WARSOUL MEMORIAL DAY SPECIAL: ARCHIE BELL SHOT IN VIETNAM AS “TIGHTEN UP” HITS #1
Soul singer Archie Bell of Archie Bell and The Drells were the #1 group in the country today (May 27, 1968), with their classic single “Tighten Up.”
Unfortunately, Archie Bell had been drafted to serve in the Vietnam war this same week, but exactly one year earlier, in 1967.
The draft interrupted his burgeoning singing career, which began in 1966, when he formed The Drells with four high school friends in Houston, Texas.
Archie Bell and The Drells were enjoying regional success with the single “She’s My Woman, She’s My Girl,” which was released on the East West label. But in early 1967, Uncle Sam called upon Archie Bell to serve his country.
“I went down to the draft board to take my physical and the next thing I knew I was on a bus to boot camp in Louisiana,” Archie Bell reminisced in the book “All Over the Map: True Heroes of Texas Music.”
“I didn’t even time to call my mother,” Archie Bell said.
During a short leave in 1967, Bell continued to focus on music and recorded the classic single “Tighten Up,” which was released in December 1967. The song quickly rose up the charts, and was picked up by Atlantic Records for distribution.
By May 27, 1968, “Tighten Up” was #1 on both the Pop and R&B charts, moving an astounding 3 million copies.
Amazingly, Archie Bell had been shot in the leg on the battlefield during the 1968 Tet Offensive, while the song was #1 on the charts.
“I said, ‘Hey everybody! That’s me singing’ but nobody believe me,” Archie Bell said. “They figured I wish shell-shocked, crazy. The next time the song came on the radio they heard me say, ‘Hi everybody. I’m Archie Bell of The Drells of Houston, Texas,’ and then some of them went, ‘hmmm, maybe it is him.”
Although The Drells toured without him, when Archie Bell returned home for another leave, he did a series of spot dates with The Drells. It was in New Jersey, that the group’s fate would be changed for the better.
While performing in Longside,New Jersey, at a venue named Loretta’s Hat, Archie Bell and The Drells were introduced to Philadelphia-based producers Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff.
They went into to the Atlantic studios in New York, where they cut three classics singles: “I Can’t Stop Dancing,” “Do the Choo-Choo,” and “There’s Going to Be a Showdown.”
