Archie Bell & the Drells

Archie Bell & the Drells was an American R&B vocal group from Houston and one of the main acts produced by Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff in the late 1960s before the duo formed their highly successful label Philadelphia International Records in 1971. The group's hits include "Tighten Up", "I Can't Stop Dancing" (both 1968), "There's Gonna Be a Showdown", "Girl You're Too Young" (1969), "Here I Go Again" (also a UK hit in 1972), "The Soul City Walk" (1975), "Let's Groove", "Everybody Have a Good Time" (1977), and "Don't Let Love Get You Down" (1976).

History

Early days

Archie Bell (born September 1, 1944), who founded the group, was born in Henderson, Texas; The origins of "Tighten Up" came from a conversation Archie Bell had with Butler. Bell was despondent after receiving his draft notice, and Butler, in an attempt to cheer him up, demonstrated the "Tighten Up" dance to Bell.

Bell's promoter, Skipper Lee Frazier, unsuccessfully began pushing the flip side of "Tighten Up", a song called "Dog Eat Dog". But at the recommendation of a friend he gave the other side a try. "Tighten Up", written by Archie Bell and Billy Butler. Bell prodded listeners to dance to the funky musical jam developed by the T.S.U. Toronadoes; It became a hit in Houston before it was picked up by Atlantic Records for distribution in April 1968. By the summer it topped both the Billboard R&B and pop charts. It also received a R.I.A.A. gold disc by selling one million copies.

Many believe Bell was wounded in action in Vietnam while the band was still at the height of its fame,

Later career

The band backing Archie Bell & the Drells from 1975 to 1979 was called "The Melting Pot Band", which featured musicians from several states. McNasty McKnight was the band leader playing trombone. Graduates of the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts (HSPVA) in Houston traveled with the group, including Don Pope and Tony Salvaggio on saxophone. Other musicians included Lonnie LaLanne and Calvin Owens (trumpet); Abel Salazar (keyboards), and Mike Hughes (drums). LaLanne and Owens were alumni of B.B. King's band.

In 1975, the band released their "total-disco comeback album," Dance Your Troubles Away. The single "The Soul City Walk" made number 13 in the UK Singles Chart, he continued to perform with the Drells 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. On April 16, 2013, the mayor of Houston Annise Parker honored Archie Bell, Lucious Larkins, and James Wise with a proclamation of Archie Bell and the Drells Day.

Discography

Albums

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

! rowspan="2"| Year

! rowspan="2"| Album details

! colspan="2"| Peak chart positions

|- style="font-size:smaller;"

! style="width:45px;"|US 200

! style="width:45px;"|US R&B

||1968

| style="text-align:left;"| Tighten Up

Label: Atlantic Records

| 142

| 1

|rowspan="2"|1969

| style="text-align:left;"| I Can't Stop Dancing

Label: Atlantic Records

| —

| 28

| style="text-align:left;"| There's Gonna Be a Showdown

Label: Atlantic Records

| 163

| —

||1975

| style="text-align:left;"| Dance Your Troubles Away

Label: TSOP/Philadelphia International

| 95

| 11

|rowspan="2"|1977

| style="text-align:left;"| Where Will You Go When the Party's Over

Label: Philadelphia International

| —

| 47

| style="text-align:left;"| Hard Not to Like It

Label: Philadelphia International

| —

||1979

| style="text-align:left;"| Strategy

Label: Philadelphia International

| —

| 37

||1981

| style="text-align:left;"| I Never Had It So Good

Label: Becket Records
Only solo album released by Archie Bell

| —

||1990

| style="text-align:left;"| Greatest Hits

Label: CBS Special Products
Best from the Philadelphia International era.

| —

| colspan="5" style="text-align:center; font-size:9pt;"| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released.

Singles

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"

! rowspan="2"| Year

! rowspan="2"| Single

! colspan="4"| Peak chart positions

! rowspan="2"| Album

|- style="font-size:smaller;"

! style="width:40px;"|US HOT 100

! style="width:40px;"|US R&B

| rowspan="5"| 1968

| style="text-align:left;"| "Tighten Up"

| 1

| —

| 55

| style="text-align:center;"| Tighten Up

| style="text-align:left;"| "I Can't Stop Dancing" (with Leon Huff and the Bobby Martin Orchestra)

| 9

| 5

| —

| style="text-align:center;" rowspan="3"| I Can't Stop Dancing

| style="text-align:left;"| "Do the Choo Choo" (with Leon Huff and the Bobby Martin Orchestra)

| 44

| 17

| —

| style="text-align:left;"| "Love Will Rain on You"

| —

| 25

| —

| style="text-align:left;"| "There's Gonna Be a Showdown" (with Thom Bell, Leon Huff and Bobby Martin's Orchestra)

| 21

| 6

| —

| 36