Al Bell
Brinkley/North Little Rock
1940-
Born Alvertis Isbell in Brinkley in 1940 and raised in North Little Rock, Al Bell learned early that music could move people. His father played records by fellow Brinkley native Louis Jordan, and at Scipio A. Jones High School, Bell spun classmates’ records at school dances. A student talent show led to an invitation from Little Rock radio station KOKY, where the teenager soon found himself on the air. It was there that Alvertis Isbell became Al Bell.
After attending Philander Smith College and spending a brief period with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Bell moved into radio full time, first in Memphis and later in Washington, D.C. Along the way, he developed an instinct for what audiences wanted to hear and how to reach them. In Washington, he became an early champion of records from a young Memphis label called Stax. His success breaking Stax music in a major market caught the attention of label co-founder Jim Stewart, who recruited Bell in 1965 to lead promotion.
Bell arrived at a pivotal moment. Stax had already produced hits, but Bell saw possibilities far beyond Memphis. He helped propel the label, its artists, and the distinctive Stax sound onto the national and international stage. When the death of Otis Redding and the loss of Stax’s Atlantic-distributed catalog threatened the company’s future, Bell helped lead an audacious rebuilding campaign. The 1969 “Soul Explosion” unleashed a flood of new music and launched a remarkable second era for the label, including Isaac Hayes’ groundbreaking Hot Buttered Soul.
Bell’s influence soon extended far beyond promotion. As an executive, producer, songwriter, and eventual owner, he helped guide Stax through its most ambitious years. He produced the Staple Singers and wrote their 1972 classic “I’ll Take You There” while back home in North Little Rock following the death of his brother. That same year, Bell produced Wattstax, the massive Los Angeles concert and film that showcased Stax artists before an audience of roughly 100,000 and powerfully connected the label’s music with Black culture, community, and social change.
Even at the height of Stax, Arkansas remained part of Bell’s vision. He explored relocating the company to Little Rock through discussions with Governor Winthrop Rockefeller. After Stax collapsed in 1975, Bell later revisited the idea of rebuilding the label in Arkansas with Governor Bill Clinton. Neither plan came to fruition, but both reflected a connection to his home state that never disappeared.
Bell’s influence continued long after Stax. He later became president of Motown Records and founded Bellmark Records, extending a career that helped shape the business as well as the sound of American popular music. In 2011, the Recording Academy honored him with its Trustees Award for his extraordinary contributions to recorded music.
Bell once said, “The record business, in one sense, became my pulpit.” It is an apt description. From Arkansas classrooms and radio studios to the heights of the recording industry, Al Bell recognized talent, built careers, created opportunities, and helped turn Stax Records into one of the defining institutions of American soul music.