Al Bell Receives 2011 Trustees Award in Grammy Awards

Kirk Whalum, internationally renowned musician and 12-time GRAMMY nominee, now CEO for the Soulsville Foundation in Memphis, which includes the Stax Museum, Stax Music Academy and The Soulsville Charter School, explains, "There's a very good reason that the name Al Bell is mentioned, the voice of Al Bell is heard, and the handsome and distinguished face of Al Bell is seen more than any other name, voice, and face in the Stax Museum of American Soul Music. It's because of his body of work. Yes he remains a creative, viable, and avant-garde force in the industry. But who wouldn't give a limb to have all his 'firsts' and accomplishments in one's rearview mirror?"

>From 1965 until the company was forced into involuntary bankruptcy in 1975, Bell helped build Stax Records into one of the most influential labels in the world, working with artists such as Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes, the Staple Singers, Johnnie Taylor, Sam & Dave, Booker T. & the MGs, the Bar Kays, Richard Pryor, and a host of others. He also produced and wrote such hits as the Staple Singers' "I'll Take You There." When Bell owned Stax in the 1970s, it was the second-largest African-American owned business in the United States. After the company's demise, he went on to serve as president of Motown Records Group, and later started his own Bellmark Records label, releasing Prince's top-selling song ever, "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World," and Tag Team's multi-platinum hit "Whoomp! (There It is)," one of the best-selling rap singles in history. Bell now operates his own web-based music channel, AlBellPresents.com.

For Isbell, given the name Al Bell in 1957 as radio announcer in Little Rock, Arkansas, whose famous radio sign-on was "This is your 6-feet-4 bundle of joy, 212 pounds of Mrs. Bell's baby boy, soft as medicated cotton, rich as double-X cream, the women's pet, the men's threat, the play boys pride and joy, the baby boy Al Bell," � the Grammy Award not only marks his lifetime of work in the music industry, but also gives more fuel to what he plans to do now and in the future.

"When Mr. Portnow said 'Lifetime Achievement Award," Bell continues, "I didn't think about my past. It sounded prophetic. Because what has happened to me is that I've begun to pursue that which I have learned in life and I'm about the business of achieving it. It's a beginning for me. With this award and through my role with the Memphis Music Foundation, I am beginning my lifetime evolvement and development in the recorded music industry."

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