Archie Bell And The Drells

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Archie Bell (born in Henderson, Texas on September 1, 1944) & the Drells were a Houston soul vocal group, one of the main acts on Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff’s Philadelphia International Records. The band’s hits include “Tighten Up” and “I Can’t Stop Dancing” (both 1968), “The Soul City Walk” (1976), and “Everybody Have A Good Time” (1977).

Bell, the brother of American footballer Ricky Bell (1955-1984), moved to Houston as a young boy and formed the group in 1966 with his friends James Wise, Willie Parnell and Billy Butler. They signed with local label Ovid.

After a spell in Vietnam for Archie, the group released Tighten Up, which was picked up by Atlantic for distribution and toppped both the R&B and pop charts. The song’s line “we dance just as good as we walk” was a little ironic given that Archie had been shot in the leg and was consigned to a military hospital bed at the time.

The phenomenal success of the single prompted the band to rush out an album, despite their incapacitated leader.

In 1969, after Bell had left the army, the group recorded their first full album with Gamble and Huff, I Can’t Stop Dancing, which reached number 28 on the R&B chart.

After mediocre chart showings in the late ’70s, the group split in 1980. Archie Bell later released one solo album on Beckett Records.
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  • consommateur

    according to fbi scuttlebut tighten up is a favorite of Mr.Hoover.....see james ellroys bloods a rover....

    February 2012

  • Fullmettall

    LECAU (Y) I Like It

    December 2011

  • cadaver11

    I thought these were white guys with soul. Oops!

    August 2011

  • sjm26b

    "Wait a minute Uncle sam, we can't fight on Sunday!"

    June 2011

  • Yastrzemski

    http://www.last.fm/music/Archie+Bell+and+The+Drells/+images/56737043

    January 2011

  • Carlana

    yes you should ("ladyintelect"). ;)

    May 2010

  • Tr1xx

    shame that "Here I Go Again" isn't streamable; it should have a higher play count. Still, at least the tags are improving

    March 2009

  • ladyintelect

    The instrumentals remind me of Brand New Heavies.... or should I say, Brand New Heavies was influenced by Archie Bell and The Drells?

    November 2008
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