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William Bell (singer)

William Bell ( Yarbrough; born July 16, 1939)[1] is an American soul singer and songwriter. 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".

William Bell

William Yarbrough

(1939-07-16) July 16, 1939
Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.

Singer, songwriter

Vocals

1957–present

Stax Records, Wilbe Records

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.


Although he was a longtime recording artist for Stax Records, he is unrelated to the label's onetime president, Al Bell.


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.

covered "Everybody Loves a Winner" on her 1973 album Don't Cry Now.[31]

Linda Ronstadt

of The Simpsons sang "Born Under a Bad Sign" on the 1990 album The Simpsons Sing the Blues.[32]

Homer Simpson

covered "Born Under a Bad Sign" on their 1968 album Wheels of Fire.[32]

Cream

covered "Born Under a Bad Sign" on his album Blues, released posthumously in 1994.[33]

Jimi Hendrix

covered "Born Under a Bad Sign" on her album Life, Love, and the Blues released in 1998.[34]

Etta James

covered "Private Number" for their 1999 album There It Is.

911

covered "Every Day Will Be Like a Holiday" on his 2011 album Man in Motion.[35]

Warren Haynes

covered "Every Day Will Be Like a Holiday" on her 2011 album A Holiday Carole.

Carole King

covered "Every Day Will Be Like a Holiday" on their 2006 album Home for Christmas.

Hall & Oates

covered "You Don't Miss Your Water" on their 1968 album Sweetheart of the Rodeo.

The Byrds

and Tre Williams covered "I Forgot to Be Your Lover" on the 2012 soundtrack of the film The Man with the Iron Fists.

The Revelations

covered "I Forgot to Be Your Lover" on his 2005 album Twenty.[36]

Robert Cray

covered "I Forgot to Be Your Lover", "Any Other Way", and "Born Under a Bad Sign" on her 2016 album Memphis Rock and Soul.[37]

Melissa Etheridge

covered "You Don't Miss Your Water" on the soundtrack to the Jonathan Demme film Married to the Mob.

Brian Eno

covered "I Forgot to Be Your Lover" and "Any Other Way" on his 2022 album Only the Strong Survive.

Bruce Springsteen

covered "Every Day Will Be Like a Holiday" on their 1972 album Delbert & Glen

Delbert & Glen

covered "I Forgot to Be Your Lover" on their 2024 album Ohio Players.[38][39]

The Black Keys

W.C. Handy Heritage Award from the Memphis Music Foundation (2003)

[40]

(2003)[41]

BMI Songwriters Award

Featured in the (2003)[42]

Stax Museum of American Soul Music

Lifetime Achievement Award from (2016)[43]

Americana Music Association

inductee (2016)[44]

Memphis Music Hall of Fame

win: Best Americana Album for This Is Where I Live (2017)

Grammy Award

nomination: Best Traditional R&B Performance for "The Three of Me" (2017)[14]

Grammy Award

Four nominations: Album (This Is Where I Live), Soul Blues Album (This Is Where I Live), Soul Blues Male Artist (2017) (The Blues Foundation, 2018), Best Soul Blues Male Artist (2019)[24]

Blues Music Award

Epitome of Soul Award presented to Bell by at The Consortium MMT event at the Horseshoe Tunica (2017)[45]

Stevie Wonder

awarded by the National Endowment for the Arts (2020)[46]

National Heritage Fellowship

in Washington, D.C. (2011)[47]

Smithsonian Folklife Festival

(2012)[48]

Memphis Symphony Orchestra

"You Don't Miss Your Water" at the for "In Performance at the White House: Memphis Soul" (2013)[49]

White House

Billboard Live in Tokyo (2015)

[50]

induction ceremony alongside Justin Timberlake (2015)[51]

Music Hall of Fame

and MetroTech Commons as part of the Brooklyn Academy of Music's Rhythm and Blues Festival Series (2016)[52]

The Cutting Room

in London (2017)[10]

Royal Albert Hall

"Born Under a Bad Sign" with guitarist at the Grammy Awards (2017)[19]

Gary Clark Jr.

in Minneapolis, Minnesota (2018)[10]

Dakota Jazz Club

Bayfront Blues Festival in Duluth, Minnesota (2018)

[10]

Mempho Music Festival in Memphis, Tennessee (2018)

[22]

(2019)[24]

Blues Music Awards

The Best of William Bell (1988)

The Very Best of William Bell (2007)

William Bell official website

Soulwalking website discography

William Bell story and interview, part 1 (1956–69), at Soul Express

William Bell feature, part 2 (1970–2008), with a complete discography at Soul Express

Amny.com

William Bell feature on NYTimes.com

William Bell Interview – NAMM Oral History Library (2016)

An interview with Soul Express in August 2017

William Bell talks about his album "One Day Closer To Home" in Soul Express