Inside Gospel
By Lisa Collins, Senior Music Editor, GospelMusicChannel.com
She's missed eight Sundays in a row at Atlanta-based New Shield of Faith Christian Ministries where she serves not only as minister of music (praise and worship), but as First Lady to Senior Pastor John S. Battle, III, her husband of 17 years.
What makes it worth it for Regina Belle is that she is currently in the midst of a multi-city tour in support of her first-ever gospel release, Love Forever Shines, which arrived in stores May 13 and skyrocketed to number three on Billboard's Top Gospel Albums Chart. What's more, the lead single, "God Is Good" is one of the most added singles on gospel radio.
For the four-time GRAMMY winner, the project was a matter of divine intervention.
"Record companies aren't in the business of coming together for anything," says Belle. "Instead, they compete. So by two record companies coming together to put this project out, I just believe that was divinely intervened on my behalf.”
Belle, for whom Pendulum Records and Walker Davis Entertainment Records joined forces, is one of a growing number of R&B artists – including Dave Hollister, Patti LaBelle, Coko and Kelly Price – to release gospel CDs in the last couple of years. Hollister is finishing up a sophomore gospel CD slated for release in August.
Music has always been a stabilizing factor for the mother of five who got her first big break singing with the Manhattans and went on to score a string of R&B hits, including classics such as "Make It Like It Was," "If I Could" and "A Whole New World" (Aladdin's theme) with Peabo Bryson – most of which she says were spiritual.
"'Make It Like It Was' is a gospel song," says Belle. "These songs helped me before they helped anybody else and now I'm coming full circle, being able to do a gospel record entirely dedicated to giving God the glory."
Even throughout all the hits and GRAMMYs, church and my relationship with God – that has never ever diminished, but I didn't have the opportunity to before," Belle says of waiting this long to make a Gospel album. "The record company didn't deem it financially feasible for whatever reason. Their motto pretty much was, if it ain't broke, don't fix it."
Gospel is something that Belle – who started singing in church at the age of three – has always wanted to do.
"This album, Love Forever Shines, has been an opportunity to pull in all my experiences," she says of the project, which features guest vocalists Melvin Williams and Shirley Murdock. "I'm singing my experiences. Gospel is natural to me. It's more spiritual and my career has always been based on my spirit. I'm already at work on the second gospel album. That's a promise. Cross my heart, hope to live..."
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In other gospel news, GRAMMY-winning artists Edwin and Walter Hawkins and five-time GRAMMY winners the Winans will be the recipients today of the President's Merit Award at the 2008 GRAMMY Salute to Gospel Music. The event, held at Washington D.C.'s Lincoln Theatre, will feature performances by Rance Allen, Donald Lawrence, Kim Burrell, Maurette Clark-Brown, Patti LaBelle, and Richard Smallwood. Hosted by Martha Munizzi, the event honors those who have made significant contributions to gospel music while supporting the history and importance of the genre.
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About the Writer
Lisa Collins, a Los Angeles native and resident, is a syndicated columnist, writer, publisher and former Billboard Magazine columnist. Her career in gospel began in 1988 with her creation of “Inside Gospel,” a daily/weekly syndicated radio series that provided news, profiles and product updates relative to the gospel music community. For the next eight years, she would also serve as executive producer of the show that was broadcast in more than 100 markets nationwide. Collins has also served as a segment producer for BET and authored well over 300 articles on a variety of issues for a number of national publications from Essence to Upscale. Her background in the field of entertainment reporting is extensive, featuring cover stories and interviews with the likes of Richard Pryor, Michael Jackson and Prince.
