission to Please Mission to Please is a 1996 album by The Isley Brothers on Island Records. This album was a return to commercial glory for the band in the years following their last platinum-certified album, 1983's Between The Sheets as it also was certified platinum based on the strength of the charted singles...
|
14 |
- |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award |
|---|
| 1987 |
Soul Train Music Award nomination for Single of the Year (Female) The Soul Train Music Award winners for Best R&B/Soul Single, Female The Soul Train Music Award winners for Best R&B/Soul Single, Female The Soul Train Music Award winners for Best R&B/Soul Single, Female (sometimes awarded as Best Single - Female or Best R&B/Urban Contemporary Single - Female:...
for "Angel" |
| 1987 |
Soul Train Music Award nomination for Album of the Year (Female) for Sharp Sharp is an R&B album by Angela Winbush.Some of the songs on the album:*"Angel"*"Run to Me"*"C'est Toi "*"Hello Beloved"...
|
External links