Archie Lee Bell (born September 1, 1944) is an American solo singer and former lead singer of

Archie Bell & the Drells Archie Bell & the Drells was an American R&B vocal group from Houston, Texas, and one of the main acts on Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff's Philadelphia International Records. The band's hits include " Tighten Up", "I Can't Stop Dancing" (both 19 ...

Background

Born to

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...

parents Langston and Ruthie Bell in Henderson, Texas, United States, Archie is the second oldest of seven brothers, and the brother of USC and NFL football player Ricky Bell, and former world karate champion and singer, Jerry Bell. He also is related to the record producer,

Thom Bell Thomas Randolph Bell (January 27th, 1943 – December 22, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter, record producer, arranger, pianist, and composer known as one of the creators of Philadelphia soul in the 1970s. He found success as a producer ...

Career

Bell was singing in Houston night clubs at age ten, and credits seeing the performances of Jackie Wilson and Sam Cooke as influencing him to become a singer. He formed the Drells in 1956 while in junior high school. He became known around the world for the hit that he had with the Drells, " Tighten Up". He has pursued a solo career since the breakup of the Drells in 1980. Bell later released one solo album (''I Never Had It So Good'' – 1981) on Beckett Records and continued to perform with The Drells off and on for the next twenty years. During the 1990s the line-up also included Steve "Stevie G." Guettler (guitar, vocals), Jeff "JT" Strickler (bass guitar, vocals), Steve Farrell (guitar, vocals), Mike Wilson (keyboards, vocals) and Wes Armstrong (drums, vocals) of the Atlanta-based group The Rockerz. In more recent times Bell has been diversifying his repertoire to include blues, and has recorded a blues album. He has also recorded some

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

, having professed a love for that genre.

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, country producer and former member of

Bob Wills James Robert Wills (March 6, 1905 – May 13, 1975) was an American Western swing musician, songwriter, and bandleader. Considered by music authorities as the founder of Western swing, he was known widely as the King of Western Swing (although ...

' Texas Playboys, recruited Bell to sing "Warm Red Wine", which appeared on an album with songs from

Glen Campbell Glen Travis Campbell (April 22, 1936 – August 8, 2017) was an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, actor and television host. He was best known for a series of hit songs in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting '' The Glen Campbell Good ...

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and Roy Clark. On May 5, 2021 Bell suffered a stroke on the right side of his body.

Discography

Singles

Archie Bell & The Drells * "She's My Woman, She's My Girl" / "Love Will Rain on You" – Ovide 222 967* "A Soldier's Prayer" / "One in One" – Ovide 226 967* " Tighten Up" / "Dog Eat Dog" – Ovide 228 967* "She's My Woman, She's My Girl" / "The Yankee Dance" – East West 55102 967* "She's My Woman, She's My Girl" / "The Yankee Dance" – East West 2048

968 Year 968 ( CMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Emperor Nikephoros II receives a Bulgarian embassy led by Prince Boris (th ...

* "Tighten Up" / "Dog Eat Dog" – Atlantic 2478

* "Tighten Up" / "pt II" – Atlantic 2478

* "I Can't Stop Dancing" / "You're Such A Beautiful Child" – Atlantic 2534

(#17

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

) * "Love Will Rain on You" / "Do The Choo Choo" – Atlantic 2559

("Do The Choo Choo" #44

) * "There's Gonna Be A Showdown" / "Go For What You Know" – Atlantic 2583

(#14

) * "Just A Little Closer" / "Love My Baby" – Atlantic 2612

969 Year 969 ( CMLXIX) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar, the 969th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 969th year of the 1st millennium, the 69th ...

* "Girl You're Too Young" / "Do The Hand Jive" – Atlantic 2644

(#47

) * "Dancing To Your Music" / "Count The Ways" - Glades 1707

973 Year 973 ( CMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Spring – The Byzantine army, led by General Melias (Domestic of the S ...

* "I Could Dance All Night" / "King Of The Castle" - TSOP ZS8 4767

975 Year 975 ( CMLXXV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Arab–Byzantine War: Emperor John I raids Mesopotamia and invades Syria, using ...

* "Soul City Walk" / "King Of The Castle" - TSOP ZS8 4774

* "Let's Groove" (Part 1) / "Let's Groove" (Part 2) - TSOP ZS8 4775

976 Year 976 ( CMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * January 10 – Emperor John I Tzimiskes dies at Constantinople, after re ...

* The Kays Band featuring Archie Bell – "Soul'd Out" – Major Records MR 906 (12") * "Any Time Is Right" / "Without You" – Becket Records BKA 45-4 – 1981 (7") * "Any Time Is Right" / "Why Didja Do Me" – Becket BKD-501 – 1981 (12") * "Touchin' You" / "Touchin' You" (Instrumental) – WMOT Records WMOT-101 – 1982 (12")

Albums

* ''I Never Had It So Good'' – Becket 013 – 1981

References

External links

Archie Bell Interview
NAMM Oral History Library (2017) {{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, Archie Living people 1944 births African-American male singer-songwriters American rhythm and blues singer-songwriters American soul singers American funk singers People from Henderson, Texas Singer-songwriters from Texas 20th-century African-American male singers 21st-century African-American male singers