ABC Artist Spotlight: BeBe & CeCe Winans

Spawned from the famous musical Winans family, younger siblings Be Be (Benjamin) and Ce Ce (Priscilla) formed a gospel duo and debuted as part of The PTL Singers on the Christian TV show, The PTL Club.

They left in 1987 to pursue a career in music. After meeting with a producer, they recorded and released their self-titled debut, BeBe & CeCe Winans in 1987. The album contained their first hit “I.O.U. Me” which made some impact on the R&B and inspirational charts. They even were nominated for a couple of Grammy, Dove and Stellar awards. 

Their second album, Heaven, became a bigger hit than the first one. In 1987 - 88, the title track, “Lost Without You” and “Celebrate Life” contributed to them earning the honor of becoming the first gospel artist with an album to reach number one on the Billboard sales chart. It also rewarded the gospel duo a gold-selling album. 

Watch the video here to “Heaven.”

Different Lifestyles, their third album, was released in 1991 and achieved even bigger success. It featured songs such the cover of The Staples Singers “I’ll Take You There” with Mavis Staples and the number one R&B hit, “Addictive Love.”

To watch the video of “Addictive Love”, click here.

After a Christmas album in 1993, the duo released a new studio album (their fifth) the very next year. Relationships reflected the good and bad experiences that the duo went through according to CeCe. In 1995, the duo parted ways to pursue very successful solo careers. They reunited 14 years later to record the album, Still.