Al Bell revolutionized marketing and promotions work at Stax - a force that put Stax on the map.

Born Alvertis Isbell in Brinkley, Arkansas, in 1940, Bell completed his education at Philander Smith College in Little Rock.

Energetic DJ
Bell put himself through college working as a gospel DJ. Starting in Memphis at the powerful WLOK, he became one of the most popular jocks there, and then settled at WUST in Washington D.C. He started his own label while in D.C., which was distributed by Stax, and promoted the Stax product in the area. Jim Stewart at Stax hired Bell in 1965, with active encouragement from Jerry Wexler of Atlantic Records, as national sales director with special responsibility for promotion.

“Our Otis Redding of Promotion”
His background as a disc jockey and his vision for music, combined with his energy, ideas, and charisma, made him a phenomenon at Stax. Between his hiring as a record promoter in fall 1965 and the demise of Stax over a decade later, he helped to elevate Stax from a small southern record company to a national player in the music business. Booker T. Jones remembered the effect Bell had on Stax in the early days: “He was our Otis [Redding] for promotion. It was the same type of energy and charisma.”

Defining the Memphis Sound
Bell first classified and branded the Stax product as “the Memphis Sound.” He helped guide Stax’s artistic direction, combining the raw funky compositions that defined the Stax sound with string arrangements that characterized more refined pop music. Bell expanded the Stax areas of focus to include jazz, country, pop, gospel, and spoken word albums. Additionally, he aligned the company with important political activists of the day, including Rev. Jesse Jackson and Julian Bond.

Stax and Bell Move Up
Bell graduated from promotion director to executive vice president in 1967. Al Abrams' public relations firm stated at the time that, “Al Bell thus becomes the first Negro to hold this high executive position among the myriad of nationally known recording companies located in Tennessee’s dual music capitals: Memphis and Nashville.” In the next two years Bell became co-owner at Stax. The awards piled up. Bell was named “Record Executive of the Year” in 1969. Ebony magazine named Bell one of the “100 Most influential Blacks” in 1972, and the U.S. Department of Commerce named him a National Pacesetter.

Wattstax - a New View on Black Perspective
The Wattstax project emerged as one of Bell’s greatest triumphs. He explained to Stax historian Rob Bowman: “Black music is a reflection of what goes on in the lives and lifestyles of the people... We brought in black [film] crews to make sure that we got on film images from a black perspective.... As you heard the artist sing, you recognized the role of that song in ...black culture.”

Stax Ended, But Not Al Bell
Following the collapse of Stax in 1975, Bell worked as president of Motown Records before leaving to start Bellmark Records. He produced hit singles by Tag Team and Prince. Today he lives in Little Rock and runs Alpine Records.