William Bell (singer)

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William Bell (born William Yarbrough, 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" and 1968's top 10 hit in the UK "Private Number", a duet with Judy Clay. Bell's only US top 40 hit is 1976's "Tryin' to Love Two", which also hit No. 1 on the R&B charts. 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 is 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 long-time recording artist for Stax Records, he is unrelated to the label's one-time president, Al Bell.
==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.
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.
William 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.
It was only after Bell served a 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 moved to Atlanta, Georgia in 1969 and started up Peachtree Record Company, his short-lived soul label.
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.
In 2016, Bell reactivated the Stax Record 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."
==Covered by==
* Linda Ronstadt covered “Everybody Loves A Winner” on her 1973 album Don’t Cry Now. 
* Homer Simpson of The Simpsons sang “Born Under A Bad Sign” on the 1990 album The Simpsons Sing The Blues.
* Cream covered "Born Under A Bad Sign" on their 1968 album Wheels of Fire. 
* Jimi Hendrix covered “Born Under A Bad Sign” on his album Blues, released posthumously in 1994. 
* Etta James covered “Born Under A Bad Sign” on her album Life, Love, and the Blues released in 1998. 
* Warren Haynes covered “Every Day Will Be Like a Holiday” on his 2011 album Man In Motion. 
* Carole King covered “Every Day Will Be Like a Holiday” on her 2011 album A Holiday Carole. 
* Hall & Oates covered “Every Day Will Be Like a Holiday” on their 2006 album Home for Christmas. 
* The Byrds covered "You Don't Miss Your Water" on their 1968 album Sweetheart of the Rodeo.
==Honors==
In 2003 he was received both the W.C. Handy Heritage Award from the Memphis Music Foundation and the BMI Songwriter’s Award. He is featured in the Stax Museum of American Soul Music from his time with the label.
Bell was inducted into the Memphis Music Hall of Fame as part of the 2016 class. In 2016, Bell was nominated for two Grammy awards: Best Americana Album for This is Where I Live and Best Traditional R&B Performance for the track "The Three of Me".http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/posts/la-et-ms-william-bell-grammy-20161206-story.html On February 12, 2017, Bell won the Best Americana Album Grammy award for This is Where I Live.
==Performances==
Bell performed at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington DC in 2011. He joined the Memphis Symphony Orchestra in 2012. He sang "You Don't Miss Your Water" at the White House for "In Performance at the White House: Memphis Soul" in 2013. He performed at Billboard Live in Tokyo in 2015. In 2015 he also performed at the Memphis Music Hall of Fame induction ceremony alongside Justin Timberlake.
==Recent activity==
In 2016, Bell recorded his first major label album in over 30 years. 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.
==Discography==
===Singles===
Year	Label & Cat No 	Title 	Peak chart positions	Peak chart positions	Peak chart positions
Year	Label & Cat No 	Title 	U.S. Hot 100 	U.S. R&B 	UK Singles Chart
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"Ahmet Ertegun, Greil Marcus, Perry Richardson – "What'd I say?": the Atlantic story : 50 years of music 2001 p.533 "William Bell releases his compositions, 'I Told You So', 'Just As I Thought' (Steve Cropper and Deanie Parker), 'Somebody Mentioned Your Name' (William Bell and Booker T. Jones) and '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) 	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 Staples) 	 	 	
1969	Stax 0044 	"I Can't Stop" (with Carla Thomas) 	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" 	 	 	
1992	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 Coming 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
*2016 This Is Where I Live – Stax
==References==
==External links==
*William Bell official website
*Soulwalking website discography
*William Bell story and interview, part 1 (1956–69), at Soul Express
*William Bell feature, part 2 (1970–2008), with a complete discography at Soul Express
*Amny.com
*William Bell feature on NYTimes.com
*William Bell Interview - NAMM Oral History Library (2016)
Category:African-American singer-songwriters
Category:American male singers
Category:American rhythm and blues singer-songwriters
Category:American soul singers
Category:Musicians from Memphis, Tennessee
Category:1939 births
Category:Grammy Award winners
Category:Living people
Category:Stax Records artists
Category:Songwriters from Tennessee