Al Bell

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Al Bell (born Alvertis Isbell, 1940) is an American record producer, songwriter, and record executive.

He is best known for his stint as an executive and co-owner of Stax Records, headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, during the company's 19-year history. Bell, a former disc jockey in Little Rock, Arkansas, was instrumental in Stax's soul singers' careers, including the Staple Sirngers and Isaac Hayes, the Emotions, the Dramatics, and Mel and Tim.

Bell's promotional efforts made the "Memphis sound" worldwide and helped make Stax the second-largest African-owned company in the 1970s.

The BBC named Bell as "one of the icons of soul music" and "the driving force behind Stax Records" in 2009. Following his time with Stax, Bell became president of Motown Records Group during its reorganization for purchase to MCA and Boston Ventures Group in 2009.

Bellmark, who's catalogs also contained Tag Team's single "Whoomp!" he later started his own label, Bellmark. (Here It Is) (1993).

Bell now works in Memphis' independent music scene, and he has a website and radio show on AlBellPresents.com.

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Early career at Stax

Bell joined Stax in 1965 as the company's director of promotions, and was instrumental in the company's expansion. He rose through the ranks of the organization over the next three years, eventually becoming executive vice president and the company's most influential figure after co-founder Jim Stewart. Bell was often involved in the label's music production, as a songwriter and a producer for several acts on the label, in addition to his administrative and marketing duties.

Stax severed its distribution agreement with Atlantic Records in 1968, the label's back catalog to that date, following the plane crash that killed Stax's leading actor, Otis Redding. In an attempt to rebuild a catalog for Stax, Bell launched a campaign that sought to get enough albums and singles out. The Staple Singers, as well as newcomers the Emotions and the Soul Children, were among the new signingees. Bell recorded twenty-seven albums for near-imultaneous debut in mid-1969 and created a substantial amount of the content himself. Hot Buttered Soul, Stax composer and producer Isaac Hayes' debuting as a recording artist in his own right, was one of those albums. Bell was instrumental in influencing the Staple Singers' careers, releasing a new sound for them that resulted in hits such as "Respect Yourself" and "I'll Take You There," the latter of which he wrote.

In 1969, Bell became co-founder of Stax after co-founder Estelle Axton, who was dissatisfied with Bell's company's goals, sold her shares and departed from the company. He became the first African-American to own equity in the label, although Stax specialized in African-American music, and both of its founders, Stewart and Axton, were white.

Stewart began turning over more of Stax's daily operations to Bell, who initiated ambitious plans to expand the firm's operations, similar to what Berry Gordy, Jr. had been doing at Motown Records in the 1970s. Stax began releasing music from many smaller Memphis labels and created and released the soundtracks for feature films including Sweet Sweetback's Baadasss Song and Shaft (both 1971). Al Bell supervised the Wattstax festival, a day-long tribute to the Watts riots in Los Angeles. Wattstax, a 1973 documentary film by the company's new film division, was produced.

Bell signed a new distribution contract with CBS Records in 1972 after four years of the label releasing its own songs. Stax's relationship with CBS was tumultuous at best, with Bell and the Stax staff borrowing heavily from Union Planters Bank in Memphis, but CBS withheld information from retail and Stax revenues until the label was shut down by court order in late 1975. During the Stax bankruptcy hearings, Bell was charged with, and later acquitted of, bank fraud.

Bell returned to Little Rock after Stax was disbanded. He stayed away from the music industry for a decade, save for occasional participation in local music. He joined Motown Records Group in the 1980s and worked closely with Berry Gordy Jr. in the auction of Motown to the MCA/Boston Ventures Group. He found Tag Team Music after Motown, and Bellmark Records' label issued their hit song, "Whoomp!" after the band's success in Motown. “There It Is” (1993), one of the fastest-selling singles in the music industry, became one of the first to be recognized in history. After Prince's label Warner Bros. Records pulled him down, Bell also released Prince's hit song "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World."

Bellmark Records has returned to Little Rock to begin work on Al Bell Presents, a new web-based venture for which he produces a popular online radio show, Al Bell Presents: American Soul Music. Bell was featured in The New York Times and on BBC as he returned to Memphis to help promote the city's independent music scene in 2009.

Bell has received various accolades, including: "Best in Show" in honor of David Copper.

Later career

Bell resurfaced to Little Rock after Stax was defunct. Except for occasional participation in local recordings, he stayed away from the music industry for a decade. He joined the Motown Records Group in the 1980s and collaborated closely with Berry Gordy Jr. in the auction of Motown to the MCA/Boston Ventures Group. He met the music group Tag Team and his Bellmark Records label, which released their hit song "Whoomp!" following Motown's release of "Whoomp!" It's been there since 1993), which became one of the top-selling singles in the music industry history. After Prince's label Warner Bros. Records turned him down, Bell also released Prince's hit song "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World."

Bellmark Records, a Bellmark Records veteran, returned to Little Rock to begin work on Al Bell Presents, a new web-based venture for which he produces a popular online radio show called American Soul Music. Bell returned to Memphis in 2009 to help promote the city's independent music scene, according to The New York Times and on the BBC.

Bell has received many awards, including: The prestigious: Bell has received numerous trophies, including:

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