Archie Bell and The Drells

TIGHTEN UP - Atlantic 1968

'Hi everybody, we're Archie Bell and the Drells from Houston Texas and we dance just as good as we walk'.

HERE I GO AGAIN - Atlantic

Archie Bell & the Drells were from Houston Texas, as Archie would emphasis on Tighten Up. It was a favourite track at the original Twisted Wheel and it was a hit after Archie was drafted into the Army. In 1968, Archie with Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff, produced and wrote the groups releases; they did quite sophisticated arrangements and became dance hits like 'I Can't Stop Dancing,' '(There's Gonna Be a) Showdown,' and 'Do the Choo Choo' helped in establishing the sound of Philadelphia as an emerging dance genre. Everybody Have A Good Time - 1977 UK special limited edition Philadelphia label 12' featuring Extended Version b/w I Bet I Can Do That Dance You're Doin', picture sleeve PIR5179

Archie did some recordings in the late 70's but never surpassed the style and sounds of Here I Go Again or Tighten Up.

It is often the case that the Simpsons has its finger on the pulse of society - in one episode Archie Bell is seen as a one man band on the corner of a street singing Tighten Up. The obscurity of some of the programme's references never ceases to astonish.

Archie Bell (b. 1st September 1944, Henderson, Texas, U.S.A)
James Wise (b. 1st May 1948, Houston, Texas, U.S.A)
Willie Pernell (b. 12th April 1945, Houston, Texas, U.S.A)
L.C. Watts and Cornelius Fuller