Regina Belle: mastering the magic of music and motherhood

Ebony, June, 1990

Regina Belle: Mastering the Magic of Music and Motherhood

FRIDAY night at Atlanta's Fox Theater. After singing only three of her growing number of hits, Regina Belle has the audience right where she wants them--in the palm of her hand. The house is rocking, but in between songs she warns of more to come. "If those shoes are too tight, take 'em off," she says. "If that weave is too loose..."

The laughter of the crowd cuts her off. The scene is a far cry from her singing debut in Englewood, N.J., as a stage-frightened 12-year-old performing in a high school concert.

A strikingly attractive and self-assured woman, 26-year-old Belle is emerging as an enormously popular recording artist. She has won critical acclaim with her first two albums, All By Myself and Stay With Me. She toured with The Manhattans, Peabo Bryson and more recently with Maze featuring Frankie Beverly. Her gifted voice and stage presence make her a tough "opening" act. She is said to hold her own on any given night, and on others make the "headliner" acts sweat for their star-status.

Offstage, she enjoys her five-month-old adopted baby daughter, Tiy Chereigna (pronounced Tie Shray-nuh). It's a new life, complete with tender smiles and 3 a.m. feedings. Belle also treasures those special moments with family and close friends, which include such celebrities as singers Miki Howard and Nancy Wilson, pro-basketball player John Battle and comedian Sinbad.

A native of Englewood, N.J., Belle grew up in a house where music was, in her words, "something that was involuntary." Her parents, Eugene and Lois Belle, sang in the church choir; so did many of her relatives. Young Regina enjoyed music, singing bits of gospel songs and old R&B tunes as early as age three. The oldest of three children, she was not the only sibling to aspire to a musical career. Her brother, Bernard, is the musical director for the recording group, Guy. Regina's sister, Toy, is an electrical engineer.

Her love for singing continued through high school. Between classes and basketball ("I played guard, and I was damn good") she would often spend time singing in rehearsals. Eventually she attended the Manhattan School of Music on weekends, where she took opera and classical music training. But her appreciation for jazz grew during her freshman year at Rutgers University after listening to such musical legends as John Coltrane, Nancy Wilson, Billie Holiday and Dakota Staton, and singing with a jazz bandleader who made her learn new material. But as a college graduate majoring in accounting and history, Belle still wasn't sure if singing would become her career.

Her big break came later in college when a radio disc jockey gave Belle's name to Mervyn Dash, the manager of the singing group, the Manhattans. That discovery led to a recording contract and a tour with the group.

Belle is clearly enjoying her success as a singer. But, her greatest joy now is Tiy Chereigna, whom she adopted during her marriage to saxophonist Horace A. Young III. The couple is now separated.

Listing the reasons why she's happy with her present life, Belle says, "I have a daughter who's wonderful, a family that supports me in everything I do, and I'm doing what God has blessed me with. I love singing. I was put here to sing."