Career
Bell was singing in Houston night clubs at age ten, and credits seeing the performances of Jackie Wilson and Sam Cooke as influencing him to become a singer. He formed the Drells in 1966 while in high school.
He became known around the world for the hit that he had with the Drells, "Tighten Up". Since the breakup of the Drells in 1980, Archie Bell has pursued a solo career. Bell later released one solo album (I Never Had It So Good - 1981) on Beckett Records and continued to perform with The Drells off and on for the next twenty years. During the 1990s the lineup also included Steve "Stevie G." Guettler (guitar, vocals), Jeff "JT" Strickler (bass guitar, vocals), Steve Farrell (guitar, vocals), Mike Wilson (keyboards, vocals) and Wes Armstrong (drums, vocals) of the Atlanta based group The Rockerz.
In more recent times, Bell has been diversifying his repertoire to include blues, and has recorded a blues album. He also has recorded some country music, having professed a love for that genre. Country producer and former member of Bob Wills' Texas Playboys, Tommy Allsup, recruited Bell to sing "Warm Red Wine", which appeared on an album with songs from Glen Campbell, Tanya Tucker and Roy Clark.
Read more about this topic: Archie Bell
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