William Bell is an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
soulSoul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
singer and
songwriterA songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
, and one of the architects of the
StaxStax Records is an American record label, originally based in Memphis, Tennessee.Founded in 1957 as Satellite Records, the name Stax Records was adopted in 1961. The label was a major factor in the creation of the Southern soul and Memphis soul music styles, also releasing gospel, funk, jazz, and...
-Volt sound. As a performer, he is probably best known for 1961's "
You Don't Miss Your Water"You Don't Miss Your Water" is a soul song and the debut single written and recorded by American singer William Bell. It was released by Stax Records in 1961...
" (his debut
singleIn music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
); 1968's "Private Number" (a duet with
Judy ClayJudy Clay was an American soul and gospel singer, who achieved greatest success as a member of two recording duos in the 1960s.-Life:...
, and a top 10 hit in the UK); and 1976's "Tryin' To Love Two", Bell's only US top 40 hit, which also hit #1 on the R&B charts. Upon the death of
Otis ReddingOtis Ray Redding, Jr. was an American soul singer-songwriter, record producer, arranger and talent scout. He is considered one of the major figures in soul and R&B...
, Bell released the well-received memorial song "A Tribute To A King".
As a songwriter, Bell co-authored the
Chuck JacksonChuck Jackson is an R&B singer who was one of the first artists to record material by Burt Bacharach and Hal David successfully. He has performed with moderate success since 1961...
hit "Any Other Way" (itself a cover, since Bell issued it first, as a follow-up to "You Don't Miss Your Water"),
Billy IdolWilliam Michael Albert Broad , better known by his stage name Billy Idol, is an English rock musician. A member of the Bromley Contingent of Sex Pistols fans, Idol first achieved fame in the punk rock era as a member of the band Generation X...
's 1986 hit "Got To Be Your Lover", and the blues classic "Born Under A Bad Sign", popularized by both
Albert KingAlbert King was an American blues guitarist and singer, and a major influence in the world of blues guitar playing.-Career:...
and
CreamCream were a 1960s British rock supergroup consisting of bassist/vocalist Jack Bruce, guitarist/vocalist Eric Clapton, and drummer Ginger Baker...
.
Career
Bell was born in
Memphis, TennesseeMemphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
. He took the last name "Bell" as a stage name in honor of his grandmother, whose first name was Belle.
After releasing a few scattered singles in the late 1950s as a member of the vocal group The Del-Rios, Bell began recording for the Stax label in 1961. He scored a minor hit (#95 pop) with his first Stax single, the country-flavored "
You Don't Miss Your Water"You Don't Miss Your Water" is a soul song and the debut single written and recorded by American singer William Bell. It was released by Stax Records in 1961...
". Further singles followed, both as a solo artist and (for one single) as a member of The Del-Rios. National chart success for these singles was non-existent, but Bell was successful enough as a regional artist that Stax stuck with him for seven straight non-charting singles. In 1966, Bell finally broke through with his first substantial R&B hit, "Share What You Got (But Keep What You Need)"
In 1967, Bell co-wrote the song "
Born Under a Bad Sign-Album reissues:In 1998 Sundazed Records reissued the album with two additional bonus tracks, namely the rare mono single sides "Funk-Shun" and "Overall Junction", both written by Albert King...
" with
Booker T. JonesBooker T. Jones is a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, record producer and arranger, best known as the frontman of the band Booker T. and the MGs. He has also worked in the studios with many well-known artists of the 20th and 21st centuries, earning him a Grammy Award for lifetime...
which became a
signature songA signature song is the one song that a popular and well-established singer or band is most closely identified with or best known for, even if they have had success with a variety of songs...
for
bluesBlues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
musician
Albert KingAlbert King was an American blues guitarist and singer, and a major influence in the world of blues guitar playing.-Career:...
. It was later popularized by the
power trioA power trio is a rock and roll band format where the traditional power trio has a lineup of guitar, bass and drums, leaving out the rhythm guitar or keyboard that are used in other rock music to fill out the sound with chords...
CreamCream were a 1960s British rock supergroup consisting of bassist/vocalist Jack Bruce, guitarist/vocalist Eric Clapton, and drummer Ginger Baker...
. A year later, in 1968, Bell's collaboration with
Judy ClayJudy Clay was an American soul and gospel singer, who achieved greatest success as a member of two recording duos in the 1960s.-Life:...
yielded the memorable
hitA hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay, club play, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings...
, "Private Number."
Further
U.S.The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
hits followed with "I Forgot to Be Your Lover" (1968), which was remade into a U.S. Top 10
popPop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
hit by
Billy IdolWilliam Michael Albert Broad , better known by his stage name Billy Idol, is an English rock musician. A member of the Bromley Contingent of Sex Pistols fans, Idol first achieved fame in the punk rock era as a member of the band Generation X...
in 1986 as "To Be a Lover." It had previously been
coveredIn popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
by the
JamaicaJamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
n singer
George FaithEarl George Lawrence , also known as George Faith, Earl George, and George Earl, was a Jamaican reggae singer best known for his work in the 1970s with producers such as Lee "Scratch" Perry and Bunny Lee....
and was the (amended) title tune for his 1977
albumAn album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
To Be a Lover, and has since been sampled by
LudacrisChristopher Brian Bridges , better known by his stage name Ludacris, is an American rapper and actor. Along with his manager, Chaka Zulu, Ludacris is the co-founder of Disturbing tha Peace, an imprint distributed by Def Jam Recordings...
on his song "Growing Pains" from
Word of Mouf- Chart Awards :-Samples and interpolations:"Coming 2 America"*"Requiem", 3rd movement by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart *Symphony No...
and Jaheim on "Put That Woman First" from
Still GhettoStill Ghetto is the second album from R&B singer Jaheim. It spawned the hit single Fabulous featuring Tha' Rayne. The album was released on November 5, 2002. It reached platinum status. The single "Put That Woman First" has been his biggest hit to date on the Billboard Hot 100, reaching #20...
.
Bell continued to record for Stax through the label's dissolution in 1975, with modest commercial success. He then switched to Mercury, and in 1977 topped
BillboardBillboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
's
Hot Soul SinglesHot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...
chartA record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
with his polyamorous soul song "
Tryin' to Love Two"Tryin' to Love Two" was a hit song by R&B singer William Bell in 1977. Releasd from his album, Comin' Back for More, it would become his biggest hit, reaching number one on the R&B charts and crossing over to the pop charts, reaching number ten on the Billboard Hot 100. It would eventually sell...
".
In 1985 Bell founded the label Wilbe and issued
Passion, which found its most receptive audiences in the
UKThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
(although "I Don't Want to Wake Up Feeling Guilty," a
duetA duet is a musical composition for two performers. In classical music, the term is most often used for a composition for two singers or pianists; with other instruments, the word duo is also often used. A piece performed by two pianists performing together on the same piano is referred to as...
with Janice Bullock, was a minor
U.S.The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
hit). In 1986, The single "Headline News" entered the
UK Singles ChartThe UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
.
Bell's
recordingSound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
career extended to 2006, when his most recent
LPA gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
,
New Lease of Life, was released on his own Wilbe Records
labelIn the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
.
The 2010 Sci-fi Thriller,Repo Men, Featured Bell's 1967 "Every Day Will Be A Holiday" in an important scene where a famous singer was mixing this song, as well as in the soundtrack.
Honors
In 1997 Bell was inducted in to the Georgia Music Hall Of Fame. The same year he received the
Rhythm and Blues FoundationThe Rhythm and Blues Foundation is an independent American nonprofit organization dedicated to the historical and cultural preservation of rhythm and blues music....
's R&B Pioneer Award.
In 2004, Bell was inducted into Carolina Beach Music Hall Of Fame.
Singles
| Year |
Label & Cat No |
Title |
Chart positions |
| U.S. Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
|
U.S. R&B Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...
|
UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
|
| 1961 |
Stax 116 |
"You Don't Miss Your Water" |
#95 |
|
|
| 1962 |
Stax 128 |
"Any Other Way" |
#131 |
|
|
| 1963 |
Stax 132 |
"I Told You So" |
|
|
|
| 1963 |
Stax 135 |
"Just As I Thought" |
|
|
|
| 1963 |
Stax 138 |
"Somebody Mentioned Your Name" |
|
|
|
| 1963 |
Stax 141 |
"I'll Show You" |
|
|
|
| 1964 |
Stax 146 |
"Who Will It Be Tomorrow" |
|
|
|
| 1965 |
Stax 174 |
"Crying All By Myself" |
|
|
|
| 1966 |
Stax 191 |
"Share What You Got (But Keep What You Need)" |
|
#27 |
|
| 1966 |
Stax 199 |
"Never Like This Before" |
|
#29 |
|
| 1967 |
Stax 212 |
"Everybody Loves A Winner" |
#95 |
#18 |
|
| 1967 |
Stax 227 |
"Eloise (Hang On In There)" |
|
|
|
| 1967 |
Stax 237 |
"Everyday Will Be Like A Holiday" |
|
#33 |
|
| 1968 |
Stax 248 |
"Every Man Ought To Have A Woman" (A-Side) |
#115 |
|
|
| 1968 |
Stax 248 |
"A Tribute To A King" (B-Side) |
#86 |
#16 |
#31 |
| 1968 |
Stax 0005 |
"Private Number" (with Judy Clay Judy Clay was an American soul and gospel singer, who achieved greatest success as a member of two recording duos in the 1960s.-Life:...
) |
#75 |
#17 |
#8 |
| 1968 |
Stax 0015 |
"I Forgot To Be Your Lover" |
#45 |
#10 |
|
| 1968 |
Stax 0017 |
"My Baby Specializes" (with Judy Clay) |
#104 |
#45 |
|
| 1969 |
Stax 0032 |
"My Whole World is Falling Down" |
|
#39 |
|
| 1969 |
Stax 0038 |
"Happy" |
#129 |
|
|
| 1969 |
Stax 0040 |
"Soul-A-Lujah" (with Johnnie Taylor, Eddie Floyd, Pervis Staples, Carla Thomas, Mavis Staples and Cleotha Staples) |
|
|
|
| 1969 |
Stax 0043 |
"Love's Sweet Sensation" (with Mavis StaplesMavis Staples is an American rhythm and blues and gospel singer, actress and civil rights activist who recorded with The Staple Singers, her family's band.-Biography:...
) |
|
|
|
| 1969 |
Stax 0044 |
"I Can't Stop" (with Carla Thomas Carla Thomas is an American singer, who is often referred to as the Queen of Memphis Soul. She is the daughter of Rufus Thomas.-Childhood:...
) |
#106 |
|
|
| 1969 |
Stax 0054 |
"Born Under A Bad Sign" |
|
|
|
| 1970 |
Stax 0067 |
"All I Have To Do Is Dream" (with Carla Thomas) |
|
|
|
| 1970 |
Stax 0070 |
"Lonely Soldier" |
|
|
|
| 1971 |
Stax 0092 |
"A Penny For Your Thoughts" |
|
|
|
| 1971 |
Stax 0106 |
"All For The Love Of A Woman" |
|
|
|
| 1972 |
Stax 0128 |
"Save Us" |
|
|
|
| 1973 |
Stax 0157 |
"Lovin' On Borrowed Time" |
#101 |
#22 |
|
| 1973 |
Stax 0175 |
"I've Got To Go On Without You" |
|
#54 |
|
| 1974 |
Stax 0198 |
"Gettin' What You Want (Losin' What You Got)" |
|
#39 |
|
| 1974 |
Stax 0221 |
"Get It While It's Hot" |
|
|
|
| 1976 |
Mercury 73829 |
"Tryin' To Love Two" |
#10 |
#1 |
|
| 1977 |
Mercury 73922 |
"Coming Back For More" |
|
#66 |
|
| 1977 |
Mercury 73961 |
"Easy Comin' Out (Hard Goin' In)" |
|
#30 |
|
| 1983 |
Kat Family 03502 |
"Bad Time To Break Up" |
|
#65 |
|
| 1983 |
Kat Family 03995 |
"Playing Hard To Get" |
|
|
|
| 1985 |
Wilbe 201 |
"Lovin' On Borrowed Time" (new version) |
|
|
|
| 1986 |
Wilbe 202 |
"I Don’t Want To Wake Up (Feelin' Guilty)" (with Janice Bulluck) |
|
#59 |
|
| 1986 |
Wilbe 204 |
"Headline News" |
|
#65 |
#70 |
| 1986 |
|
"Passion" |
|
|
|
| 1985 |
Wilbe 205 |
"Please Come Home For Christmas" |
|
|
|
| 1989 |
Wilbe 508 |
"Getting Out Of Your Bed" |
|
|
|
| 1990 |
Wilbe 515 |
"Need Your Love So Bad "Need Your Love So Bad" sometimes known as "I Need Your Love So Bad", is a blues song first published in 1955 and written by Mertis John Jr....
" |
|
|
|
| 1982 |
Wilbe 619 |
"Bedtime Story" |
|
|
|
| 1995 |
Wilbe 624 |
"Shake Hands (Come Out Lovin’)" |
|
|
|
Albums
- 1967 The Soul of a Bell - Stax 709
- 1969 Bound to Happen - Stax 2014
- 1971 Wow ...William Bell - Stax 2037
- 1972 Phases of Reality - Stax 3005
- 1973 Waiting for William Bell - Stax 3012
- 1974 Relating - Stax 5502
- 1977 Comin' Back for More - Mercury
- 1977 It's Time You Took Another Listen - Mercury
- 1983 Survivor - Kat Family
- 1985 Passion - Wilbe
- 1989 On a Roll - Wilbe
- 1992 Bedtime Stories - Wilbe
- 2001 A Portrait Is Forever - Wilbe
- 2002 Collectors Edition - Wilbe
- 2006 New Lease On Life - Wilbe
In popular culture
- Hip-hop producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
The AlchemistAlan Daniel Maman , better known as The Alchemist, is an American hip hop producer, DJ and rapper. He hails from Beverly Hills, California...
sampled Bell's song, "I Forgot To Be Your Lover" for the group Dilated PeoplesDilated Peoples is an American hip hop group from Los Angeles, California. The group achieved notability in the underground hip hop community, although they have had little mainstream success in the US, with the exception of the song "This Way," a 2004 collaboration with Kanye West and Xzibit...
in their hit track, "Worst Comes to Worst." The track appears on their 2001 albumAn album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
Expansion Team.
- The same song was also sampled by the French
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
hip-hop group ÄrsenikÄrsenik is a rap group based in Villiers-le-Bel, France, founded in 1992, and made up of two brothers, Lino and Calbo , whose family is originally from Congo. Until 1997, the group also included Tony Truand, a cousin. In 1998, their first album "Quelques gouttes suffisent" went double gold...
in their hit track, "Regarde le monde." The track appears on their 2002 albumAn album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
, Quelque chose a survécu....
- Jaheim
Jaheim Hoagland is an American R&B singer and formerly a rapper performing under the mononymous name of Jaheim. He was signed by Naughty by Nature's Kaygee to Divine Mill Records in 2000, and released his debut album Ghetto Love in 2001. His second effort, Still Ghetto, was released a year later,...
also sampled it in his song "Put That Woman First," which appears on his album Still GhettoStill Ghetto is the second album from R&B singer Jaheim. It spawned the hit single Fabulous featuring Tha' Rayne. The album was released on November 5, 2002. It reached platinum status. The single "Put That Woman First" has been his biggest hit to date on the Billboard Hot 100, reaching #20...
; and True MasterTrue Master is an American hip-hop producer and very occasional rapper. He is closely affiliated with the Wu-Tang Clan and an original member of its production team, sometimes referred to as Wu-Elements. He derives his rap nom de plume from the martial arts movie of the same name...
used the same sample for the Killah PriestWalter Reed, better known as Killah Priest, Iron Sheik from the Middle East, or Masada, is an American rapper and Wu-Tang Clan affiliate who was raised in Bedford-Stuyvesant & Brownsville neighbourhoods in Brooklyn. He is known for intensely spiritual lyrics loaded with metaphors and religious...
song "One Step" on the album Heavy MentalHeavy Mental is the debut album by rapper Killah Priest, an associate of hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan and a member of the group Sunz of Man. It was released on March 10, 1998, on Geffen Records....
(1998).
- Kanye West
Kanye Omari West is an American rapper, singer, and record producer. West first rose to fame as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, where he eventually achieved recognition for his work on Jay-Z's album The Blueprint, as well as hit singles for musical artists including Alicia Keys, Ludacris, and...
sampled the William Bell track "Strung Out" for Cam'ron'sCameron Giles , better known by his stage name Cam'ron or "Killa Cam", is a Grammy-nominated American actor. He is the founder of the hip-hop group The Diplomats , and also of The U.N. group....
song "Down & Out," which appeared on the Purple HazePurple Haze is the fourth studio album by Harlem rapper Cam'ron. It was released on December 7, 2004. The release of this album was delayed several times from November 2003, the first single "Get Em Girls" was released a year prior to the actual album release...
album.
- Ludacris
Christopher Brian Bridges , better known by his stage name Ludacris, is an American rapper and actor. Along with his manager, Chaka Zulu, Ludacris is the co-founder of Disturbing tha Peace, an imprint distributed by Def Jam Recordings...
also sampled Bell's song on his single "Growing Pains," from the album Word of Mouf- Chart Awards :-Samples and interpolations:"Coming 2 America"*"Requiem", 3rd movement by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart *Symphony No...
.
- Los Angeles
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
rapper Murs used a sample produced by 9th WonderPatrick Douthit , better known as 9th Wonder is a hip hop record producer, record executive, DJ, professor, and lyricist from Raleigh, North Carolina, U.S.A. He began his career as the main producer for the hip hop group Little Brother, and has also worked with Mary J...
and used Bell's "Yesterday I Lied, Today I Cried", in his song "Yesterday & Today," released on the 2006 album Murray's RevengeMurray's Revenge is the second collaboration album from California rapper Murs and North Carolina producer 9th Wonder . Like their first collaboration, Murs 3:16: The 9th Edition, the album features ten songs, all produced by 9th Wonder, and is less than 40 minutes long...
.
- His song, Every Day Will Be Like a Holiday is featured in the 2010 film Repo Men. It was also covered by Daryl Hall and John Oates and it appears on the album "Home For Christmas" (2006).
- Judy Clay and William Bell's "Private Number" is sampled by Nightmares on Wax "You Wish" (2006), "Playaz Club" by Rappin' 4-Tay (1994), "Warm Summer Daze" by Vybe (1995), "Let the Funk Ride" by Aim (1995), "Partis De Rien" by Scred Connexion (2000), "Det Löser Sig" by Timbuktu (2005) and "Finally Moving" by Pretty Lights (2006)
External links