William Bell

by Bill Pollak

Originally published in MusicHound R&B: The Essential Album Guide, Gary Graff, Josh Freedom du Lac, and Jim McFarlin (eds.); Visible Ink Press (Detroit, MI): 1998.

As both a songwriter and a vocalist, William Bell helped shape the Memphis soul sound of the 1960s and 1970s. Bell wrote or co-wrote many of the enduring classics of the Stax/Volt legacy: "Born Under a Bad Sign," "Private Number," and "I Got a Sure Thing," to name a few. The elegant, understated grace of his vocal delivery exhibited a songwriter's faith in the song. Much more a balladeer than a hard soul singer such as labelmates Otis Redding, Sam Moore (of Sam & Dave) or Ollie Nightingale (of Ollie and the Nightingales), Bell endured through the 15-year odyssey of Stax/Volt and left behind an impressive body of work that is as fresh and moving today as it was 30 years ago. Bell's initial recording for Stax, "You Don't Miss Your Water" (1961), was the first country-soul ballad from Memphis to gain national attention, establishing a paradigm that would be followed by Bell and many others for years to come. The best of his Stax ballads -- "Share What You Got (Keep What You Need)" (1966), "Everybody Loves a Winner" (1967), "I Forgot to Be Your Lover" (1968) and "Lovin' on Borrowed Time" (1973) -- belong on the short list of the masterpieces of Memphis soul. In 1975, after the demise of Stax, Bell moved to Mercury and had the biggest hit of his career with "Tryin' to Love Two" (1977).

Buy first:

• [Soul of a Bell] (Stax 1967 / WEA/Atlantic, 1991, prod. Various) (4 1/2 bones) was originally released in 1967 and contains all of Bell's early singles for Stax, plus outstanding covers of perennials such as "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man" and "I've Been Loving You Too Long."
• [Do Right Man] (Charly, 1984, prod. Various)(4 1/2 bones) overlaps somewhat with [Soul of a Bell] but also includes "A Tribute to a King," a deeply moving remembrance of Otis Redding written by Bell and Booker T. Jones days after Redding's death.

Buy next:

• [Best of William Bell] (Fantasy/Stax, 1988, prod. Various) (4 bones) is a greatest hits collection from the period immediately after Stax's distribution arrangement with Atlantic Records ended in 1968.
• [Wow/Bound to Happen] (4 bones) (Stax 1971, Stax 1969 / Fantasy/Stax, 1997, prod. Various) collects two fine Bell LPs from 1971 and 1969, respectively. In a departure from standard operating procedures, [Wow] was recorded in Muscle Shoals, AL.
• Bell recorded a number of fine duets with Carla Thomas, Mavis Staples and, most successfully, Judy Clay ("Private Number" and "My Baby Specializes," both from 1968). These are collected on [Duets] (Stax, 1968 / Fantasy/Stax, 1992, prod. Various) (3 1/2 bones).
• [A Little Something Extra] (Fantasy/Stax, 1992, prod. Various) (3 1/2 bones) contains outtakes and unreleased items from the Stax vaults, many of which are good enough to make you wonder what else might be in there.

Avoid: Bell's releases on Wilbe, his own label, unfortunately consist of inferior modernized versions of his songs, re-recorded on the cheap with drum machines and electronic instruments. Skip

• [Bedtime Stories] (Ichiban, 1992, prod. William Bell) (WOOF),
• [Vol. 1-Greatest Hits] (Ichiban/Wilbe, 1994, prod. William Bell) (WOOF),
• [Vol. 2-Greatest Hits] (Ichiban/Wilbe, 1995, prod. William Bell) (WOOF), and
• [On a Roll] (Wilbe, 1995, Prod. William Bell) (WOOF).

The rest:

• [Phases of Reality] (Stax, 1973, prod. Various) (3 bones)
• [Relating] (Stax, 1974, prod. Various) (3 bones)
• [It's Time You Took Another Listen] (Mercury, 1977, prod. William Bell) (2 1/2 bones)
• [Comin' Back for More] (Razor & Tie, 1977, prod. William Bell) (2 1/2 bones)

Worth searching for: Ace Records of Great Britain leases Stax product from Fantasy in the U.S., and the Ace catalog includes material that is unavailable in the U.S. [Stax Revue - Live at the 5/4 Ballroom] (Ace/Fantasy, 1995, prod. unknown) offers rare live recording of Bell, Booker T. & the MGs, Rufus Thomas and others from the mid-1960s.

Influenced by:  Sam Cooke, Jerry Butler, Curtis Mayfield

Influenced: Otis Redding, James Carr, O.V. Wright, Clarence Carter

Read more soul articles by Bill Pollak

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Last update: 12/15/2004