Angela Winbush

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...