William Bell (singer)

William Bell (* 16th July 1939 in Memphis , Tennessee as William P. Yarborough ) is an American singer , songwriter and music producer . He was best known in 1962 for You Don't Miss Your Water , one of the classics of the Memphis scene. His greatest chart successes are A Tribute to a King , a Tribute to Otis Redding , Private Number , a duet with Judy Clay , and I Forgot to Be Your Lover (all three in 1968) and Tryin 'to Love Two (1976).

biography

As a teenager, Bell played in various bands and wrote songs, including Alone on a Rainy Night , published in 1955 by The Del-Rios and The Bearcats . From 1957 he finally became a member of the Del-Rios. A little later, Bell worked as an author for Stax Records and was instrumental in shaping the Stax / Volt sound.

At the end of 1961 he made his debut as a solo artist with You Don't Miss Your Water . The archetypal Country - Soul -Song became the first hit of the label . A two-year military service blocked his career temporarily, after which the debut album The Soul of a Bell was not produced and released until 1967. It includes the first top 20 hit on the Billboard R&B charts, Everybody Loves a Winner . That same year Albert King had a hit with Born Under a Bad Sign, written by Bell and Booker T. Jones .

Bell's next R&B Top 20 hit came in 1968 with A Tribute to a King , a poignant farewell to Otis Redding. I Forgot to Be Your Lover achieved a top 10 position in the R&B hit list that same year. In addition, two duets with Judy Clay, Private Number and My Baby Specializes appeared this year . In addition to a top 20 position in the R&B charts, Private Number also reached the top 10 in the UK charts . In 1969 Bell moved to Atlanta and founded his own label Peachtree. An unsuccessful phase began that lasted until 1973. With Lovin 'on Borrowed Time , which reached number 22 on the R&B charts, Bell had his next hit in 1973. The singer's greatest success came in 1976 when Tryin 'to Love Two topped the R&B and hit number 10 on the pop charts . The single was awarded a gold record .

In 1985, Bell founded another label, Wilbe Recording Corporation, and released the album Passion . It includes I Don't Want to Wake Up (Feelin 'Guilty) , a duet with Janice Bulluck that hit the R&B charts, and Headline News , a minor hit in the UK. In 1987, Bell was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame and won the Rhythm & Blues Foundation's R&B Pioneer Award. It also released albums, On a Roll (1989) and Bedtime Stories (1992). Although Bell still performed occasionally after 1992, he paused in relation to studio work. Therefore, the next studio album, A Portrait Is Forever , was not released until 2000. Another six years passed before the next record, in the meantime Bell won the WC Handy Heritage Award and was inducted into the Carolina Beach Music Hall of Fame in 2004. The album This Is Where I Live was released in 2016 on the revived Stax label, includes a new recording of Born Under a Bad Sign and won a Grammy for Best Americana Album .

Discography

Studio albums

year	Title music label	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, music label , placements, weeks, awards, notes)			Remarks
		UK	US	R&B
1969	Bound to Happen Stax 2014	-	-	R&B49 (4 weeks) R&B	First published: June 1969 Producer: Booker T. Jones
1977	Coming Back for More Mercury 1146	-	US63 (12 weeks) US	R&B15 (13 weeks) R&B	First published: March 1977 Producers: Paul Mitchell, William Bell
1986	Passion Wilbe 3001	-	-	R&B39 (27 weeks) R&B	First published: May 1986 Producers: Mike Stewart, Albert Burroughs, William Bell
1992	Bedtime Stories Wilbe 4128	-	-	R&B96 (3 weeks) R&B	First published: July 1992 Producers: Reginald Wizard Jones, William Bell
2016	This Is Where I Live Stax 38939	-	-	R&B25 (2 weeks) R&B	Initial release: June 3, 2016 Grammy (Best Americana Album) Producers: John Leventhal, William Bell

More studio albums

• 1967: The Soul of a Bell (US; Stax 719) / A Tribute to a King (UK; ATCO 229 003)
• 1971: Wow ... (Stax 2037)
• 1972: Phases of Reality (Stax 3005)
• 1973: Relating (Stax 5502)
• 1977: It's Time You Took Another Listen ( Mercury 1193)
• 1983: Survivor (Kat Family 38643)
• 1989: On a Roll (Wilbe 3007)
• 2000: A Portrait Is Forever (Wilbe; June 8, 2000)
• 2006: New Lease on Life (Wilbe 2010; release: May 23)

Live albums

• 2009: Live in NYC (Wilbe 2015)

Compilations

• 1988: The Best of William Bell (Stax 8541)
• 1991: A Little Something Extra (Stax 8566)
• 1994: Duets (Stax 8584)
• 2002: Collector's Edition Greatest Hits (Wilbe 2006)
• 2007: The Very Best of William Bell (Stax 30297)
• 2017: Stax Classics (Stax 00201; release: May 19)

Singles

year	Title album	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes)			Remarks
		UK	US	R&B
1962	You Don't Miss Your Water Til the Well Runs Dry The Soul of a Bell	-	US95 (1 week) US	-	First published: December 1961 Author: William Bell
1966	Share What You Got (But Keep What You Need)	-	-	R&B27 (8 weeks) R&B	First published: May 12, 1966 Authors: David Porter, Steve Cropper , William Bell
	Never Like This Before The Soul of a Bell	-	-	R&B29 (6 weeks) R&B	First published: September 6, 1966 Authors: Booker T. Jones , David Porter, Isaac Hayes
1967	Everybody Loves a Winner The Soul of a Bell	-	US95 (2 weeks) US	R&B18 (10 weeks) R&B	First published: March 7, 1967 Authors: Booker T. Jones, William Bell
	Everyday Will Be LIke a Holiday	-	-	R&B33 (6 weeks) R&B	First published: November 20, 1967 Authors: Booker T. Jones, William Bell
1968	A Tribute to a King A Tribute to a King	UK31 (7 weeks) UK	US86 (6 weeks) US	R&B16 (6 weeks) R&B	First published: March 12, 1968 Tribute to Otis Redding Authors: Booker T. Jones, William Bell
	Private number	UK8 (14 weeks) UK	US75 (6 weeks) US	R&B17 (11 weeks) R&B	First published: July 1968 with Judy Clay Authors: Booker T. Jones, William Bell
	I Forgot to Be Your Lover Bound to Happen	-	US45 (9 weeks) US	R&B10 (13 weeks) R&B	First published: November 1968 Authors: Booker T. Jones, William Bell
1969	My Baby Specializes	-	-	R&B45 (3 weeks) R&B	First published: December 1968 with Judy Clay Authors: David Porter, Isaac Hayes
	My Whole World Is Falling Down Bound to Happen	-	-	R&B39 (4 weeks) R&B	First published: April 1969 Authors: Booker T. Jones, William Bell
1973	Lovin 'on Borrowed Time Relating	-	-	R&B22 (11 weeks) R&B	First published: March 1973 Authors: William Bell, Joe Shamwell, Homer Banks
	I've Got to Go On Without You Relating	-	-	R&B54 (9 weeks) R&B	First published: August 1973 Authors: Larry McIntosh, Al Jackson
1974	Gettin 'What You Want (Losin' What You Got) Relating	-	-	R&B39 (13 weeks) R&B	First published: February 1974 Authors: William Bell, Rollie Hanson, James McDuffie, Emmett Gordan
1976	Tryin 'to Love Two Coming Back for More	-	US10 gold (15 weeks)US	R&B1 (26 weeks) R&B	First published: October 1976 Authors: William Bell, Paul Mitchell
1977	Coming Back for More Coming Back for More	-	-	R&B66 (7 weeks) R&B	First published: June 1977 Authors: William Bell, Paul Mitchell
	Easy Comin 'Out (Hard Goin' In) It's Time You Took Another Listen	-	-	R&B30 (15 weeks) R&B	First published: October 1977 Authors: William Bell, Paul Mitchell
1983	Bad Time to Break Up Surviwor	-	-	R&B65 (9 weeks) R&B	First published: January 1983 Authors: Michael Stewart, Nat George, William Bell
1986	I Don't Want to Wake Up (Feelin 'Guilty) Passion	-	-	R&B59 (7 weeks) R&B	First published: April 1986 with Janice Bulluck Authors: William Bell, Henderson Thigpen, James Banks
	Headline News Passion	UK70 (3 weeks) UK	-	R&B65 (8 weeks) R&B	First published: April 1986 Authors: William Bell, Albert Burroughs
	Passion Passion	UK96 (1 week) UK	-	-	First published: July 1986 Authors: William Bell, Albert Burroughs

More singles

• 1962: Any Other Way (released August)
• 1963: I Told You So (released January)
• 1963: Just as I Thought (released April)
• 1963: What Can I Do (To Forget) (release: July)
• 1963: I'll Show You (release: October)
• 1964: Don't Make Something Out of Nothing (release: February)
• 1965: Crying All by Myself (release: July)
• 1967: Eloise (Hang On in There) (released July 14th)
• 1969: Love's Sweet Sensation (with Mavis Staples ; release: June)
• 1969: I Need You Woman (with Carla Thomas ; release: June)
• 1969: Happy (release: August)
• 1969: Born Under a Bad Sign (release: October)
• 1970: All I Have to Do Is Dream (with Mavis Staples; release: March)
• 1970: Lonely Soldier (release: July)
• 1971: A Penny for Your Thoughts (released May)
• 1972: If You Really Love Him (release: April)
• 1974: Get It While It's Hot (release: July)
• 1983: Playing Hard to Get (release: June)
• 1986: Everyday Will Be Like a Holiday (release: November)
• 1989: Getting Out of Your Bed
• 1989: I Need Your Love So Bad
• 1992: Bedtime Story
• 1992: Shake Hands (Come Out Lovin ')

swell

1. ↑ ^{a b} Chart Sources: UK Billboard Hot 100 Billboard 200 Billboard R&B Albums
2. ↑ ^{a b} gold / platinum database US
3. ^ Joel Whitburn : Top R&B Albums 1965–1998, ISBN 0-89820-134-9 .
4. ^ Joel Whitburn : Hot R&B Songs 1942–2010: 6th Edition, ISBN 978-0-89820-186-4 .

Web links

• Official website
• William Bell at Allmusic (English)
• William Bell at Discogs (English)
• William Bell at 45cat.com