Belinda Womack

Singing in clubs at the age of eleven, Belinda Womack has become a beloved vocalist in the Tampa Bay Area.  Mostly known for her smooth jazz sound, Belinda has sung almost every genre of music over the past 47 years.

Born and raised in Augusta, Georgia, Belinda knew what she wanted at a very young age.  Living in the south during the civil rights era, she experienced a lot of racism and dangerous situations; but the one thing that could not be taken from her was her voice.  She sang in nightclubs with her Uncle Jerry, starting at the age of eleven, and then three days after she graduated from high school, she decided to move to Detroit, before going to Savannah State.  Belinda attended Savannah State from 1970-1972, until she got sick and had to give up her scholarship.  Since her grandparents could not afford paying her tuition for her, Belinda decided to move back to Augusta, and start singing with her uncle again.  After taking a year off, Belinda went back to school at the Medical College of Georgia in 1973, obtaining her associates degree.  Accomplishing this was great for Belinda, but in a couple of years, her degree would come second to her singing career.

In 1976, Belinda, then known as Belinda West, moved to Nashville, and worked for Combine Recording Studios.  Here she was able to do voice-overs, sound a-like tapes, and sing back up tracks for Amy Grant, on her album Never Alone.  She also got the opportunity to work for, RCA records, doing commercials and voice-over talent for Ron-Joy Mad Lab.  Two years after moving to Nashville, while traveling, she met a man named Derek Womack, and seven weeks later, they were married.  Belinda continued to work for RCA records, and in 1980 got her big break, signing a seven-year record deal, and recording her first hit.  Her first record consisted of two songs, Seabiscuit In The Fifth and Easy.  With great success for being her first record, Seabiscuit In The Fifth made it to number 12 on the billboard charts, and number 14 on the dance billboard charts.  At the same time as her success, in July of 1980, Belinda and her husband had a baby boy.  She loved singing,  but traveling the country with her son and husband was not an ideal lifestyle for her. Three years after she signed her contract, she decided to leave RCA records and establish herself as a local artist, in Tampa, Fl.

For the past 31 years, Belinda Womack, has graced the community with her voice, performing in clubs, festivals, and churches.  Jazz was her love when she began singing in Tampa, but over the years she has grown to love a stronger power, God.  She has been the worship director at, Hyde Park United Methodist Church, St. Andrews Presbyterian Church, and Wellspring United Methodist Church.  She also has started her own ministry called Pinehills.  This is a community choir that ministers around the bay area, and has taken them as far as Sweden.  This has become her true passion, to spread the gospel to those around her, through her voice, and her words, by saying, “I am just one body, tryin’ to tell everybody, about somebody, who can save everybody.”

Belinda has accumulated many honors and awards on her behalf.  She has received five “Florida Jammy” awards, for best vocalist, and best jazz band, the Woman of the Year award from the Seroptomists of Florida, the Tribute to Women in the Arts award, the Woman of Distinction award from the Suncoast Girl Scout Council of Florida, and that is only naming a few.  Belinda has also done commercials for, Burger King, Coors Beer, Schlitz malt liqueur, car dealerships, furniture stores, Channel 13 and many more.

Still a hot commodity in the Tampa Bay Area, Belinda has recently been on tour with the Musical David, performed a jazz and gospel concert in Sweden, and on November 4^th was the headliner for the Ybor Jazz Festival.  You can see Belinda every Friday night, at Timpano’s Chop House, in Hyde Park Village, starting at 7:30pm.

Belinda Womack is an amazing talent, who has touched thousands of people with her voice, and loving spirit.  She always puts others before herself, and has stayed true to what she believes in.  If you have not gotten the opportunity to hear her music, you are missing out on a legend.  I can promise you that once you are graced with her voice, you will always remember the name Belinda Womack.