(Photo by: Ginette Callaway (C) 2025)

Grammy Award winning vocalist  & songwriter William Bell and former James Brown guitarist Robert Lee Coleman will each be awarded The Harriet Tubman Medal of Freedom Award in the Rotunda of The Tubman Museum in Macon, GA  on Friday, August 15th @ 2PM. 

The Tubman Museum is located at 310 Cherry St, Macon, GA 31201

There will be a meet & greet, live music and refreshments provided as well.

 

For More Info:
 https://tubmanmuseum.com/
(478) 743-8544

Sponsored by Gus Arrendale & Springer Mountain Farms. 

Must See Documentary Official Trailer

The Take Me to the River YouTube Channel presents
William Bell
LIVE with the Take Me to the River All-Stars
at Red Rooster 2024

Hosted by
Director Martin Shore 
The legendary GRAMMY winning singer-songwriter William Bell joined Take Me to the River All-Stars at the 2024 Red Rooster festival, and we are now proud to present just one of amazing songs we recorded at the festival.

This week the Take Me to the River YouTube channel presents William Bell Live with the Hi Rhythm Section doing his classic song "Born Under a Bad Sign".

The 13th Annual National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will celebrate this year's distinguished honorees on October 6. Honorees include:

• Jeffrey Osborn
• Kenny Lattimore
• Candi Staton
• Ginuwine
• Regina Belle
• Buddy Miles
• William Bell
• Terry Stewart
• Rose Marie McCoy
• Ken Hawkins
• Boddie Recording Company.

READ ALL ABOUT IT & Purchase Tickets

William Bell, HANSON, Elle King & More Added To The Lineup Of Performers At The Inaugural GRAMMY Hall Of Fame Gala On May 21
 

https://www.grammy.com/news/grammy-hall-of-fame-gala-performers-william-bell-hanson-elle-king

TICKETS & INFORMATION

On March 20th, the Recording Academy® revealed the 2024 inducted recordings to the distinguished GRAMMY Hall Of Fame® on its 50th anniversary. 

This year’s additions include four albums and six singles that exhibit qualitative or historical significance and are at least 25 years old. Among the singles inducted is the 1961 debut single written and recorded by William Bell and released on Stax Records, You Don't Miss Your Water. Harvey Mason Jr., CEO of the Recording Academy comments, “We’re proud to unveil the diverse mix of recordings entering the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame in its 50th year. The music showcased here has played a pivotal role in shaping our cultural landscape, and it’s a true honor to recognize these albums and recordings, along with the profound influence each has had on music and beyond.” Today, we congratulate and celebrate William Bell for the induction of his recording of You Don't Miss Your Water into the GRAMMY Hall of Fame!

Dear Grammy voting members of the Recording Academy, for your consideration:

BEST AMERICANA ROOTS SONG
"One Day Closer To Home"
William Bell
William Bell & Scott Bomar, songwriters

BEST AMERICANA ROOTS PERFORMANCE
"One Day Closer To Home"
William Bell

William Bell and Emmy Award-winning film composer Scott Bomar have crafted the title track from Bell's latest album  fused with elements of Blues and Americana....thanks for your support!

Ryman in Nashville for the 22nd Annual Americana Honors & Awards. With performances by 49 Winchester, Adeem the Artist, Allison Russell, Angel Olsen, The Avett Brothers, Bettye LaVette, Bonnie Raitt, Brandi Carlile, Brandy Clark, Hermanos Gutiérrez, Logan Ledger, Margo Price, Marty Stuart, The Milk Carton Kids, Nickel Creek, Noah Kahan, Patty Griffin, Rufus Wainwright, S.G. Goodman, Sunny War, The War And Treaty and William Prince. 

#americanamusic 
#williambellmusic  
#williambellmusic 
#americanaawards

#RymanNashville

by: Alex Greene / 4:00 a.m. Jun. 28, 2023

The air was charged last Friday night at the Stax Museum of American Soul Music, as five of Stax Records’ most valuable players gathered together to answer questions and speak their minds. The sold-out event was first and foremost a celebration of Written in Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos, Craft Recordings’ seven-CD compilation (reviewed last week in the Memphis Flyer) featuring 140 never-before-heard recordings made in the studio’s back rooms, when songwriters made reference tapes of their compositions. Those demos would ultimately be filed away among the holdings of East/Memphis Music, the label’s publishing company, with the best serving as blueprints for full-on studio recordings by Stax artists. READ THE FULL ARTICLE 

Left to right: William Bell, Bo Dollis Jr. & Bobby Rush  

Sharing the moment with some great artists in New Orleans! William Bell

Join Award Winning Filmmaker Martin Shore as he takes you behind the scenes showing the sights and sounds from a week in New Orleans during Jazz Fest 2023!

With moments from Irma Thomas, William Bell, Bobby Rush, Sharde Thomas, Charlie Musselwhite, and more! Take Me to the River New Orleans available to stream now.

William Bell New CD #2 right after Tanya Tucker THAT'S AWESOME
The Alt Root Top Ten For April 19, 2023

check it out

http://www.thealternateroot.com/topten04192023.html

and we love Tanya Tuckers CD Cover for her CD “Kindness” it's Gorgeous

Purchase "This Is Where I Live" as a vinyl

CLICK IMAGE

Stax records has a wonderful William Bell page with interesting information and anecdotes

EXCERPT: Early in life, William Bell had thought to become a doctor. Singing was just a relaxing pastime reserved for social gatherings. But friends convinced him to try his hand at entertaining and he and his group won second prize at the annual Mid-South Talent Contest of Memphis, Tennessee. The prize was a recording contract with Stax Records.

As a sideline to his music career, William Bell is also an actor. A graduate of the two-year program at the Theatre Academy of Dramatic Arts in Atlanta, , where he now resides, he has played a variety of acting roles in stage plays while enrolled at the school. He is probably the only Black actor to play the role of Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire. END OF EXCERPT

READ MORE

https://staxrecords.com/artist/william-bell/

To be honored by the National Endowment for the arts Heritage Fellows is one of the greatest honors I have received in my career as an artist. I appreciate it very much and thank them. The tribute video is excellent, I hope you watch it.  

Thank you for letting me share my music with you and thank you dear fans and friends. You are the engine that keeps me going.

~William Bell

It really was an amazing experience to finally win a Grammy. The Best Americana Album in 2017 "This Is Where I Live"!   You can check out the Grammy Website for details. 
https://www.grammy.com/artists/william-bell/19565 

Here is a quote from one of the many interviews that followed.  
"My writing is about truth, you know? People all over the world can relate to what's happening in their lives if it's done in a truthful way."

After many hits that placed high in the charts, sold in the millions, finally I won not only a Grammy nomination but the final victory. Well it was just in time, because I began to think I was "Born Under A Bad Sign!" I am grateful to Producer & Co-Writer John Leventhal and for all the talented people that were a part of the creation of "This Is Where I Live"!

So after my Grammy success I received lots of love from all corners of the music industry, old and new fans, many interview requests and naturally I appreciate and enjoy the attention and honor. It's true "Everybody Loves A Winner"!

My new songs are soon to be released and I once again drew from my own life experiences, poured truth and hopefully a bit of wisdom into those lyrics.
Needless to say, I hope maybe there will be another Grammy in the future. We'll see. Wish me luck. Leave me some comments. Do you have a story about a William Bell song you like best?

Behind The Scenes the making of a Grammy Album

Our live performance
Gary Clark Jr., William Bell - Born Under a Bad Sign (LIVE from the 59th GRAMMYs)