LeRoy Bell
Encyclopedia
LeRoy Bell, at times Leroy Bell is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 singer and songwriter. He and his friend Casey James played in Special Blend, and then went on to form their own duo Bell and James
Bell and James
Bell and James was an American soul group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania formed by Leroy Bell on and Casey James . LeRoy Bell is now a contestant on the American The X Factor-Career:...

, also composing songs that were hits for other artists most notably two charting hit singles for Elton John
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...

. Later Bell became a member of the trio Only Friends. In 2011, Bell applied for the American The X Factor and was chosen for the Final 16 and went on to the live shows being mentored by Nicole Scherzinger
Nicole Scherzinger
Nicole Prescovia Elikolani Valiente Scherzinger is an American singer-songwriter, dancer, record producer, model, and actress. Scherzinger is perhaps best known for being the lead vocalist of the Pussycat Dolls....

. He was eliminated after the fifth Live Show finishing 8th overall in the inaugural season of the American The X Factor.

Bell and James

Bell and James was a duo soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...

 group
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...

 formed by LeRoy Bell (on drums and guitar) and Casey James (on guitar, bass and keyboards). They both had played for a while in the band Special Blend, before they decided to team up together as Bell and James. The duo released three albums: Bell and James (1978), Only Make Believe (1979) and In Black and White (1980), and had a number of singles, the most successful and well-known being "Livin' It Up (Friday Night)" released on A&M Records
A&M Records
A&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group that operates under the mantle of its Interscope-Geffen-A&M division.-Beginnings:...

. It reached #15 on the U.S. Hot 100.

LeRoy also released his own EP "Spending Time" on his own label, Martez Music Group, releasing "Two Sides to Every Story" from the EP as a single.

Songwriting

LeRoy Bell also co-wrote many songs for others in partnership with Casey James. They were encouraged by LeRoy's uncle Thom Bell
Thom Bell
Thomas Randolph "Thom" Bell is an American songwriter and producer, best known as one of the creators of the Philadelphia style of soul music in the 1970s. He moved to Philadelphia as a child.-Biography:...

 who owned Mighty Three Music, a music production company along with Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff. The latters were a famous composing duo collaboration Gamble and Huff
Gamble and Huff
Kenneth Gamble and Leon A. Huff are an American songwriting and record production team who have written and produced over 170 gold and platinum records. They were pioneers of Philadelphia soul and the in-house creative team for the Philadelphia International record label...

 to whom Bell and James provided some of their composition.

Their songs were recorded by a number of groups including:
  • The Spinners
  • The O'Jays
    The O'Jays
    The O'Jays are an American R&B group from Canton, Ohio, formed in 1963 and originally consisting of Eddie Levert , Walter Williams , William Powell , Bobby Massey and Bill Isles. The O'Jays were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2004, and The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005...

     (notably in "This Time Baby
    This Time Baby
    "This Time Baby" is a 1979 disco single by Jackie Moore, a cover of a song by The O'Jays of their 1978 album So Full of Love. The single was number one on the U.S. disco chart for one week in August 1979. It also reached the top 30 on the soul singles chart...

    ")
  • The Temptations
    The Temptations
    The Temptations is an American vocal group having achieved fame as one of the most successful acts to record for Motown Records. The group's repertoire has included, at various times during its five-decade career, R&B, doo-wop, funk, disco, soul, and adult contemporary music.Formed in Detroit,...

  • Rita Marley
    Rita Marley
    Alpharita Constantia Anderson , better known as Rita Marley, and sometimes called "Nana Rita", is the widow of reggae legend/musician Bob Marley, and a member of the trio the I Threes, Bob Marley's backup singers.-Biography:...

  • Gladys Knight & the Pips
    Gladys Knight & the Pips
    Gladys Knight & The Pips were an R&B/soul family musical act from Atlanta, Georgia, active from 1953 to 1989. The group was best known for their string of hit singles on Motown's "Soul" record label and Buddah Records from 1967 to 1975, including "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" and "Midnight...

  • Freda Payne
    Freda Payne
    Freda Charcilia Payne Some sources give a birth year of 1945, but this appears to be an error as all sources agree that she is older than her sister Scherrie, born 1944. is an American singer and actress best known for her million selling, 1970 hit single, "Band of Gold". She was also an actress in...

  • The Three Degrees
    The Three Degrees
    The Three Degrees are an American female vocal group. Formed in 1963 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,, the group has always been a trio though there have been a number of personnel changes and a total of fourteen women have represented the group so far. The original members were Fayette Pinkney,...



With Elton John
Most notably, two of the LeRoy Bell songs were recorded by Elton John
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...

. One was "Mama Can't Buy You Love
Mama Can't Buy You Love
"Mama Can't Buy You Love" is a hit single for British singer/songwriter Elton John off the EP The Thom Bell Sessions. The song was written by LeRoy Bell and Casey James , and it became John's first U.S. top-ten hit in almost three years when it peaked at number nine on the Billboard Hot 100 in...

" and the other "Are You Ready for Love
Are You Ready for Love
"Are You Ready for Love" is a song recorded by Elton John in 1977, and was first released in the UK in 1979 on the EP The Thom Bell Sessions. It was written by Leroy Bell, Thom Bell and Casey James, and was originally produced in Philadelphia by Thom Bell...

". The songs, a LeRoy Bell-Casey James co-composition appeared in the "The Thom Bell Sessions
The Thom Bell Sessions
The Thom Bell Sessions is an EP recorded by Elton John in the second half of 1977 but was not released by MCA Records until June 1979. The project was a departure for Elton at the time. Up until that time he had worked almost exclusively with lyricist Bernie Taupin and record producer Gus Dudgeon...

" in 1977. Elton John's song version of "Mama Can't Buy You Love" went to the Top 10 in the general charts and #1 the Adult/Contemporary chart in the fall of 1979, earning Elton a Grammy Nomination for "Best Male R&B Vocal Performance". His song "Are You Ready for Love" was even a bigger hit.

Tracklist of Elton John single:
  • Side 1: "Are You Ready for Love" (LeRoy Bell, Thom Bell, Casey James) (8:31)
  • Side 2.1: "Three Way Love Affair" (LeRoy Bell, Casey James) (5:31)
  • Side 2.2: "Mama Can't Buy You Love" (LeRoy Bell, Casey James) (4:03)


In February 1989, The Complete Thom Bell Sessions
The Complete Thom Bell Sessions
The Complete Thom Bell Sessions is a music album recorded by singer/songwriter Elton John. Recorded in 1977, the album brings together the complete recording session by Elton John and producer Thom Bell onto one album...

 was released by MCA Records
MCA Records
MCA Records was an American-based record company owned by MCA Inc., which later gave way to the larger MCA Music Entertainment Group , of which MCA Records was still part. MCA Records was absorbed by Geffen Records in 2003...

, although it had been recorded in 1977. In addition to "Mama Can't Buy You Love" and "Are You Ready for Love", it featured three additional songs, including "Country Love Song" also co-written by LeRoy Bell.
  • 1. "Nice and Slow" (Elton John, Bernie Taupin, Thom Bell)
  • 2. "Country Love Song" (LeRoy Bell, Casey James)
  • 3. "Shine on Through" (Elton John, G. Osborne)
  • 4. "Mama Can't Buy You Love" (LeRoy Bell, Casey James)
  • 5. "Are You Ready for Love" (LeRoy Bell, Casey James)
  • 6. "Three Way Love Affair" (LeRoy Bell, Casey James)


In 2003, Fat Boy Slim mixed Elton John's single version making it to the British Singles Chart. The song also charted in many European charts.

With Teddy Pendergrass
LeRoy Bell had a long-running cooperation with Teddy Pendergrass
Teddy Pendergrass
Theodore DeReese "Teddy" Pendergrass was an American R&B/soul singer and songwriter. Pendergrass first rose to fame as lead singer of Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes in the 1970s before a successful solo career at the end of the decade...

 for whom he wrote 5 songs in three different albums:
  • 1979: "I'll Never See Heaven Again" on the album Teddy
    Teddy (album)
    Teddy was the third album by R&B crooner Teddy Pendergrass, released on June 23, 1979. It included more "bedroom ballads," comparable to Marvin Gaye's Midnight Love.-Reception:...

  • 1979: "Set Me Free", also on album Teddy
  • 1982: "Loving You Was Good" on album This One's for You
    This One's for You (Teddy Pendergrass album)
    This One's for You was the seventh album by R&B crooner Teddy Pendergrass. It was released just after a bad car accident Pendergrass was involved in, which left him paralyzed from the waist down due to a spinal cord injury. The album did not do as well as his previous albums did on the Billboard...

  • 1983: "Heaven Only Knows" from the album Heaven Only Knows (lead song) Pendergrass album
  • 1990: "Glad to Be Alive" from the album Truly Blessed
    Truly Blessed
    Truly Blessed is the eleventh studio album by R&B singer Teddy Pendergrass, released in March 1991 on the Elektra label. Four tracks were produced by Pendergrass, with four of the tracks produced by Pendergrass and Terry Price, and the remaining three produced by Derek Nakamoto and Craig...



Others:
  • 1979: Lou Rawls
    Lou Rawls
    Louis Allen "Lou" Rawls was an American soul, jazz, and blues singer. He was known for his smooth vocal style: Frank Sinatra once said that Rawls had "the classiest singing and silkiest chops in the singing game"...

    : "Bark, Bite (Fight All Night)" on the album Let Me Be Good to You
    Let Me Be Good to You
    Let Me Be Good to You is a 1979 album by American R&B singer Lou Rawls, released on the Philadelphia International Records label. Production credits are split between Gamble & Huff, Thom Bell, Dexter Wansel and Jack Faith. Although full performance credits are not given on the album, it is known...

  • 1980: Lou Rawls: "Heartache (Just When You Think You're Loved)" and "You Are" on album Sit Down and Talk to Me
    Sit Down and Talk to Me
    Sit Down and Talk to Me is a 1980 album by American R&B singer Lou Rawls, released on the Philadelphia International Records label. All of PIR's major production names contributed to the album, resulting in a diverse set of tracks from dance to urban blues...

  • 1988: Kimiko Kasai
    Kimiko Kasai
    Kimiko Kasai is a Japanese jazz singer who was born in Kyoto, Japan on December 15, 1945.She went to Tokyo in 1964, and became a featured member of pianist Yuzuru Sera's group...

    : "Love Talk" from album Love Talk (lead song)
  • 2001: Me and You: "You Never Know What You Got (Til It's Gone)"
  • 2002: Jennifer Lopez
    Jennifer Lopez
    Jennifer Lynn Lopez is an American actress, singer, record producer, dancer, television personality, and fashion designer. Lopez began her career as a dancer on the television comedy program In Living Color. Subsequently venturing into acting, she gained recognition in the 1995 action-thriller...

    : "Still" cowritten with James and Jennifer Lopez herself in the latter's album This Is Me... Then
    This Is Me... Then
    This Is Me... Then is the third studio album by American recording artist Jennifer Lopez, released on November 19, 2002 by Epic Records. The album debuted at number six on the U.S. Billboard 200 selling 314,000 copies during its first week, then propelled to number two two months later remaining...

    .
  • 2005: The Freemasons
    Freemasons (band)
    Freemasons are an English dance band from Brighton, East Sussex, England. The act consists of producers Russell Small and James Wiltshire .-2005-2007: Early Career:Their name is taken from the Brighton pub, Freemasons Tavern, Hove, which they frequently...

    : "Love on My Mind
    Love on My Mind (Freemasons song)
    "Love on My Mind" is a song by dance band Freemasons. It was released as the 1st single from their second studio album Unmixed and features vocals from British singer Amanda Wilson. The song's melody and some of its lyrics sample the 1979 hit "This Time Baby" by Jackie Moore.-Track listing:-Charts:...

    " that appears on albums Shakedown
    Shakedown (album)
    Shakedown is the debut album by house production duo Freemasons. It was released on 21 January 2007, with the single "Rain Down Love" being released two weeks earlier in anticipation of the album. "Nothing But a Heartache", a cover of the original single by the Flirtations, was released as a...

    , Unmixed
    Unmixed
    Unmixed is the second album by house production duo Freemasons. It was released on 29 October 2007, with the lead single "Uninvited" being released one week earlier....

     and Shakedown 2
    Shakedown 2
    Shakedown 2 is a compilation album by the Freemasons. It was released on 29 June 2009. The single "Heartbreak " was released a week before, on 22 June 2009.-Track listing:-Charts:...

  • He has also written for Phyllis Hyman
    Phyllis Hyman
    Phyllis Linda Hyman was an American soul singer and actress.-Early years:Phyllis Hyman was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and grew up in the St. Clair Village, the South Hills section of Pittsburgh...


Solo career

Starting in the 2000s, he worked solo and toured extensively. In the process, he released various albums including his debut solo EP Spending Time (on his own label Martez Music Group), followed by Two Sides to Every Story in 2006, A Change Is Coming in 2008 and Traces in 2010.

In 2011, he was part of a project United in Song affiliated to USA For Africa
USA for Africa
USA for Africa was the name under which forty-seven predominantly U.S. artists, led by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie, recorded the hit single "We Are the World" in 1985. The song was a US and UK Number One for the collective in April of that year...

 to bring the best in World Music to celebrate peace and unity. The project included Angelique Kidjo
Angélique Kidjo
Angélique Kpasseloko Hinto Hounsinou Kandjo Manta Zogbin Kidjo, commonly known as Angélique Kidjo is a Grammy Award–winning Beninoise singer-songwriter and activist, noted for her diverse musical influences and creative music videos. Time Magazine has called her "Africa's premier diva". The BBC has...

, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Aurelio Martinez with Youssou N'Dour
Youssou N'Dour
Youssou N'Dour is a Senegalese singer, percussionist and occasional actor. In 2004, Rolling Stone described him as, in Senegal and much of Africa, "perhaps the most famous singer alive." He helped develop a style of popular music in Senegal, known in the Serer language as mbalax, a type of music...

, Lila Downs, Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars, Razia Said, Abigail Washburn & the Shanghai Restoration Project, Luisa Maita, G Love & Special Sauce, and Vieux Farka Toure and LeRoy Bell contributing tracks to United in Song

LeRoy Bell and His Only Friends

LeRoy Bell also formed his band Only Friends as LeRoy Bell and His Only Friends, featuring Terry Morgan on bass and Davis Martin on drums. Both are experience musicians. Morgan had played with Dee Daniels, Pat Wright & The Total Experience Gospel Choir, Dave Lewis, Thelma Houston and others, whereas Martin was previously a member of the band Maktub
Maktub
Maktub is a Seattle, Washington-based music group formed in the late 1990s that combines elements of hip-hop, rhythm and blues, soul, and funk, with a sprinkling of jazz and rock.-History:...

.

On American The X Factor

In 2011, he applied for the American version of The X Factor, singing the song "Lean on Me" at his audition. Becoming one of the Top 32, he performed in Judges House Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...

's "Make You Feel My Love" in front of Enrique Iglesias
Enrique Iglesias
Enrique Iglesias is a Spanish pop music singer, a son of singer Julio Iglesias.Enrique started his musical career on Mexican label Fonovisa...

 and mentor Nicole Scherzinger
Nicole Scherzinger
Nicole Prescovia Elikolani Valiente Scherzinger is an American singer-songwriter, dancer, record producer, model, and actress. Scherzinger is perhaps best known for being the lead vocalist of the Pussycat Dolls....

 becoming one of the finalists (Final 16), qualifying for the live shows in the Over-30s category mentored by Scherzinger.

During the live shows, he had the following performances:

Performances and results

Episode Date Theme Song choice Original artist Order # Result
Audition 29 Sept 2011
Broadcast date
Auditioner's Choice
"Lean on Me" Bill Withers
Bill Withers
William Harrison "Bill" Withers, Jr. is an American singer-songwriter and musician who performed and recorded from 1970 until 1985. Some of his best-known songs are "Lean on Me", "Ain't No Sunshine", "Use Me", "Just the Two of Us", "Lovely Day", and "Grandma's Hands"...

N/A Through to bootcamp
Judges House 14 Oct 2011
Broadcast date
Solo "Make You Feel My Love" Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...

N/A Through to live shows
Live Show 1 25 Oct 2011 None "Nobody Knows" Pink
Pink (singer)
Alecia Beth Moore , better known by her stage name Pink , is an American singer-songwriter, musician and actress....

10 Safe. To Final 12
Live Show 2 2 Nov 2011 None "I'm Already There
I'm Already There
I'm Already There is the fourth album released by American country music band Lonestar. Released in 2001 on BNA Records , the album was certified platinum by the RIAA for sales of one million copies....

"
Lonestar
Lonestar
Lonestar is an American country music group consisting of Richie McDonald , Michael Britt , Keech Rainwater , Dean Sams , and Michael Hill . McDonald left the band in November 2007 for a solo career before returning in 2011...

3 Safe
Live Show 3 9 Nov 2011 Songs from Movies "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
"I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" is a song by rock band U2. It is the second track from their 1987 album The Joshua Tree and was released as the album's second single in May 1987...

"
U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...

4 Safe
Live Show 4 16 Nov 2011 Rock songs "We've Got Tonight" Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band
Bob Seger
Robert Clark "Bob" Seger is an American rock and roll singer-songwriter, guitarist and pianist.As a locally successful Detroit-area artist, he performed and recorded as Bob Seger and the Last Heard and Bob Seger System throughout the 1960s...

1 Safe
Live Show 5 22 Nov 2011 Giving Thanks "Angel
Angel (Sarah McLachlan song)
"Angel" is a song by Sarah McLachlan that originally appeared on her 1997 album Surfacing. As McLachlan explained on VH1 Storytellers, the song is about the Smashing Pumpkins touring keyboard player Jonathan Melvoin, who overdosed on heroin and died in 1996."Angel" was McLachlan's second top 5 hits...

"
Sarah McLachlan
Sarah McLachlan
Sarah Ann McLachlan, OC, OBC is a Canadian musician, singer and songwriter. Known for her emotional ballads and mezzo-soprano vocal range, as of 2006, she has sold over 40 million albums worldwide. McLachlan's best-selling album to date is Surfacing, for which she won two Grammy Awards and four...

6 Bottom 2
Live Show 5
(Elimination Round)
23 Nov 2011 Own choice "Don't Let Me Down
Don't Let Me Down (The Beatles song)
"Don't Let Me Down" is a song by The Beatles , recorded in 1969 during the Get Back sessions.-Composition:...

"
The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...

2 Deadlock (2-2)
Eliminated by
public vote


On 22 November 2011, he was voted Bottom three by public vote and had to sing for his life against Marcus Canty. He chose to sing The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...

 song "Don't Let Me Down
Don't Let Me Down (The Beatles song)
"Don't Let Me Down" is a song by The Beatles , recorded in 1969 during the Get Back sessions.-Composition:...

". With the judges deadlocked at 2-2 (with mentor Nicole Scherzinger
Nicole Scherzinger
Nicole Prescovia Elikolani Valiente Scherzinger is an American singer-songwriter, dancer, record producer, model, and actress. Scherzinger is perhaps best known for being the lead vocalist of the Pussycat Dolls....

 saving her act LeRoy Bell, and L.A. Reid saving his act Canty, then judge Paula Abdul
Paula Abdul
Paula Julie Abdul is an American singer-songwriter, dancer, choreographer, actress and television personality.In the 1980s, Abdul rose from cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers to highly sought-after choreographer at the height of the music video era before scoring a string of pop music-R&B hits...

 voting to send Canty home and Simon Cowell
Simon Cowell
Simon Phillip Cowell is an English A&R executive, television producer, entrepreneur, and television personality. He is known in the United Kingdom and United States for his role as a talent judge on TV shows such as Pop Idol, The X Factor, Britain's Got Talent and American Idol...

voting to send Bell home to make the decision deadlocked), the organizers had to revert to public vote which revealed Bell had received the fewer votes and accordingly was eliminated after Live Show 5 finishing 8th overall in competition.

Albums

As part of Bell and James
  • 1978: Bell and James
  • 1979: Only Make Believe
  • 1980: In Black and White

Solo
  • 2004: "Spending Time" (EP) (on his own label Martez Music Group)
  • 2006: Two Sides to Every Story
  • 2008: A Change Is Coming
  • 2010: Traces

As LeRoy Bell and His Only Friends
  • 2007: Live in 3D

Singles

As part of Bell and James
  • 1979: "Livin' It Up (Friday Night)"
  • 1979: "Shakedown"
  • 1979: "You Never Know What You've Got"
  • 1980: "Only Make Believe"

Solo
  • "Two Sides to Every Story"

External links

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