Archie Bell & The Drells: The Albums 1968-1979, 5CD Box Set

• The first definitive box set of the complete Archie Bell & The Drells albums, plus an additional disc of Bonus Tracks.

• With sleeve notes by journalist Charles Waring contributor to MOJO, Record Collector and uDiscover Music.

Archie Bell was born in 1944 and hailed from Houston Texas, he formed the band The Drells at high school. In the mid-60s they were billed as Archie Bell & The Drells.

At the age of 22 Archie was drafted into the army, but before he was shipped out his roommate and fellow Drell Billy Butler came in the room, put on the radio, and started dancing to music, showing off the moves of the latest dance craze. Remembered Bell: “I said to him, ‘What are you doing?’ He said, ‘I’m doing the Tighten Up.’ It cheered me up and made me forget about my problems with Uncle Sam. So we decided to write a song about the Tighten Up.”

The record took off and was picked up by Ahmet Ertegun of Atlantic Records, three months into Archie’s two-year stint in the U.S. Army.

In order to capitalise on the single’s success, Atlantic wanted an album post-haste, but the group didn’t have enough unreleased tracks in the can to fill an album. Luckily, Archie Bell was granted leave to return to the US specifically to record. “I travelled from Germany two times on a weekend pass because we didn’t have that much material,” he recalled. “I flew to New York, recorded all day Saturday, got on a plane Sunday, and flew back to Germany before reveille.”

“Tighten Up” went to #1 on the Hot 100 and earned the group a Gold Disc.

But Archie Bell & The Drells were not a flash in the pan, other notable hits for the group were ‘(There’s Gonna Be A) Showdown’, ‘Dancing To The Music’, ‘I Can’t Stop Dancing’ and ‘Here I Go Again’ all hits on Atlantic Records.

Having worked with legendary producers Gamble & Huff over the years it seemed an obvious move to their Philadelphia International label, where they scored more Hits like ‘Let’s Groove’, ‘Soul City Walking’ and ‘Strategy’ to name but a few.

TRACK LISTING

DISC ONE
Tighten Up
1 Tighten Up (Part 1)
2 Tighten Up (Part 2)
3 I Don’t Wanna Be A Playboy
4 You’re Mine
5 Knock On Wood
6 Give Me Time
7 In The Midnight Hour
8 When You Left Heartache Began
9 A Thousand Wonders
10 A Soldier’s Prayer, 1967
I Can’t Stop Dancing
11 I Can’t Stop Dancing
12 (Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay
13 Do The Choo Choo
14 You’re Such A Beautiful Child
15 Monkey Time
16 Do You Feel It?
17 I’ve Been Trying
18 Jammin’ In Houston
19 Love Will Rain On You
20 Sometimes I Wonder

DISC TWO
There’s Gonna Be A Showdown
1 I Love My Baby
2 Houston Texas
3 (There’s Gonna Be A) Showdown
4 Giving Up Dancing
5 Girl You’re Too Young
6 Mama Didn’t Teach Me That Way
7 Do The Hand Jive
8 My Balloon’s Going Up
9 Here I Go Again
10 Go For What You Know
11 Green Power
12 Just A Little Closer
Dance Your Troubles Away
13 Let’s Groove
14 I Could Dance All Night
15 I Won’t Leave You Honey, Never
16 Dance Your Troubles Away
17 The Soul City Walk
18 Let’s Go Disco
19 I Love You, But You Don’t Even Know It

DISC THREE
Where Will You Go When The Party’s Over
1 Don’t Let Love Get You Down
2 Where Will You Go When The Party’s Over
3 Right Here Is Where I Want To Be
4 Dancin’ Man
5 Everybody Have A Good Time
6 I Swear You’re Beautiful
7 Nothing Comes Easy
8 I Bet I Can Do The Dance You’re Doin’
Hard Not To Like It
9 Glad You Could Make It
10 Disco Showdown
11 Disco Fever
12 On The Radio
13 It’s Hard Not To Like You
14 There’s No Other Like You
15 Real Good Feeling
16 I’ve Been Missing You

DISC FOUR
Strategy
1 Show Me How To Dance
2 I Can’t Get Enough Of Your Love
3 How Can I
4 We’ve Got Something
5 Tighten Up At The Disco
6 Strategy
7 You’re The Only One
8 We Got ‘Em Dancin’

DISC FIVE
Bonus Tracks
1 A World Without Music
2 Deal With Him
3 Dog Eat Dog
4 Wrap It Up
5 Don’t Let The Music Slip Away
6 Get It From The Bottom
7 I Wish
8 Love At First Sight
9 I Just Want To Fall In Love
10 Archie’s In Love
11 Let The World Know You Got Soul
12 I Can’t Face You Baby
13 Let’s Groove – 7” Version
14 The Soul City Walk – 7” Version
15 Dancin’ Man
16 Old People (The Philadelphia International All- Stars)