Rene and Angela

Biography
Known by many for their accomplishments as songwriters and producers, Rene and Angela were nonetheless also an very popular singing duo, and recorded a number of now classic songs during their relatively short period together.
St. Louis-born Angela Winbush worked as a backup musician in the 70s, most notably as part Stevie Wonder's Wonderlove, when she met singer/songwriter Rene Moore. The two began writing together and soon became an "A-list" songwriting team, providing melodic, lyrically interesting compositions such as the oft-covered "I've Learned to Respect the Power of Love" and the wonderful Tavares cut "Love Uprising."
The two were signed as a singing act by Capitol Records and recorded three moderately successful albums for the label. They had a minor hit with the single "I Love You More" but began amassing more of a following in 1983 with "My First Love" (later remade by Avant and Glenn Jones). The duo's move to Mercury Records in 1985 turned out to be career-changing. Their label debut, Streetcar Named Desire, yielded three chart-topping hits with "Save Your Love (for #1)" and the muscular ballads "Smile" and "You Don't Have to Cry." Then, surprisingly, at the height of their popularity, the duo had a very public falling out and split to pursue solo careers.
Moore released Destination Love in 1988, but it went nowhere. He continued to work with other artists as a producer or musician, most notably on Michael Jackson's Dangerous. Winbush had much better fortune on her own, remaining a much sought-after writer/producer, and working most notably with Lalah Hathaway, Klymaxx and the Isley Brothers (Ronald Isley became her manager and the two were briefly married in the mid 90s). As a solo performer she hit #1 in 1987 with "Angel" and two years later with "It's the Real Thing." Her final solo hit was 1994's "Treat You Right."
by Chris Rizik

