HomePeopleWilliam Bell

William Bell

Acting

BornJuly 16, 1939 · 87
FromMemphis, Tennessee, USA
GenderMale

4

Movies

2

TV Shows

60

Years Active

★ 0

Popularity

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.

Known For

Top 6 by popularity

Your Honor

Your Honor

★ 8.02020

Your Honor

2020★ 8.0

as Boat Owner

Festival

Festival

1960

Festival

1960

as Finch

Wattstax

Wattstax

★ 6.81973

Wattstax

1973★ 6.8
Stax, le label soul légendaire

Stax, le label soul légendaire

2019

Stax, le label soul légendaire

2019

as Self (archive footage)

Classic Soul at the BBC

Classic Soul at the BBC

★ 6.02007

Classic Soul at the BBC

2007★ 6.0

as Self (archive footage)

The Soul of Stax

The Soul of Stax

1994

The Soul of Stax

1994

as Self

Filmography

4 titles

2026 filmOnline