BeBe & CeCe Winans

Infobox musical artist
Name = BeBe & CeCe Winans

---

Img_capt =
Img_size =
Landscape =
Background = group_or_band
Birth_name =
Alias =
Born =
Died =
Origin = Detroit, Michigan
Instrument =
Genre = Gospel music, pop, R&B
Occupation =
Years_active = 1982-1996,
2007- (reunion)
Label = PTL, Sparrow, Capitol, EMI
Associated_acts = CeCe Winans BeBe Winans The Winans Winans family
URL =
Current_members = Benjamin "BeBe" Winans
Priscilla "CeCe" Winans-Love
Past_members =
Notable_instruments =

BeBe & CeCe Winans is an American Gospel music brother and sister duo. BeBe (Benjamin) & CeCe (Priscilla) Winans are the seventh and eighth of "Mom" and "Pop" Winans ten children, most of whom have had successful Gospel music careers.

Musical career

by their childhood nicknames and recorded their first album "Lord Lift Us Up" as a duo for PTL Records.

BeBe & CeCe Winans (debut album)

BeBe & CeCe left the PTL Singers in 1987 to pursue a musical career and that same year, Sparrow Records offered the two siblings a Gospel recording contract. Their mainstream debut release was the self-titled album "BeBe & CeCe Winans". It was produced by Keith Thomas, who had at that time also produced Amy Grant and Vanessa L. Williams. The debut record gave them their first R&B hit "I.O.U. Me," topped R&B and inspirational charts and generated Grammy nominations, Dove and Stellar Awards. CeCe also earned a Grammy for "Best Soul Gospel Performance, Female" for the song "For Always."

They were one of the first African American artists to receive significant airplay on CCM radio stations and the second African American artists to receive the Dove Award in the Group of the Year category.

Heaven

They also remained steadily popular with R&B audiences as well, spawning 12 R&B hit singles including 2 #1 singles. The pair became the first Gospel artists to see their album reach #1 on the Billboard sales charts in 1988 after the release of their second LP "Heaven". The title track also reached #12 on the Billboard R&B singles chart. [cite web|url=http://www.prayzehymnonline.com/articles_80scountdown.html|title=80's Countdown|publisher=PraiseHymnOnline.com|author=J. Matthew Cobb|date=2007-08-31]

Other hits from the album included "Lost Without You", and "Celebrate Life". [ [http://music.msn.com/artist/?artist=16185971&menu=bio BeBe & CeCe Winans on MSN Music ] ] .

The album reached the R&B Top Ten, went to #95 on the Pop Charts and was certified Gold. [ [http://www.riaa.com RIAA - Recording Industry Association of America - May 29, 2008 ] ]

Different Lifestyles

BeBe & CeCe had their biggest success with the release of their 1991 album "Different Lifestyles" featuring the singles "Addictive Love" and a cover of The Staple Singers' "I'll Take You There" featuring Mavis Staples. Both singles topped R&B charts. [amg|11:3zfuxqugldte~T1|BeBe & CeCe Winans Biography] Rapper MC Hammer also made an appearance on the single "The Blood" at the height of his career.

First Christmas

The release of "Lifestyles" was followed by a holiday release titled "First Christmas" in 1993. This album showcased BeBe's production skills and led to him doing production work with Whitney Houston on the soundtrack for the movie "" as well as production and writing music for artists such as Gladys Knight, Bobby Brown, The Clark Sisters and his younger sisters, Angie and Debbie Winans.

Relationships

1994 saw the release of their last studio album "Relationships", featuring the notable singles "If Anything Ever Happened To You," "Love Of My Life," and "Stay With Me." This album conveyed a more personal approach, in CeCe's words: "A lot of people think we're supposed to be perfect, but we're people too, we go through hurt [and] pain. We get songs through experiences and as we reveal these things, people are touched."

As a duo BeBe and CeCe Winans' accolades include 5 Grammy Awards, 8 Dove Awards, 2 NAACP Image awards, a Soul Train award, and over a dozen Stellar Awards, 12 charting R&B singles as well as numerous #1 singles on Christian radio, 3 Gold albums and 1 Platinum album.

olo Careers

In 1996 they officially parted ways to work solo careers and other areas of interest. Both artists have gone on to have successful solo careers, receiving numerous awards and accolades. To date, BeBe has released 6 solo albums, while CeCe has released 8.

BeBe & CeCe Winans have only recorded together twice since 1996; once on "What A Child", a duet from CeCe's Christmas album "His Gift", and once on "Tonight Tonight", a duet from BeBe's 2000 album "Love & Freedom".

Reunion

CeCe's website has confirmed a reunion album scheduled for an late 2009 release. cite web |url=http://www.cecewinans.com |title= CeCe Winans Official Homepage|date=|author=|accessdate=2007-05-23 |work= Puresprings Gospel ] This will be the first full length album by the duo in 13 years.

Discography

;Albums
* "Lord Lift Us Up" (PTL Records, 1984)
* "BeBe & CeCe Winans" (Sparrow/Capitol, 1987)
* "Heaven" (Sparrow/Capitol, 1988)
* "Different Lifestyles" (Sparrow/Capitol, 1991)
* "First Christmas" (Sparrow/Capitol, 1993)
* "Relationships" (Sparrow/Capitol, 1994)
* "Greatest Hits" (Sparrow/EMI, 1996)
* "The Best Of BeBe & CeCe Winans" (Sparrow, 2006)
* "Reunited " (late 2009)

;Singles
* "Up Where We Belong" (1984)
* "I.O.U. Me" (1987)
* "Love Said Not So" (1987)
* "Call Me" (1987)
* "Heaven" (1988)
* "Celebrate New Life" (1988)
* "Meantime" (1989)
* "Addictive Love" (1991)
* "I'll Take You There" (1991)
* "It's O.K." (1991)
* "Silent Night, Holy Night" (1991) REISSUE
* "The Blood" (1991)
* "Depend On You" (1991)
* "Jingle Bells" (1993)
* "If Anything Ever Happened To You" (1994)
* "Love Of My Life" (1994)
* "Stay With Me" (1995)
* "Feels Like Heaven (With You)" (1996)

;Music Videos
* "Heaven"
* "Celebrate New Life"
* "Addictive Love"
* "I'll Take You There"
* "It's O.K."
* "Jingle Bells"
* "If Anything Ever Happened To You"
* "Love Of My Life"
* "Feels Like Heaven (With You)"

Popular culture influence

* One of the duo's signature songs, "Heaven", was remade by Destiny's Child member Michelle Williams featuring Carl Thomas on her 2002 Gospel album "Heart to Yours". [amg|10:fnfuxqt0ldde|"Heart To Yours"]
* On the Disney Channel's animated television show "The Proud Family", the youngest children in the family are twin toddlers named BeBe and CeCe. [cite web|url=http://www.ultimatedisney.com/proudfamilymovie.html|title=The Proud Family Movie DVD Review|publisher=UltimateDisney.com]

References

External links

*amg|id=11:9razqj7yojta~T0|label=BeBe & CeCe Winans