While BeBe and CeCe were in high school, four of their elder brothers formed the successful gospel group The Winans. Initially known as The Winans Part II, BeBe and CeCe first appeared in the public eye when they debuted in 1982 as part of the singing group The PTL Singers on the Christian television show The PTL Club. They were introduced by Jim Bakker, and recorded their first album Lord Lift Us Up as a duo for PTL Records.
Self-titled debut
BeBe and 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 would go on to produce Amy Grant and Vanessa L. Williams. The debut record gave them their first R&B hit, "I.O.U. Me", which topped R&B and inspirational charts and generated Grammy nominations, and 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 contemporary Christian music radio stations and the second African American artists to receive the Dove Award in the Group of the Year category.
''Heaven''
With the release of their second LP Heaven, they remained steadily popular with R&B audiences, spawning 3 R&B hit singles including two No. 1 singles. The pair became the first Gospel artists to see their album reach No. 1 on the Billboard sales charts in 1988. The title track also reached No. 12 on the Billboard R&B singles chart. Other hits from the album included "Lost Without You" and "Celebrate New Life." The album reached the R&B Top Ten, went to No. 95 on the Pop Charts and was certified Gold.
''Different Lifestyles''
The release of their 1991 albumDifferent Lifestyles brought their biggest success to date. It featured the singles "Addictive Love" and a cover of The Staple Singers' "I'll Take You There" featuring Mavis Staples. Both singles topped the R&B chart. Rapper MC Hammer was featured on the single "The Blood" at the height of his career. In 1992, the song peaked at No. 8 on Billboard's Christian Adult Contemporary chart.
''First Christmas''
A holiday release titled First Christmas followed 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 studio albumRelationships, 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 pain. We get songs through experiences and as we reveal these things, people are touched."
''Still''
In 2009, Still was BeBe & CeCe's first album in more than 15 years. Premiering 12 new songs, the album's lead single was "Close to You". The album won two Grammy Awards: Best Gospel Performance and Best Gospel R&B Album.
In 1995, they officially parted ways to work on their 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 six solo albums, while CeCe has released eight. BeBe and CeCe Winans recorded twice as a duo during their hiatus – "What A Child", a duet on CeCe's Christmas album His Gift, and "Tonight Tonight", a duet on BeBe's 2000 album Love & Freedom.
