"Ring My Bell" is a 1979

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

song written by Frederick Knight. The song was originally written for then eleven-year-old

Stacy Lattisaw Stacy Lattisaw Jackson (née Lattisaw; born November 25, 1966) is an American R&B singer from Washington, D.C., United States. Career The 1979 song "Ring My Bell" was originally written for then twelve-year-old Lattisaw, as a teenybopper song ...

, as a teenybopper song about kids talking on the telephone. When Lattisaw signed with a different label, American singer and musician

Anita Ward Anita Ward (born December 20, 1956 or 1957) (sources differ) is an American singer and musician from Memphis, Tennessee. Beginning her professional music career in the late 1970s, Ward is best known for her 1979 million-selling chart-topper R&B/ ...

was asked to sing it instead, and it became her only major hit. "Ring My Bell" went to number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, the Disco Top 80 chart and the Soul Singles chart. It also reached number one on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. It also garnered Ward a nomination for

Best Female R&B Vocal Performance The Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance (previously called Best Rhythm and Blues Solo Vocal Performance, Female) was an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards ...

at the 1980 Grammy Awards.

Composition

The song is noted for its innovative use of the

Synare The Synare was a series of electronic drums made by Star Instruments in the mid-1970s through the 1980s. The Synare was a drum synthesizer, meaning that it was essentially a synthesizer, but instead of being controlled by a keyboard, it was triggere ...

electronic drum Electronic drums is a modern electronic musical instrument, primarily designed to serve as an alternative to an acoustic drum kit. Electronic drums consist of an electronic sound module which produces the synthesized or sampled percussion sounds ...

, playing a decaying high-pitched tom tone on the first beat of every bar. It also uses

chimes Tubular bells (also known as chimes) are musical instruments in the percussion family. Their sound resembles that of church bells, carillon, or a bell tower; the original tubular bells were made to duplicate the sound of church bells within a ...

. The lyrics concern a woman encouraging her partner to relax with her after a hard day at work. The lyric "You can ring my bell" was seen as sexually suggestive according to 1984 book ''The Slanguage of Sex'', "'You can ring my bell any time you want to' would be regarded as a 'come-on' phrase in the US if used by a female," and "Songs like 'Ring My Bell' by Anita Ward caused scarcely a raised eyebrow in the '70s." ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' magazine included the song on its list of the 50 sexiest songs of all time. Songwriter Frederick Knight, however, said that he deliberately avoided any overly suggestive lyrics, wanting to project a clean-cut image for Ward.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

All-time charts

Certifications

Collette version

"Ring My Bell" was covered by New Zealand-born Australian pop singer Collette. It was released in 1989 as her debut single. The song peaked at number 5 on the

ARIA Charts The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

and was certified

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

ARIA In music, an aria (Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompanime ...

Track listing

* 7" (CBS 654631) :A. "Ring My Bell" – 3:22 :B. "Save Yourself" – 4:06 * 12" :A1. "Ring My Bell" (Ring-a-Ling Mix) – 6:12 :A2. "Ring My Bell" (Ding-Dong Mix) – 5:41 :B1. "Save Yourself" (Survival Mix) – 5:53 :B2. "Save Yourself" (Pow Wow Mix) – 6:39

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certification

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1979 debut singles 1979 songs 1989 debut singles Anita Ward songs Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles Number-one singles in New Zealand Number-one singles in Norway Number-one singles in Spain RPM Top Singles number-one singles Songs written by Frederick Knight (singer) UK Singles Chart number-one singles TK Records singles CBS Records singles

Composition

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

All-time charts

Certifications

Collette version

Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certification

See also

References

External links