Archie Bell & The Drells Biography
This vocal soul group was formed by Archie Bell (1 September 1944, Henderson, Texas, USA), with friends James Wise (b. 1 May 1948, Houston, Texas, USA), Willie Parnell (b. 12 April 1945, Houston, Texas, USA), L.C. Watts and Cornelius Fuller, all students at the Leo Smith Junior High School, in Houston, Texas. By the time their first record was made for the Ovid label in 1967, the group consisted of Bell, Wise, Huey "Billy" Butler and Joe Cross. The single, produced by their manager Skippy Lee Frazier, was released by Atlantic Records. Although initially a poor seller, it found real success after the b-side was given airplay. "Tighten Up" sold in excess of three million copies and reached number 1 in both the US R&B and pop charts. By this time, Bell, who had been drafted into the army, was recuperating from a wound sustained in Vietnam. The Drells continued recording, now with the production team of Gamble And Huff. For live performances, fake "Archie Bells" were enlisted and whenever possible, the real Bell would join them in the studio. These sessions produced three more hits in "I Can't Stop Dancing", "Doin' The Choo-Choo" (both 1968) and "(There's Gonna Be A) Showdown" (1969). Paradoxically, the singles were less successful once Bell left the forces. "Here I Go Again", an early Atlantic master, became a belated UK chart hit in 1972. Reunited with Gamble and Huff in 1975, they enjoyed several R&B successes on their TSOP/Philadelphia International Records label, including "Let's Groove (Part 1)" (1976) and "Soul City Walk" (1975) which entered the UK Top 20 in 1976. Archie Bell recorded the solo album I Never Had It So Good for the Becket label in 1981, and charted with the single "Any Time Is Right". He still actively pursues a singing career within the US east coast "beach music" scene.
Source: The Encyclopedia of Popular Music by Colin Larkin. Licensed from Muze.
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