Early life and education Belle was born in
Englewood, New Jersey. It was at Englewood's Mount Calvary Baptist Church, and then Paterson's Friendship Baptist Church (presided over by Belle's uncle, the Reverend Fred Belle), that Belle began attracting attention with her vocal abilities. She sang her first solo in church at the age of eight. She attended
Dwight Morrow High School, where she studied
trombone,
tuba, and
steel drums. After graduation, Belle studied opera at the
Manhattan School of Music. She attended
Rutgers University and became the first female vocalist with the school's jazz ensemble. Belle's musical influences include
Phyllis Hyman,
Billie Holiday,
Shirley Caesar,
Patti LaBelle, and
Nancy Wilson. She was introduced to
the Manhattans by New York radio DJ Vaughn Harper and began working as their opening act. She recorded the duet "Where Did We Go Wrong" with the group on their
Back to Basics album, which helped to attract the attention of
Columbia Records. She recorded a second duet, "
Maybe Tomorrow", which appeared on the B-side of "Where Did We Go Wrong". Columbia eventually signed her to a record deal.
Career In 1987, she released her debut album,
All by Myself. It includes her first hits "So Many Tears" and "Show Me the Way". The same year, Belle recorded her first successful duet with Peabo Bryson: the song "
Without You", the love theme from the
comedy film Leonard Part 6, also released in 1987. The song was her first single to appear on the
Adult Contemporary chart, peaking at #8 and was also her first single to appear in four charts, including the
UK Singles, peaking at #85, her best position in this chart until 1989. Her follow-up album,
Stay with Me, released in 1989. Belle recorded a duet in 1991 with
Johnny Mathis, "Better Together", which appeared on his album
Better Together: The Duet Album. Continuing her tradition of duets, Belle teamed up with
Peabo Bryson for four songs: "
Without You" (in 1987), "I Can't Imagine" (in 1991), "
A Whole New World" (in 1992) and "Total Praise" (in 2009). Later in 1993, she released her platinum-selling third album,
Passion. The album featured the
Disney hit "
A Whole New World". The theme song "
Far Longer than Forever" from the animated movie
The Swan Princess, performed with
Jeffrey Osborne, was nominated for a
Golden Globe in 1995 for
Best Original Song. On June 5, 2012, Belle released on Pendulum her second gospel album, called
Higher, on which she stated: "I think that, with the second CD [
Higher] I had a better understanding of where I wanted to go [compared to
Love Forever Shines]". Belle has appeared in concert with many other performers, including
Ray Charles,
Boney James,
Paul Taylor,
The Rippingtons,
Gerald Albright,
Will Downing,
Maze,
Frankie Beverly,
Phil Perry,
Al Jarreau, and
Stephanie Mills. ==Personal life==