# Angela Winbush
**Angela Winbush** (born 1955 in St. Louis, Missouri) is an American R&B singer, songwriter, keyboardist, and producer who first reached a wide audience as half of the duo René & Angela and later scored solo hits including the R&B number one "Angel".[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/angela-winbush-mn0000755792) Across her duo and solo work she has sold more than ten million albums and singles worldwide, and she has written and produced hits for [Stephanie Mills](https://www.edgepedia.org/stephanie-mills), the Isley Brothers, Janet Jackson, Sheena Easton, and [Lalah Hathaway](https://www.edgepedia.org/lalah-hathaway).[2](https://tvone.tv/5698/angela-winbush/) • [3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/winbush-angela)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1955, St. Louis, Missouri[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/angela-winbush-mn0000755792) |
| Break | Sent a demo tape around 1977 that reached Stevie Wonder, who hired her for his backing band Wonderlove[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/angela-winbush-mn0000755792) |
| Duo era | René & Angela's *Street Called Desire* (1985) went gold, with the R&B number ones "Save Your Love (For #1)" and "Your Smile"[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/angela-winbush-mn0000755792) |
| Solo peak | *Sharp* (1987) contained "Angel", number one on the R&B chart for two weeks[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/angela-winbush-mn0000755792) • [4](https://www.aaemusic.com/artist/angela-winbush/) |
| Writing for others | "I Have Learned to Respect the Power of Love" gave Stephanie Mills her first R&B number one in 1985[4](https://www.aaemusic.com/artist/angela-winbush/) |
| Isley connection | Coproduced the Isley Brothers' gold *Smooth Sailin'* (1987); married Ronald Isley in 1993, later divorced[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/angela-winbush-mn0000755792) |
| Sales | Over ten million albums and singles worldwide[2](https://tvone.tv/5698/angela-winbush/) |
## Early life and Wonderlove
Winbush grew up in St. Louis singing gospel in the church choir and learned piano as a child, singing in her grandfather and uncle's gospel group Austin Layne and the Layne Ensemble.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/angela-winbush-mn0000755792) • [5](https://www.firstalert4.com/2024/02/28/st-louis-natives-deep-controbutions-music-industry/) She enrolled at [Howard University](https://www.edgepedia.org/howard-university) in Washington, D.C., as an architecture major with no plan to enter music, singing on recording sessions to pay expenses and forming a vocal trio that opened for Van McCoy and [Al Jarreau](https://www.edgepedia.org/al-jarreau); she later changed her major to music education.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/angela-winbush-mn0000755792) At Howard she took lessons from a vocal coach who had previously worked with [Roberta Flack](https://www.edgepedia.org/roberta-flack) and Donny Hathaway, and she has credited that training with the breath control behind her long-held notes.[3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/winbush-angela) • [6](https://www.soulandfunkmusic.com/safm-related/safm-artist-interviews/658-interview-angela-winbush.html)
Around 1977 she sent a demo tape to New York DJ Gary Byrd, who played it over the phone for [Stevie Wonder](https://www.edgepedia.org/stevie-wonder); Wonder called her and invited her to Los Angeles, hiring her on the spot for his backup band Wonderlove.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/angela-winbush-mn0000755792) • [5](https://www.firstalert4.com/2024/02/28/st-louis-natives-deep-controbutions-music-industry/) Joining in 1977, she sang background vocals on Wonder's hit "As", and by sitting in on his sessions she learned writing and production from the inside.[5](https://www.firstalert4.com/2024/02/28/st-louis-natives-deep-controbutions-music-industry/) • [1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/angela-winbush-mn0000755792)
## René & Angela
In 1980, through Wonderlove vocalist Carolyn Dennis, she met singer and songwriter Rene Moore, and the two began writing together as the duo René & Angela.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/angela-winbush-mn0000755792) A Capitol Records executive, Dr. Cecil Hale, signed them, and the label issued the LPs *Wall to Wall* and *Rise*.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/angela-winbush-mn0000755792) During this period they also placed songs with other artists: Lenny Williams recorded their "Changes" in 1978, Alton McClain & Destiny recorded the ballad "I Have Learned to Respect the Power of Love" in 1978, and their songs for [Janet Jackson](https://www.edgepedia.org/janet-jackson)'s 1982 debut included "Young Love", which became Jackson's first top ten R&B hit at number six.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/angela-winbush-mn0000755792) • [4](https://www.aaemusic.com/artist/angela-winbush/)
**Street Called Desire.** In 1985 the duo signed to Mercury, and their label debut *Street Called Desire* went gold.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/angela-winbush-mn0000755792) It produced the R&B number one "Save Your Love (For #1)", featuring a rap by [Kurtis Blow](https://www.edgepedia.org/kurtis-blow), and a second number one, "Your Smile"; "You Don't Have to Cry" reached number two in early 1986.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/angela-winbush-mn0000755792) • [4](https://www.aaemusic.com/artist/angela-winbush/) Winbush has said she wrote "Your Smile" for her grandmother, who died in 1984, and "You Don't Have to Cry" after losing her 21-year-old brother to suicide.[5](https://www.firstalert4.com/2024/02/28/st-louis-natives-deep-controbutions-music-industry/) The duo's earlier ballad "I Have Learned to Respect the Power of Love" resurfaced as the B-side of Stephanie Mills' single "Stand Back" in 1985; radio play as an album track was strong enough that Mills' version was reissued as an A-side and held the R&B number one spot for two weeks in spring 1986.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/angela-winbush-mn0000755792) By the end of the album's promotion, tensions between Winbush and Moore had ended the partnership both personally and professionally.[4](https://www.aaemusic.com/artist/angela-winbush/)
## Solo career
Winbush went solo in 1987 with *Sharp* on Mercury, released under [Ronald Isley](https://www.edgepedia.org/ronald-isley)'s management.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/angela-winbush-mn0000755792) • [5](https://www.firstalert4.com/2024/02/28/st-louis-natives-deep-controbutions-music-industry/) The single "Angel" reached number one on the R&B chart, staying there two weeks, and the album also yielded the dance track "Run to Me", "C'est Toi (It's You)", and the Ron Isley duet "Hello Beloved".[4](https://www.aaemusic.com/artist/angela-winbush/) Her second album, *The Real Thing* (1989), featured her as writer, singer, arranger, and producer, with the title track reaching number two on the R&B chart and further hits in "No More Tears" and "Lay Your Troubles Down".[7](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Gavin-Report/90/90/Gavin-1990-05-04.pdf) • [4](https://www.aaemusic.com/artist/angela-winbush/) Her third solo album, the self-titled *Angela Winbush* (1994) on Elektra, was a Top 12 R&B hit and included "Treat U Rite", produced by Chuckii Booker, which peaked at number six on the R&B chart.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/angela-winbush-mn0000755792) • [4](https://www.aaemusic.com/artist/angela-winbush/) After 1994 she largely worked behind the scenes.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/angela-winbush-mn0000755792)
## Production and songwriting for others
In 1987 Ronald Isley told Warner Bros. executive [Benny Medina](https://www.edgepedia.org/benny-medina) he wanted to work with the group behind "Your Smile", which led to Winbush's first production job, coproducing the Isley Brothers' *Smooth Sailin'*, which achieved gold sales; Isley then became her manager.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/angela-winbush-mn0000755792) She remained with the Isleys as coproducer on later albums, co-wrote and co-produced seven songs on *Mission to Please* (1996), and toured the United States, England, and Japan with the group beginning in 1990.[3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/winbush-angela) • [8](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1996/09/20/isley-brothers-positive-influence/37e28bcf-6b84-4828-8349-ff4f7f0358e7/) In 1988 she wrote and produced two tracks, "Without You" and "Fire and Rain", for Sheena Easton's gold album *The Lover in Me*.[4](https://www.aaemusic.com/artist/angela-winbush/) Her production credits also include Stephanie Mills and Lalah Hathaway, and in 1990 she founded her own company, Angela Winbush Productions.[3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/winbush-angela)
Contemporaries noted how unusual her self-contained skill set was. TV One's profile describes her as bringing "a versatile self-contained songwriting and producing talent at a time when few females, and even fewer African American females, were producing records at all".[2](https://tvone.tv/5698/angela-winbush/) In a 1988 interview she said, "People are always surprised that a black woman can do so many things in the studio."[9](https://humanizingthevacuum.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/when-im-bad-im-better.pdf)
## Personal life and later years
Winbush married Ronald Isley in 1993; the two later divorced.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/angela-winbush-mn0000755792) In the early 2000s she fought and beat ovarian cancer.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/angela-winbush-mn0000755792) By 2024 she had remarried and become an ordained minister after surviving Stage III ovarian cancer, and she continued to perform.[5](https://www.firstalert4.com/2024/02/28/st-louis-natives-deep-controbutions-music-industry/) In 2010 the TV One network featured her career in one of its *Unsung* documentaries.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/angela-winbush-mn0000755792)
## Legacy
Winbush's catalog has remained active in later music: her songs have been sampled in hip-hop records, including Jay-Z's "I Love the Dough", "Imaginary Players", and "I'll Be", and her compositions continue to appear on compilations and in new recordings credited as a composer.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/angela-winbush-mn0000755792) Her 1994 self-titled album, combining new production technology with live musicianship, is frequently cited by listeners as a high point of mid-1990s R&B.[3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/winbush-angela)
## References
1. [Angela Winbush Biography by Ed Hogan, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/angela-winbush-mn0000755792)
2. [Angela Winbush, TV One (Unsung)](https://tvone.tv/5698/angela-winbush/)
3. [Winbush, Angela, Encyclopedia.com](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/winbush-angela)
4. [Angela Winbush Artist Profile, AAE Music](https://www.aaemusic.com/artist/angela-winbush/)
5. [St. Louis native Ángela Winbush's deep contributions to the music industry, First Alert 4 (2024)](https://www.firstalert4.com/2024/02/28/st-louis-natives-deep-controbutions-music-industry/)
6. [Interview: Angela Winbush, SoulandFunkMusic.com](https://www.soulandfunkmusic.com/safm-related/safm-artist-interviews/658-interview-angela-winbush.html)
7. [Angela Winbush, The Gavin Report, May 4, 1990](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Gavin-Report/90/90/Gavin-1990-05-04.pdf)
8. [Isley Brothers: Positive Influence, The Washington Post (1996)](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1996/09/20/isley-brothers-positive-influence/37e28bcf-6b84-4828-8349-ff4f7f0358e7/)
9. [When I'm Bad, I'm Better: Angela Winbush's Secular Salvation in Gospel and The Politics of the R&B Crossover](https://humanizingthevacuum.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/when-im-bad-im-better.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musicians and ensembles › Individual musical biographies › Pop and R&B singer-songwriters › R&B and soul, 1970s and 1980s › Quiet storm and pop R&B*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license