William Bell (singer)

William Bell (né Yarbrough; born July 16, 1939) is an American soul singer and songwriter.

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".

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".

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) 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".

The song remains one of Bell's most-recorded hits and serves as a classic R&B Christmas song.

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 the 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.

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 onetime president, Al Bell.

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 Records label to release a new album.

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.

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 2017, Hot Press magazine named the hit the "Greatest Christmas record of all time".