- Reuben Bell
Reuben Bell (c. 1945 - 2004) was an African American soul singer who recorded from the late 1960s to the early 1980s, and is best known for his emotional tenor vocals on the songs "It's Not That Easy" and "I Hear You Knocking (It's Too Late)".
Born in
Shreveport, Louisiana , he began singing in local clubs [ [http://www.neonbridge.com/Articles/2000-2002/Nov2002/Reuben%20Bell.htm November 2002 Shreveport Soul Man Reuben Bell ] ] . He first recorded, with backing group The Casanovas, on the single "It's Not That Easy", released on the local Murco label in 1967. The recording has subsequently become regarded as a classic ofSouthern soul and has featured on several compilation albums. Two later records followed for Murco, "You're Gonna Miss Me" with The Beltones, and "Action Speaks Louder Than Words", before Bell moved to the Silver Fox and House of Orange labels where some of his recordings were produced byWardell Quezergue . He also wrote songs recorded byBobby "Blue" Bland and others.In 1972, he recorded
Tarheel Slim 's song, "I Hear You Knocking (It's Too Late)", for the DeLuxe label, a subsidiary ofKing Records . It became Bell's only chart hit, reaching # 38 on theBillboard R&B chart . He continued to record through the 1970s for the Alarm label, and released his only album, "Blues Get Off My Shoulder", for the Port City label in 1982 [ [http://www.soulfulkindamusic.net/rbell.htm Reuben Bell ] ] .Bell passed away in 2004 while living in Shreveport's Cedar Grove neighborhood. [John M. Shaw, "Eddie Giles and Reuben Bell," in "Shreveport Sounds In Black And White," ed. Kip Lornell and Tracey E. W. Laird (Jackson, Miss.: University Press of Mississippi, 2008), 323-337.]
References
External links
* [http://www.neonbridge.com/Articles/2000-2002/Nov2002/Reuben%20Bell.htm Article including 2002 interview]
* [http://www.soulfulkindamusic.net/rbell.htm Discography]
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