Song:Livin' It Up (Friday Night)
Album:Disco Nights
Here's a great song that was a top 20 pop hit and a top ten R & B hit for the duo Bell & James. They never had another big hit but have been writing songs and playing sessions for years. They come by that honestly. Drummer Leroy Bell is the nephew of legendary Philly Soul producer Thom Bell. He and guitarist Casey James were in the band Special Blend. When the group split up, they started working together and signed a songwriting deal with Mighty Three Music which was owned by Thom Bell, Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff. Several of their songs were recorded by others including Elton John's top ten hit Mama Can't Buy Me Love. They signed with A & M Records and Livin' It Up reached #15 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1978. They only recorded two albums and then they went back to session work. Their recordings aren't available but you can get Livin' It Up on this various artists comp. This CD was originally released by K-Tel in 2006. I don't normally recommend K-Tel comps because they sometimes don't use original versions of the songs. But Collectors Choice acquired this title in 2009 for their Micro Werks label and changed the contents of the CD. The cover on Amazon is the old K-Tel cover. The new cover has no mention of K-Tel and now has original versions of the songs. Leroy Bell has recorded several solo albums but Bell & James have recorded with Elton John, The O'Jays and Chuck Mangione among others. Here's a video for Livin' It Up (Friday Night) by Bell & James.
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