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Angela Winbush

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Angela Winbush

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Singer, songwriter, producer, arranger

Drawing on her gospel roots and her professional experience dating back to Stevie Wonder’s group Wonderlove in the late 1970s, Angela Winbush has established herself as a gifted rhythm and blues singer and songwriter and as one of the few successful women producers and arrangers in the industry. On her 1994 album, Angela Winbush, she combined the best of new production technology and the old-fashioned bottom line—musical talent. "It’s fun to create new things, and I’m not against that," she told J. D. Considine of Musician in 1994. "But I am against losing a sense of how to pass on a certain type of creativity and musicianship.… I look for the feel, so I find myself trying to mix the two so I don’t lose either one."

In addition to her solo work, Winbush has made her mark as a producer, mixing 1990s beat-heavy "New Jack" sound with impressive vocals and instrumentation. She has earned production credits on albums by such artists as Janet Jackson, the Isley Brothers, Sheena Easton, Stephanie Mills, and Lalah Hathaway. After doing some recording, in 1990 she started her own production company, Angela Winbush Productions, which she manages with her husband, Ronald Isley. Commenting on Winbush’s musical talent, Jeryl Bargin-ear of the Michigan Citizen wrote, she is "a musician’s musician with a savvy approach, sassy delivery and effortless sensuality."

Gospel Roots
Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Winbush grew up grounded in gospel. In a feature in the Philadelphia Tribune on the impact of the Black Church on African-American music, Judson Alexia wrote, "From gospel to jazz, rap to rock, the tentacles of the Black Church’s influence stretches the musical gamut." Winbush herself attested to the importance of the church to music and cited her own involvement in the church and in other musical circles. "I grew up in the church," she recalled in the Philadelphia Tribune. "I’m still in the church. I also grew up on jazz and I love it."

A music teacher in St. Louis recognized Winbush’s talent early on and encouraged her to develop her gifts. Winbush listened. She enrolled at Howard University in Washington, D.C., and took lessons from the same vocal coach who had instructed Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway. Winbush was soon singing with Stevie Wonder.

In the late 1970s, Winbush began her career singing live and in the studio with Wonder and a number of other artists, including Lenny Williams, Jean Carn, and Dolly Parton. Wonder’s group, Wonderlove, and the album

Songs in the Key of Life provided Winbush with her start. From the positive notices she received from that work, Winbush began singing in the duo René & Angela and launched a career as a producer in mainstream pop and R&B. By the mid-1980s, she was enjoying broad success.

Scored Hits as Half of René & Angela
In 1985 René & Angela gained notoriety with their Street Called Desire LP. The Top Ten R&B album included Winbush’s song Til Be Good"—a hit on the dance chart—and the popular rap-tinged single featuring Kurtis Blow, "Save Your Love (For #1)." Five singles in all made it to the Top Ten of the R&B chart. Rolling Stone’s Davitt Sigerson offered a positive yet qualified review: "René and Angela are like lovers who drive you crazy for just long enough to convince you they know what they’re doing but stop before they finish you off." While some of the tracks were superb, noted some critics, the album as a whole was uneven. Winbush explained Street Called Desire’s eclectic mix as a refection of the character of the duo René & Angela itself." I think what we’ve done is blended two different flavors and chemistries together, and then we try to show those in all capacities," she observed in Musician.

Street Called Des/’re was Rene & Angela’s fourth album. Winbush and René Moore had begun recording together on the Capitol label in 1980, with guidance from bassist Bobby Watson of the R&B group Rufus. For Street Called Desire, the pair switched to the Polygram label Mercury and hired engineer Bruce Swedien to finish up their studio work. While working as one half of René & Angela, Winbush also did some solo work, writing the Number One R&B hit "Your Smile" and the Number Two single "You Don’t Have to Cry."

In 1987 Winbush’s producing career flourished, and she also went solo as a singer. She provided a sharp boost to the Isley Brothers by coproducing their Smooth Sailin’ album, which achieved gold sales. Although they had split into two bands in 1984, with the older O’Kelly, Ronald, and Rudolf remaining the Isley Brothers and the younger Ernie and Marvin Isley breaking off into Isley Jasper Isley, the Isley Brothers have been creating lasting hits since the late 1950s. Early Isley Brothers originals include 1959’s "Shout" and 1962’s "Twist and Shout." The group also wrote and produced the Grammy Award-winning Sly and the Family Stone classic "It’s Your Thing" and helped develop the harder funk of the mid-1970s with "Fight the Power (Part I)." Winbush has remained with the Isley Brothers as coproducer and married Ronald Isley in 1993, the year after the group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Also in 1987, Winbush saw the release of her solo debut, Sharp, which included the Number One R&B single "Angel" and the Number Two cut "Run to Me." Essence reviewer Eric Copage lauded her singing: "On Sharp, the LP Winbush coproduced, cowrote and arranged, her voice cuts through a wide range and variety of textures, from a piercing purity to a husking whisper, bringing a unique intensity to the lyrics." According to Copage, the album combines dance music, "reggae rhythms," "earnest bedroom vocals," and a slower, "jazzy" sound, as in the song "Angel." Copage suggested that the tune "Sensual Lover" could stand beside R&B legend Marvin Gaye’s "Sexual Healing."

Phenomenal Solo Success
Since the mid-1980s, Winbush has gained increasing prominence in her career as both a producer and singer. In 1989 she followed Smooth Sailin’ with a second production success, the Isley Brothers’ Spend the Night. Although the album did not receive universal acclaim—Andrew Smith of Melody Maker, for example, complained," Spend the Night is stuffed with downbeat smoochers addressed to one ’gurl’ or another…. It’s all so bloody comfortable"—it achieved gold sales and sponsored another Number One single. One of the few women producers in mainstream pop and R&B, Winbush has also written, arranged, and produced for Stephanie Mills and Janet Jackson. Finally, Winbush set up Angela Winbush Productions, a production company and "rigorous training ground for still more Black talent, much like Motown or Stax [labels] in their heyday," according to Carol Cooper of Essence.

Winbush’s really phenomenal success, though, has been in her own solo work. In 1989 she released The Real Thing on Mercury to acclaim. "In addition to superbly entertaining you with her four-octave soprano, Winbush demonstrates—on all nine tunes—that she is a talented producer and writer as well," declared Lynn Norment of Ebony. Following that release, Winbush took four years off from her solo work and switched to the Elektra label before cutting her next LP. She emerged in 1994 with Angela Winbush, on which she sings with her husband, Ronald Isley, on the duet "Baby Hold On" and with Ernie and Marvin Isley, George Duke, Chuckii Booker, and Gerald Albright. The single "Treat U Rite" made Jet’s Top 20 singles list while the LP reached Number Six on the magazine’s Top 20 albums chart.

On Angela Winbush the singer concentrated on capturing her characteristic mix of new production technology and traditional musical talent. On her cover of Marvin Gaye’s "Inner City Blues," for example, Winbush’s band strove for that balance. "We tried to keep a natural groove and bring the new drums to it," Winbush told Musician’s Considine. For the duet "Baby Hold On," Winbush and Isley handed over the orchestration to Philadelphia soul star Thom Bell. "Certain chord changes just lend themselves to … I don’t want to say a ’Philly sound,’ but there’s a certain sound he had. I don’t know if it’s relevant for today—I just knew I wanted that," Winbush confided to Considine.

After touring with the Isleys across the United States as well as in England and Japan and the release of her successful self-titled Elektra debut, in the mid-1990s Winbush hoped for more success on her new career path. "I feel I have more freedom now, on Elektra," she was quoted as saying in the label’s publicity materials. "That’s been very important in the transition I’m making. I’m looking forward to good things and new horizons."

Selected discography

Singles
"Treat U Rite," Elektra, 1994.

Albums
(With René & Angela) Street Called Desire (includes "I’ll Be Good" and "Save Your Love [For #1]), Mercury, 1985.
Sharp (includes "Angel" and "Run to Me"), Mercury, 1987.
(As producer) the Isley Brothers, Smooth Sailin’, Warner Bros., 1987.
The Real Thing, Mercury, 1989.
(As producer) the Isley Brothers, Spend the Night, Warner Bros., 1989.
Angela Winbush (includes "Treat U Rite," "Inner City Blues," and "Baby Hold On"), Elektra, 1994.

Sources
Billboard, November 4, 1989; February 12, 1994.
Ebony, April 1990.
Essence, January 1988; February 1990.
Jet, May 23, 1994.
Los Angeles Sentinel, July 28, 1994.
Michigan Citizen, April 16, 1994.
Musician, January 1986; September 1987; March 1994.
New Pittsburgh Courier, March 23, 1994.
Philadelphia Tribune, June 3, 1994.
Rolling Stone, March 27, 1986; February 6, 1992.
Additional information for this profile was obtained from Elektra Entertainment publicity materials.
AMG AllMusic Guide: Pop Artists:

Angela Winbush

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Home > Library > Entertainment & Arts > Pop Artists
  • Genres: Rhythm & Blues

Biography

Singer/songwriter/keyboardist/producer Angela Winbush's credentials include her own solo hits such as her number one R&B hit, "Angel"; hits as one-half of the singing duo Rene & Angela and their hits "Save Your Love (For #1)" and "Your Smile"; and her hits by Stephanie Mills and the Isley Brothers. One Rene & Angela hit, the 1983 ballad "My First Love," was covered by Avant on his spring 2000 debut CD, My Thoughts. Winbush's own albums are Sharp, Angela Winbush, and It's the Real Thing. Besides Rene Moore, Winbush's early collaborators were Moore's brother, Rufus, bassist Bobby Watson, engineer/producer Bruce Swedien, and George Duke.

Born in St. Louis, MO, Winbush grew up singing gospel music in the church choir and learned to play piano as a child. She had no intentions of pursuing a professional music career when she began attending Washington, D.C.'s Howard University majoring in architecture. To earn money to pay expenses, she began singing on recording sessions and formed a singing trio that opened for Van McCoy and Al Jarreau. She became interested in the music business and changed her major to music education.

Around 1977, Winbush sent a demo tape to New York DJ Gary Byrd. He played it over the phone for his friend Stevie Wonder. He called Winbush and invited her to Los Angeles. While singing in Wonder's backup band Wonderlove, Winbush learned about writing and producing by sitting in on sessions with Wonder. In 1980, she met singer/songwriter Rene Moore through Wonderlove vocalist Carolyn Dennis and they began writing songs together, eventually forming the duo Rene & Angela. In 1978, former Tower of Power lead singer Lenny Williams recorded one of their songs, "Changes." A friend introduced the duo to Dr. Cecil Hale, a Capitol Records executive who signed the duo to the label. Two LPs were issued, Wall to Wall and Rise. Another Rene & Angela song, the ballad "I Have Learned to Respect the Power of Love," was recorded by Alton McClain and Destiny on their self-titled 1978 Polydor LP. It can be found on Polygram's Power of Love: Best of Soul Essentials Ballads. In 1985, Rene & Angela signed with Polygram and were assigned to their Mercury imprint. Their label debut, Street Called Desire, went gold, yielding the number one hits "Save Your Love (For #1)," which featured a rap by Kurtis Blow, and "Your Smile." An earlier Rene & Angela song would resurface in a big way. The first single from Stephanie Mills' 1985 Stephanie Mills album was "Stand Back"; on its flip side was her passionate cover of "I Have Learned to Respect the Power of Love." Because of its massive radio play as an album track, Mills' version, produced by Philly Soul keyboardist Ron Kersey, was reissued as an A-side and held the number one spot for two weeks in spring 1986.

By 1987, Winbush was solo and got her first production job on the Isley Brothers' Smooth Sailing LP after the group's lead singer, Ronald Isley, mentioned to Warner Bros. records executive Benny Medina that he wanted to work with the group who did "Your Smile." After working together, Isley became the singer's manager. Becoming romantically involved, Winbush married Ronald Isley on June 26, 1993. She produced and wrote the bulk of his solo debut, Spend the Night, credited as the Isley Brothers Featuring Ronald Isley. Winbush's other credits include the platinum Isley Brothers album Mission to Please, Body, Lalah Hathaway, the 1982 self-titled debut of Plush, Klymaxx, Sheena Easton's The Lover in Me, and the 1993 Warner Bros. various artists set, A Tribute to Curtis Mayfield. ~ Ed Hogan, Rovi
Wikipedia on Answers.com:

Angela Winbush

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Angela Winbush
Born (1955-01-18) January 18, 1955 (age 57)
Origin St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
Genres R&B, Soul
Occupations Singer, Songwriter, Keyboardist, Producer, Composer
Years active 1980 – present
Labels Hip-O, Mercury, Elektra, Island
Associated acts René & Angela, René Moore, The Isley Brothers, Stephanie Mills, Lalah Hathaway, Sheena Easton, Stevie Wonder

Angela Winbush (born January 18, 1955)[1] is an American R&B/soul singer-songwriter who rose to fame first in the 1980s R&B duo René & Angela, also scoring hits as a solo artist.

Contents

Biography

Early life and career

Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Angela began singing in church. She grew up in a loving and family-oriented household in a nice middle-class area of St. Louis. She did not initially aspire to a career in music, instead studying architecture at Howard University,[2][3] singing only to earn extra money. She continued to sing in church while at Howard as well as with gospel legend Richard Smallwood. She also performed as a singer with a group called "Hot Tea" while she attended Howard University. They opened for various well-known performers during shows and also did background singing for recording artists. One of the other members of "Hot Tea" was Tawatha Agee, who later did a lot of background singing on the albums of several well-noted recording artists, eventually joining the funk/soul band Mtume. 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 Wonder's backing vocal group, Wonderlove. Becoming Wonder's protégé, she learned a great deal about writing and arranging songs. While in Los Angeles with Wonder, Angela met singer Rene Moore. The two formed the duo René & Angela later that year. They soon came to the realization that they could be successful as duo music writers and producers for others as well, and began pursuing that goal. 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 R&B 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 write and produce four songs for Janet Jackson's 1982 self-titled debut album, Janet Jackson. One of the songs, "Young Love", became Jackson's first top ten R&B hit reaching number six on the chart.[4] They also wrote exclusively for Stephanie Mills, who forged a close friendship with Winbush (their "I Have Learned to Respect the Power of Love", 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 Records 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 Blow, making it besides Chaka Khan's "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. After their split, Moore would continue to find success as a songwriter and producer, most notably for Michael Jackson.

In 1986, Winbush was introduced to Ronald Isley, lead singer of the influential Isley Brothers after Benny Medina 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' album, Winbush helped the group, now featuring just Ronald and Rudolph (eldest brother O'Kelly had died the previous year), score a top 10 R&B hit with the title track.[5]

Sharp and subsequent follow-ups

In turn, Isley opted to manage Winbush and he helped in the process of releasing her debut solo album, Sharp, which was also released in 1987. The album included the huge hit, "Angel" which showcased Winbush's four-octave range. The song reached the #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". The album spent twenty-eight weeks on the Billboard 200 album chart and fifty-one weeks on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.[6][7] In 1988, she wrote and produced two tracks for Sheena Easton's 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.[8] She sang the song she wrote for Stephanie Mills ("I Have Learned To Respect The Power of Love") on the "It's The Real Thing" album. 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 Booker, 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' Kim and the group 112 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 Eternal, 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 cancer. 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 has been sampled by acts such as The Notorious B.I.G. (who featured her and Jay-Z 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", Rapper Sylk-E. Fyne's 1998 hit "Romeo and Juliet" that samples Rene and Angela's "You Don't Have to Cry", and last but not least singer Avant 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 BET's 106 & Park, 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 Johnson and Chante Moore. 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 Jody Watley, Chaka Khan and funk band Cameo. 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 piano and keyboards).

Personal life

During a 2006 interview on the Christian TV show, Gospel of Music with Jeff Majors, Winbush disclosed that she'd overcome Stage 3 Ovarian Cancer after 6 months of chemotherapy in 2003. During the interview she revealed that her undying faith in God got her through having a cyst (benign) removed from her breast, the ending of her marriage to Isley in divorce, and her struggle with depression.[9]

Recent TV Appearances

After years of being missed from mainstream TV, in March 2010 diehard R&B fans got a rare treat to see Angela Winbush perform her R&B classic Angel, live on the late night talk show The Mo'Nique Show, which airs weeknights on BET at 11PM EST. The soul icon was at her best, displaying her multi-octave range before her mesmerized audience, and letting them know "this ain't no tape." See the performance at www.bet.com/moniqueshow. (The direct link to this specific show is: https://www.bet.com/video/969959. Angela performs just after the second break.)

She was also featured on the TV One documentary Unsung which first aired in October 2010. It was revealed that Rene Moore became violent with Winbush, in latter years, which led Winbush to cease her musical journey with Moore because she was no longer interested in being a member of "Rene & Angela". Moore declined to be interviewed for this "Unsung" show.

Discography

Studio albums

Year Album Chart positions[10] Record label
US US
R&B
1987 Sharp 81 7 Mercury
1989 The Real Thing 113 12
1994 Angela Winbush 96 11 Elektra
"—" denotes the album failed to chart

Compilation albums

Year Album Chart positions Record label
US US
R&B
2001 Ultimate Collection — — Hip-O
2003 Greatest Love Songs — —
"—" denotes the album failed to chart

Singles

Year Single Chart Positions[11]
US
R&B		 US
1987 "Angel" 1 —
"Run to Me" 4 —
1988 "C'est Toi (It's You)" 47 —
"Hello Beloved" 26 —
1989 "It's the Real Thing" 2 —
1990 "No More Tears" 12 —
"Lay Your Troubles Down" 10 —
"Please Bring Your Love Back" 70 —
1994 "Treat U Rite" 6 117
"Inner City Blues" 49 —
1996 "Floatin' on Your Love" (with The Isley Brothers) 14 47
"—" denotes the single failed to chart

Awards and nominations

Year Award
1987 Soul Train Music Award nomination for Single of the Year (Female) for "Angel"
1987 Soul Train Music Award nomination for Album of the Year (Female) for Sharp

External links

References

  1. ^ Jet Jan 21, 1982
  2. ^ Ebony, Aug 1997
  3. ^ Billboard Sep 5, 1981
  4. ^ Ebony Jun 1990
  5. ^ Jet Jul 19, 1993
  6. ^ http://www.billboard.com/#/artist/angela-winbush/chart-history/116361?f=333&g=Albums
  7. ^ http://www.billboard.com/#/artist/angela-winbush/chart-history/116361
  8. ^ Jet Jan 8, 1990
  9. ^ Jet Jul 23, 2007
  10. ^ "Angela Winbush US albums chart history". allmusic.com. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p139008/charts-awards/billboard-albums. Retrieved 2010-02-16. 
  11. ^ "Angela Winbush US singles chart history". allmusic.com. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p139008/charts-awards/billboard-singles. Retrieved 2010-02-16. 

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Mentioned in

Easy to Love (1990 Album by Body)
Smooth Sailin' (1987 Album by The Isley Brothers)
Angela Winbush (1994 Album by Angela Winbush)
Billboard Hot R&B Hits 1987 (1995 Album by Various Artists)
Destination Love (1977 Album by Rene Moore)
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