William Bell born William Yarborough on July 16, 1939, He got his start backing
Rufus Thomas, and in 1957 recorded his first sides as a member of The Del Rios. After joining
the Stax staff as a writer, in 1961 Bell made his solo debut with the self-penned "You Don't Miss
Your Water," a blend of country and soul and one of the label's first big hits. It remains a classic soul records from the Memphis scene.
A two-year Armed Forces stint effectively derailed his career, however, and he did not release his first fulllength album, The Soul of A Bell, until 1967, generating a Top 20 hit with the single "Everybody
Loves a Winner"; that same year, Albert King also scored with another classic Bell composition,
the oft-covered "Born Under a Bad Sign."
Bell’s next solo hit, 1968's "A Tribute to a King," was a poignant farewell to the late Otis
Redding.
Bell's R&B Top Ten hit "I Forgot to Be Your Lover" soon followed.
and a series of duets with Judy Clay, most notably "Private Number," also earned airplay.
In 1969, Bell moved to Atlanta and set up his own label, Peachtree. In 1977 Bell made a major comeback with "Trying to Love Two," which topped the R&B charts.
In 1985, he founded another label, Wilbe, and released "Passion", which found its most receptive
audiences in the U.K.
"I Don't Want to Wake Up Feeling Guilty," a duet with Janice Bullocks, was a minor U.S. hit.
In addition to subsequent LPs, including 1989's On A Roll and 1992’s Bed Time Stories. In 1987 Bell was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame, that same year receiving the Rhythm & Blues Foundation's R&B Pioneer Award. After 1992,Bell took a lengthy hiatus from the recording studio, though he still performed regularly. In 2000, he released an album of all-new material on Wilbe entitled A Portrait Is Forever and followed it six years later with New Leases On Life In between he was honored with the 2003 W.C. Handy Heritage Award.
