Regina Belle

A contemporary soul singer with roots in gospel and jazz, Regina Belle had several R&B hits in the late '80s before her 1992 #1 pop duet with Peabo Bryson, "A Whole New World (Aladdin's Theme)" - the theme song from the Walt Disney animated film Aladdin that won three Grammys as well as an Oscar. Born to a gospel-loving mother and a father who was an R&B enthusiast, Belle began singing in church as a child, and was influenced early on by the work of Billie Holiday, Nancy Wilson, and Phyllis Hyman. During high school, Belle studied opera at the Manhattan School of Music. Then, while majoring in accounting and history at Rutgers University, she sang with a jazz ensemble.

In 1985 she began singing backup for the Manhattans and soon signed to that band’s label, Columbia. Belle’s debut album, All by Myself, yielded the #2 R&B hit “Show Me the Way,” as well as favorable comparisons to Anita Baker and Sade. Stay With Me became a #1 R&B album and topped the singles chart for that genre with “Baby Come to Me” and “Make It Like It Was.” Also in 1989, Belle teamed up with James “J.T.” Taylor, of Kool and the Gang, on “All I Want Is Forever,” a #2 R&B hit featured in the movie Tap. Reachin’ Back, a collection of ’70s R&B covers, produced the #29 R&B single “Love T.K.O.,” a version of the 1980 Teddy Pendergrass soul classic.

from The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll (Simon & Schuster, 2001)