William Bell

William Bell (né Yarbrough; born July 16, 1939) is an American soul singer and songwriter. As a performer, he is probably best known for his debut single, 1961's "You Don't Miss Your Water"; 1968's top 10 hit in the UK "Private Number", a duet with Judy Clay; and his only US top 40 hit, 1976's "Tryin' to Love Two", which also hit No. 1 on the R&B chart. Upon the death of Otis Redding, Bell released the well-received memorial song "A Tribute to a King".

As a songwriter, Bell co-authored the Chuck Jackson hit "Any Other Way" (which was a cover since Bell issued it first) as a follow-up to "You Don't Miss Your Water"; Billy Idol's 1986 hit "To Be a Lover", which was first a hit for Bell under its original title "I Forgot to Be Your Lover"; and the blues classic "Born Under A Bad Sign", popularized by both Albert King and Cream.

Although he was a longtime recording artist for Stax Records, he is unrelated to the label's one-time president, Al Bell.

In 2017, Bell was awarded a Grammy for Best Americana Album for his record This Is Where I Live. He performed his hit "Born Under a Bad Sign" alongside Gary Clark Jr. at the 2017 Grammy Awards. Bell was also featured on Rolling Stone's "Best of the Grammys" for that year.

His music has been sampled by artists such as Kanye West, Ludacris, and Jaheim.

Career

Bell was born in Memphis, Tennessee. He took the last name "Bell" as a stage name in honor of his grandmother, whose first name was Belle.

Bell sang in church as a child and considered himself a student of The Soul Stirrers, the popular gospel group led by Sam Cooke. At age ten, he began songwriting with the original composition "Alone on a Rainy Night". At the age of 14, Bell won a talent contest and began making a name for himself singing in Memphis-area clubs.

He made his first leap into the music scene backing Rufus Thomas. In 1957, Bell recorded his first sides as a member of the Del Rios, a teenage vocal group that caught the eye of Stax Records.

Bell was an early signing on Stax Records initially as a songwriter. Other notable Stax Records artists include Otis Redding, Sam and Dave, Isaac Hayes, and The Staple Singers.

Bell was the first male solo act to be signed to Stax Records and he was able to release several singles before joining the military. He continued to record singles while on break from deployment, including the song "Marching Off to War".

It was only after Bell finished his stint in the military that he was finally able to release his debut album, 1967's The Soul of a Bell, on Stax Records. Bell's top 20 single "Everybody Loves a Winner" was on this album.

Bell was a close friend of fellow Stax recording artist Otis Redding. Bell was supposed to be on the same tragic 1967 flight that led to Redding's death. "It started snowing so bad in Chicago, the promoter up there canceled my show," recalls Bell. The tragedy led to a collaboration between Bell and Booker T. Jones (of Booker T. & the M.G.'s) whom Bell knew from high school and church. Bell and Jones released "A Tribute to a King" in honor of Redding and it quickly became a hit.

In 1967, Bell co-wrote an unintended Christmas hit, "Everyday Will Be Like a Holiday". The song remains one of Bell's most-recorded hits and serves as a classic R&B Christmas song. In 2017, Hot Press magazine named the hit the "Greatest Christmas record of all time".

Bell moved to Atlanta, Georgia, in 1969 and started Peachtree Record Company, his short-lived soul label.

During his time in Atlanta, he took acting lessons and played Stanley Kowalski in a production of A Streetcar Named Desire. Bell later signed a two-year deal with Mercury Records, where he released 1977 single "Trying to Love Two", which hit No. 1 on the R&B charts and No. 10 on the pop charts, and sold a million copies.

In 1985, he founded another label, Wilbe, and issued Passion, which found its most receptive audiences in the UK.

Two years later, Bell was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame and received the Rhythm & Blues Foundation's R&B Pioneer Award that same year. Starting in 1992, Bell took a hiatus from the recording studio, while still performing regularly. In 2000, he released an album of all-new material on Wilbe entitled A Portrait Is Forever. In 2003, he was honored with the W.C. Handy Heritage Award. It wasn't until six years after his previous album that he released the album New Lease on Life.

2010s to present

In 2016, Bell reactivated the Stax Records label to release a new album. Produced by John Leventhal, This Is Where I Live featured Bell performing a batch of new songs, along with a revived recording of "Born Under a Bad Sign". In 2017, the album was awarded a Grammy for Best Americana Album, which took Bell's career to new heights including a featured performance alongside other legendary Stax acts at BBC's 50 Years of Soul event at Royal Albert Hall in London, UK. Additionally, Bell was one of the final performances at BB King's Blues Club in NYC before it closed in the spring of 2018.

Bell was featured in the 2014 documentary film Take Me to the River which explored the heart of the enduring Memphis music scene. He was featured alongside other artists including Bobby Bland, Mavis Staples, and Snoop Dogg. Bell is currently involved in the sequel to the popular documentary, and he calls it "a powerful little film".

In 2016, Bell recorded This Is Where I Live, his first major label album in over 30 years. Bell was awarded a Grammy for Best Americana Album in 2017, which, in turn, had such a strong effect on his streaming data that Rolling Stone called him "the biggest winner of the night".

His song "You Don't Miss Your Water" is featured in the trailer and the first episode of the Cinemax TV series Quarry, which debuted in 2016.

On 1 September 2017, age 78, Bell performed live at the Royal Albert Hall BBC Proms with Jools Holland and his Rhythm & Blues Orchestra in a tribute concert to 50 years of Stax Records synonymous with Southern Soul music.

Bell spent time in 2017 and 2018 touring with a group of featured artists from Take Me to the River. The touring group was named one of the "10 Bands to See This Year" by Parade magazine.

In 2017, Bell performed twice on NPR Music's Tiny Desk Concerts. He performed with his own band and again with the touring Take Me to the River group.

Bell released the single "In a Moment of Weakness" in 2018 as part of the Amazon Original Produced By series. His song was produced by the Grammy Award-winning Matt Ross-Spang.

Bell performed at the Mempho Music Festival in Memphis, Tennessee on October 6, 2018 as part of a tribute set dedicated to Royal Studios. In 2019, Bell collaborated with Southern Avenue on their single "We've Got the Music".

Bell performed at the 2019 Blues Music Awards, where he was nominated for Best Soul Blues Male Artist.

Guitar legend Eric Clapton released a video for his 2018 cover of Bell's holiday song "Everyday Will Be Like a Holiday". Bell joined several other soul legends for BB King's tribute concert at the Capitol Theatre on February 16, 2020. A few months later, the National Endowment for the Arts named Bell one of their 2020 fellows, the "nation's highest honor in the folk and traditional arts. These lifetime honor awards of $25,000 are given in recognition of both artistic excellence and efforts to sustain cultural traditions for future generations."

Bell's classic Motown hit 'I Forgot to Be Your Lover' was covered by The Black Keys in early 2024.