Birth name Archie Lee Bell Name Archie Bell Role Singer | Instruments Vocals Years active 1961– present | |
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Associated acts Archie Bell & the Drells, Jerry Bell Albums I Can't Stop Dancing, Dance Your Troubles Away Music group Archie Bell & The Drells (1966 – 1980) Similar People Ricky Bell, Billy Butler, Dee Dee Sharp, Lou Rawls, Teddy Pendergrass | ||
Occupation(s) Musician, songwriter |
Archie bell the drells tighten up 1968
Archie Lee Bell (born September 1, 1944, Henderson, Texas, United States) is an African-American solo singer and former lead singer of Archie Bell & the Drells.
Contents
- Archie bell the drells tighten up 1968
- Archie bell and the drells i can t stop dancing may 1968
- Background
- Career
- Singles
- Albums
- References

Archie bell and the drells i can t stop dancing may 1968
Background

Born to parents Langston and Ruthie Bell, Archie is the second oldest of seven brothers, and the brother of USC and NFL football player Ricky Bell, and former world karate champion and singer, Jerry Bell. He also is related to the record producer, Thom Bell.
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 1956 while in junior 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.
Singles
Archie Bell & The Drells