William Bell | WatchedThis
William Bell
Acting
Biography
William Bell (né Yarbrough; born July 16, 1939) is an American soul singer and songwriter. As a performer, he is 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". 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.
Filmography Movies
Acting
Classic Soul at the BBC
A collection of some of the greatest soul performances from the BBC's archive, featuring Aretha Franklin, Al Green, Dusty Springfield, Isaac Hayes, Solomon Burke and Percy Sledge.
The Soul of Stax
"Philip Priestley's acclaimed film charts the history of Stax Records, the influential soul and blues record company founded in the 1960s by Jim Stewart and Estelle Axton. Featuring music by an impressive roster of stars, including Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes and Carla Thomas, The Soul of Stax chronicles the performers' rise through the industry and popular culture, the role played by many of them in the Civil Rights movement, and the label's eventual decline." - bfi.org.uk
Stax, le label soul légendaire
With the founding of Stax Records, the white siblings Jim Stewart and Estelle Axton created a label during the period of racial segregation that caused a revolution in the music scene with artists such as Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, Sam & Dave and Isaac Hayes. Their commercial success was closely linked to the civil rights movement of the 1960s and 1970s.
Wattstax
A documentary film about the Afro-American Woodstock concert held in Los Angeles seven years after the Watts riots. Director Mel Stuart mixes footage from the concert with footage of the living conditions in the current-day Watts neighborhood.