Reuben Bell
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Reuben Bell(c. 1945 – 2004) was an Americansoulsinger 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 inShreveport, Louisiana,he began singing in local clubs.[1]He first recorded, with backing group the Casanovas, on the single "It's Not That Easy", released on the localMurcolabel in 1967.[2]The recording has subsequently become regarded as a classic ofSouthern souland 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" Blandand others.
In 1972, he recordedTarheel 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 number 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.[3]
Bell died in 2004 while living in Shreveport's Cedar Grove neighborhood.[4]
References[edit]
- ^"Archived copy".Archived fromthe originalon 2017-03-18.Retrieved2008-01-03.
{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^"It's Not That Easy - Reuben Bell & the Casanov..."AllMusic.Retrieved2024-06-08.
- ^"Reuben Bell".Soulfulkindamusic.net.
- ^John M. Shaw, "Eddie Giles and Reuben Bell," inShreveport Sounds In Black And White,ed. Kip Lornell and Tracey E. W. Laird (Jackson, Miss.:University Press of Mississippi,2008), pp. 323-337.
