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HEY LOCO FANS – Soul singer and songwriter William Bell was born July 16, 1939 in Memphis, Tennessee. He was born William Yarbrough; He took the last name “Bell” as a stage name in honor of his grandmother, whose first name was Belle. 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.
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”.
Although he was a longtime recording artist for Stax Records, he is unrelated to the label’s onetime president, Al Bell.
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. 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.
He also was featured in a performance alongside other legendary Stax acts at BBC’s 50 Years of Soul event at Royal Albert Hall in London, UK.
Grammy winning William Bell performing live “Tryin’ To Love Two” and more by filmmaker Keith O’Derek