Vince Bell is a Texas singer-songwriter who has appeared on the

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

television program ''

Austin City Limits ''Austin City Limits'' is an American live music television program recorded and produced by Austin PBS. The show helped Austin become widely known in the United States as the "Live Music Capital of the World", and is the only television show t ...

'' along with

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broadcasts such as '' Mountain Stage'', '' World Cafe'' and ''

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''. His songs have been performed and recorded by

Little Feat Little Feat is an American rock band formed by lead vocalist and guitarist Lowell George and keyboardist Bill Payne in 1969 in Los Angeles. George disbanded the group because of creative differences shortly before his death in 1979. Surviving ...

Lyle Lovett Lyle Pearce Lovett (born November 1, 1957) Lyle Lovett Pageat Allmusic – Lovett's Genre and Styles. Retrieved February 2, 2007 is an American singer, songwriter, actor and record producer. Active since 1980, he has recorded 13 albums and relea ...

and

Nanci Griffith Nanci Caroline Griffith (July 6, 1953 – August 13, 2021) was an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. She appeared many times on the PBS music program ''Austin City Limits'' starting in 1985 (season 10). In 1994 she won a Grammy Award fo ...

Early career

During the early-1970s Bell became a fixture on the Lone Star music scene. In his hometown of

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

, Texas, Bell shared the stage of Anderson Fair and The Old Quarter nightclub with friends and musical influences

Townes Van Zandt John Townes Van Zandt (March 7, 1944 – January 1, 1997) was an American singer-songwriter.

and

Guy Clark Guy Charles Clark (November 6, 1941 – May 17, 2016) was an American folk and country singer-songwriter and luthier. He released more than 20 albums, and his songs have been recorded by other artists, including Jerry Jeff Walker, Jimmy Buffet ...

, both of whom he later called his mentors. By the early-1980s, Bell had begun to carve out a regional reputation for himself. On December 21, 1982, Bell had finished up a day of recording his debut album with

Stevie Ray Vaughan Stephen Ray Vaughan (October 3, 1954 – August 27, 1990) was an American musician, best known as the guitarist and frontman of the blues rock trio Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble. Although his mainstream career spanned only seven years, ...

and

Eric Johnson Eric Johnson may refer to: Music *Eric Johnson (guitarist) (born 1954) an American guitarist and recording artist * Eric D. Johnson (born 1976), member of multiple indie-rock bands including Fruit Bats, The Shins and Califone Politics * Eric Joh ...

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

. He was driving home when he was hit by a drunk driver going upwards of 65 mph. Bell almost died from head and other severe injuries received during the wreck. His recovery lasted more than six years. Bell documented the traumatic event and its aftermath in his 1998 autobiography, ''One Man's Music.'' In 2004 Bell told an interviewer, "Learning the guitar the first time was a bitch. Learning the guitar the second time was cruel."

Recordings

Bell's first album ''

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

'' was produced by

Bob Neuwirth Robert John Neuwirth (June 20, 1939May 18, 2022) was an American folk singer, songwriter, record producer, and visual artist. He was noted for being the road manager and associate of Bob Dylan, as well as the co-writer of Janis Joplin's hit so ...

and released in 1994. The tracks were recorded in San Francisco with session musicians including

Geoff Muldaur Geoff Muldaur (born August 12, 1943) is an American active singer, guitarist and composer, who was a founding member of the Jim Kweskin Jug Band and a member of Paul Butterfield's Better Days. Career Having established a reputation with the Kwe ...

Fritz Richmond John B. "Fritz" Richmond (July 10, 1939 – November 20, 2005) was an American musician and recording engineer. Richmond was a washtub bassist and was also a professional jug player. Richmond, born in Newton, Massachusetts on July 10, 1939, was ...

David Mansfield David Mansfield (born September 13, 1956) is an American musician and composer. Mansfield was raised in Leonia, New Jersey. His father, Newton Mansfield was a first violinist in the New York Philharmonic. David played guitar, pedal steel guitar ...

Mickey Raphael Michael Siegfried "Mickey" Raphael (born November 7, 1951) is an American harmonica player, music producer and actor best known for his work with Willie Nelson, with whom he has toured as part of The Family since 1973. He has performed or reco ...

and

John Cale John Davies Cale (born 9 March 1942) is a Welsh musician, composer, singer, songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the American rock band the Velvet Underground. Over his six-decade career, Cale has worked in various styl ...

and

Victoria Williams Victoria Williams (born December 23, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter and musician, originally from Shreveport, Louisiana, United States, although she has resided in Southern California throughout her musical career. Diagnosed with multi ...

contributed background vocals. Rick Mitchell of the ''

Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. , it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. With it ...

'' praised the album, writing, "Phoenix adroitly mixes elements of folk, blues and country in an acoustic setting. But it's Bell's alternatingly oblique and soul-baring lyrics that make the album a captivating listen." In the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'',

Neil Strauss Neil Darrow Strauss, also known by the pen names Style and Chris Powles, is an American author, journalist and ghostwriter. He is best known for his book '' The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists'', in which he describes his ...

wrote that the lyrics "were filled with images of misshapen monsters and twisted metal, paralysis and victory, loneliness and introspection". Bell's second album ''

Texas Plates ''Texas Plates'' is the second album by the singer-songwriter Vince Bell. It was released on April 13, 1999, and found Bell comfortably ensconced in the upper echelon of the songwriting guild and signed to a major record label. Unfortunately, wh ...

'' was released by Paladin/Warner in 1999 but was not a commercial success. In 2001 Bell independently released '' Live in Texas'' and in 2007 he released ''

Recado ''Recado'' is the fourth album by singer-songwriter Vince Bell. It was released on May 8, 2007. Track listing #"Isla" #"Give Chance a Chance" #"Where the Late Night Crowd Is Led" #"Ranch Land" #"Done That Too" #"Gypsy" #"Caribbe" #"Labor of Love ...

'' through SteadyBoy Records. Produced by

Dave Soldier David Sulzer (born November 6, 1956) is an American neuroscientist and musician. He is a professor at Columbia University Medical Center in the departments of psychiatry, neurology, and pharmacology. Sulzer's laboratory investigates the interact ...

, and Patrick Derivaz, Bell's 2018 ''Ojo'' features him doing spoken word and playing with a wide range of musicians including Pedro Cortes, Patrick Derivaz,

Robert Dick Robert Dick (January 1811 – 24 December 1866), was a Scottish geologist and botanist. Life He was born at Tullibody, in Clackmannanshire. His father was an officer of excise in nearby Alloa. At the age of thirteen, after receiving a good ...

, Ratzo B. Harris,

, Valerie Dee Naranjo,

Laura Cantrell Laura Cantrell (born July 16, 1967) is a country singer-songwriter and DJ from Nashville, Tennessee. Biography Cantrell moved to New York City from her native Nashville to study English at Columbia University. She briefly recorded songs with ...

. Renaud-Gabriel Pion, Rob Schwimmer,

, and Satoshi Takeishi.

Discography

Albums

References

External links

Vince Bell official site

Vince Bell Online Exhibit in Houston Folk Music Archive
(Woodson Research Center, Fondren Library, Rice University)
Guide to the Vince Bell Collection
(Woodson Research Center, Fondren Library, Rice University) {{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, Vince 1951 births American country guitarists American male guitarists American alternative country singers American country singer-songwriters American male singer-songwriters Singer-songwriters from Texas People from Dallas Living people Guitarists from Texas 20th-century American guitarists Country musicians from Texas 20th-century American male musicians