William Bell

William Bell (né Yarbrough; born July 16, 1939) 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, 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", recalled Bell. The tragedy led to a collaboration between Bell and Booker T. Jones (of Booker T. & the M.G.'s) who 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". 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 his biggest hit, the 1977 single "Trying to Love Two",

In 1985, he founded another label, Wilbe, and issued Passion, which found its most receptive audiences in the UK. which took Bell's career to new heights including a featured performance alongside other 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 B. B. King's Blues Club in New York before it closed in the spring of 2018.

Bell was featured in the 2014 documentary film Take Me to the River that 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". 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 September 1, 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 performed at the 2019 Blues Music Awards, where he was nominated for Best Soul Blues Male Artist.

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 B. B. 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."

In mid-2023, Bell released One Day Closer to Home on his own Wilbe Records label, cited by critics as "a master at work".

In 2024, the Recording Academy announced that Bell's 1961 hit single "You Don't Miss Your Water" would be inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, which recognizes recordings that "exhibit qualitative or historical significance".

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. 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. 911 covered "Private Number" for their 1999 album There It Is. 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. The Revelations and Tre Williams covered "I Forgot to Be Your Lover" on the 2012 soundtrack of the film The Man with the Iron Fists. Robert Cray covered "I Forgot to Be Your Lover" on his 2005 album Twenty. Melissa Etheridge covered "I Forgot to Be Your Lover", "Any Other Way", and "Born Under a Bad Sign" on her 2016 album Memphis Rock and Soul. Brian Eno covered "You Don't Miss Your Water" on the soundtrack to the Jonathan Demme film Married to the Mob. Bruce Springsteen covered "I Forgot to Be Your Lover" and "Any Other Way" on his 2022 album Only the Strong Survive. Delbert & Glen covered "Every Day Will Be Like a Holiday" on their 1972 album Delbert & Glen The Black Keys covered "I Forgot to Be Your Lover" on their 2024 album Ohio Players.

Awards and honors W.C. Handy Heritage Award from the Memphis Music Foundation (2003) BMI Songwriters Award (2003) Featured in the Stax Museum of American Soul Music (2003) Lifetime Achievement Award from Americana Music Association (2016) Memphis Music Hall of Fame inductee (2016) Grammy Award win: Best Americana Album for This Is Where I Live (2017) Grammy Award nomination: Best Traditional R&B Performance for "The Three of Me" (2017) National Heritage Fellowship awarded by the National Endowment for the Arts (2020)

Notable performances Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington, D.C. (2011) Memphis Symphony Orchestra (2012) "You Don't Miss Your Water" at the White House for "In Performance at the White House: Memphis Soul" (2013) Billboard Live in Tokyo (2015) Music Hall of Fame induction ceremony alongside Justin Timberlake (2015) The Cutting Room and MetroTech Commons as part of the Brooklyn Academy of Music's Rhythm and Blues Festival Series (2016) Royal Albert Hall in London (2017) Blues Music Awards (2019)

1961 Stax 116 "You Don't Miss Your Water"

1962 Stax 128 "Any Other Way"

Stax 132 "I Told You So"

Stax 135 "Just as I Thought"

Stax 138 "Somebody Mentioned Your Name"

Stax 141 "I'll Show You"

1964 Stax 146 "Who Will It Be Tomorrow"

1965 Stax 174 "Crying All by Myself"

Stax 191 "Share What You Got (But Keep What You Need)"

Stax 199 "Never Like This Before"

Stax 212 "Everybody Loves a Winner"

Stax 227 "Eloise (Hang on in There)"

Stax 237 "Everyday Will Be Like a Holiday"

Stax 248 "Every Man Ought to Have a Woman" (A-Side)

Stax 248 "A Tribute to a King" (B-Side)

Stax 0005 "Private Number" (with Judy Clay)

Stax 0015 "I Forgot to Be Your Lover"

Stax 0017 "My Baby Specializes" (with Judy Clay)

Stax 0032 "My Whole World Is Falling Down"

Stax 0038 "Happy"

Stax 0040 "Soul-A-Lujah" (with Johnnie Taylor, Eddie Floyd, Pervis Staples, Carla Thomas, Mavis Staples and Cleotha Staples)

Stax 0043 "Love's Sweet Sensation" (with Mavis Staples)

Stax 0044 "I Can't Stop" (with Carla Thomas)

Stax 0054 "Born Under a Bad Sign"

Stax 0067 "All I Have to Do Is Dream" (with Carla Thomas)

Stax 0070 "Lonely Soldier"

Stax 0092 "A Penny for Your Thoughts"

Stax 0106 "All for the Love of a Woman"

1972 Stax 0128 "Save Us"

Stax 0157 "Lovin' on Borrowed Time"

Stax 0175 "I've Got to Go on Without You"

Stax 0198 "Gettin' What You Want (Losin' What You Got)"

Stax 0221 "Get It While It's Hot"

1976 Mercury 73829 "Tryin' to Love Two"

Mercury 73922 "Coming Back for More"

Mercury 73961 "Easy Comin' Out (Hard Goin' In)"

Kat Family 03502 "Bad Time to Break Up"

Kat Family 03995 "Playing Hard to Get"

1985 Wilbe 201 "Lovin' on Borrowed Time" (new version)

Wilbe 202 "I Don't Want to Wake Up (Feelin' Guilty)" (with Janice Bulluck)

Wilbe 204 "Headline News"

"Passion"

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')"

"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.