Biography
Rock & roll pioneer Freddie Bell left a lasting mark on a young Elvis Presley, whose own outsized stage presence drew heavily from Bell’s high-voltage Las Vegas performances; Presley also borrowed Bell’s version of Big Mama Thornton’s “Hound Dog” nearly verbatim, turning it into a defining hit. Born Ferdinando Dominick Bello in Philadelphia on July 29, 1931, he took up trombone, bass, and drums during his teenage years and made his first professional appearance backing saxophonist Eddie Ventura. At twenty he assembled the Bellboys—pianist Russ Conti, guitarist Frank Brent, trumpeter Jerry Mayo, saxophonist Jack Kane, and drummer Chick Keeney—cultivating a jump-blues style rooted in the music of Louis Jordan. After a six-month Midwest tour, the group secured a long-running engagement at The Sands in Las Vegas.
Capitalizing on the breakthrough of Bill Haley & the Comets, Bell and the Bellboys joined Mercury and released their first single, “Big Bad Wolf,” in 1956. Though only a modest seller, the scarcity of white rock & roll acts earned them a role in Sam Katzman’s film Rock Around the Clock alongside Haley & the Comets and the Platters. The movie’s transatlantic success propelled Bell’s novelty number “Giddy-Up-a-Ding-Dong” into the British Top Five that same year.
While the Bellboys held a headline residency at The Sands, Presley opened at The New Frontier on April 23, 1956. Bell’s bold choreography and knee-jiggling moves reportedly shaped Presley’s approach; Presley was equally taken with Bell’s arrangement of the Jerry Leiber/Mike Stoller song “Hound Dog.” On May 16, 1956, Presley introduced the number in his own set, and guitarist Scotty Moore later acknowledged, “We stole [the song] straight from them.” Presley’s recording went on to sell four million copies in the U.S. alone and became the first single to top the pop, country, and R&B charts simultaneously. Bell remained philosophical, remarking to an interviewer, “I didn’t feel bad about that at all. In fact, I encouraged him to record it.”
Early in 1957 Bell and the Bellboys toured Britain with Tommy Steele, then performed in Paris, Southeast Asia, and Australia. Returning to the States in 1958, the group appeared on Ed Sullivan’s television program, yet further hits failed to materialize and they resumed their long-term engagement at The Sands. After a cameo in the 1964 film Get Yourself a College Girl the Bellboys disbanded, though Bell continued to headline rock & roll revival shows across Europe and Japan in subsequent decades. He died in Las Vegas on February 10, 2008, at age seventy-six following an extended fight with cancer.
Capitalizing on the breakthrough of Bill Haley & the Comets, Bell and the Bellboys joined Mercury and released their first single, “Big Bad Wolf,” in 1956. Though only a modest seller, the scarcity of white rock & roll acts earned them a role in Sam Katzman’s film Rock Around the Clock alongside Haley & the Comets and the Platters. The movie’s transatlantic success propelled Bell’s novelty number “Giddy-Up-a-Ding-Dong” into the British Top Five that same year.
While the Bellboys held a headline residency at The Sands, Presley opened at The New Frontier on April 23, 1956. Bell’s bold choreography and knee-jiggling moves reportedly shaped Presley’s approach; Presley was equally taken with Bell’s arrangement of the Jerry Leiber/Mike Stoller song “Hound Dog.” On May 16, 1956, Presley introduced the number in his own set, and guitarist Scotty Moore later acknowledged, “We stole [the song] straight from them.” Presley’s recording went on to sell four million copies in the U.S. alone and became the first single to top the pop, country, and R&B charts simultaneously. Bell remained philosophical, remarking to an interviewer, “I didn’t feel bad about that at all. In fact, I encouraged him to record it.”
Early in 1957 Bell and the Bellboys toured Britain with Tommy Steele, then performed in Paris, Southeast Asia, and Australia. Returning to the States in 1958, the group appeared on Ed Sullivan’s television program, yet further hits failed to materialize and they resumed their long-term engagement at The Sands. After a cameo in the 1964 film Get Yourself a College Girl the Bellboys disbanded, though Bell continued to headline rock & roll revival shows across Europe and Japan in subsequent decades. He died in Las Vegas on February 10, 2008, at age seventy-six following an extended fight with cancer.
Singles
