William Bell Happy

Soul legend William Bell was one of the mainstays of Stax Records, and consequently was more known for earthy Memphis type soul. But in 1968 all that changed with the release of Happy, one of the most infectious joyous Northern Soul classics ever put down to wax, and of course it was a major top priority to record for our documentary The Strange World Of Northern Soul, so we visited William in his own recording studio in Atlanta and filmed him redoing this stone classic. William Bell (born William Yarborough, 16 July 1939, Memphis, Tennessee) is a truly legendary American soul singer and songwriter. He was one of the architects of the StaxVolt sound, and is probably best known for his 1961 debut single, You Don t Miss Your Water. With Booker T. Jones, Bell wrote the song, Born Under a Bad Sign, which became a signature song for blues musician, Albert King. It was later popularized by the power trio, Cream. Also, Bell s collaboration in 1968 with Judy C