Réjane Magloire

Congolese–American singer, model, and actress

Réjane Magloire known later professionally as Reggie Magloire (21 March 1964 – October 2023) was a Congolese–American singer, model, and actress.

Early life and acting career

Réjane Magloire was born in March 21, 1964 in Likasi, Zaïre (now known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo), but grew up in New York City, United States. She studied Western classical music with heavy emphasis on opera singing. Both her parents are Haitian.

As an actress, Magloire had early exposure on television in commercials and went on to play Samantha, a member of the Short Circus, on the TV series The Electric Company^[1] from 1975 to the end of production in 1977 (she replaced Melanie Henderson). PBS stations continued airing reruns of The Electric Company through 1985.

She was also featured in Wilma, a 1977 made for TV biopic about Wilma Rudolph, as the young athlete, opposite Denzel Washington, in his very first film appearance.

Musical career

Magloire was a member of the 1980s one-hit wonder band, Indeep, which scored a charting success with their debut single, “Last Night a D.J. Saved My Life”, for which she was one of the two lead singers. Mariah Carey later covered that single.

She was a member of the Technotronic from 1991, both as a singer and producer, which was best known for their dance singles. Technotronic released their second studio album Body to Body, which featured as their new main vocalist Reggie (Magloire under her new stage name).^[2] Reggie provided vocals for six tracks on the album.^[2] “Body to Body” was a top 40 hit album in three countries: Austria (Ö3 Austria),^[3] Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade),^[4] and the United Kingdom (UK Albums OCC), where it peaked at 27 and charted for four weeks. ^[5] The lead single from that LP, Move That Body, was sung by Magloire (as Reggie), and became a top 10 hit in several European countries, including Denmark, Finland, Ireland, and Switzerland, but not the United States. Nonetheless, her singing was lauded by James Hamilton from the British Music Week, who described the track as a "girl rapped pop canterer".^[6]

Death

In March 2024, it was revealed that Magloire had died of a heart attack in October 2023 in Cambodia.^[7]

References

^ "Award-winning 'Electric Company' Returns". The Ledger. Lakeland, Florida. 16 October 1977. Retrieved 5 August 2010 – via Google News.
^ ^a ^b Colin Larkin, ed. (1998). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Dance Music (First ed.). Virgin Books. pp. 335/6. ISBN 0-7535-0252-6.
^ "Austria Top 40 TECHNOTRONIC - BODY TO BODY". Austrian charts. Retrieved 5 September 2024.
^ "Technotronic Body to Body". Switzerland Schweitzer Hitparade. Retrieved 4 September 2024.
^ "TECHNOTRONIC - full Official Chart History - Official Charts Company". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 September 2024.
^ Hamilton, James (27 April 1991). "Dance" (PDF). Music Week. p. 12. Retrieved 4 September 2024.
^ @bayyinahbello (22 March 2024). "Virtual CELEBRATION for the life of Réjane Dominique Magloire". Retrieved 29 March 2024 – via Instagram.