Anita Ward - Ring My Bell (1979)
Anita Ward Live at The Soap Factory in New Jersey, Performing Ring My Bell (1979).
Ring My Bell" is a popular disco song by Anita Ward. Released in 1979, the song hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100, Ward's only major hit. It also reached number one on the UK Singles Chart.
"Ring My Bell" has been covered by many artists since its original release, including DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince, Tori Amos, Blood Sisters, Dynamic Duo, D'Flow Production Squad, Collette, Saïan Supa Crew, INOJ, Pato Fu and Joey Boy. It has also been remixed many times over and is considered a disco-era classic
Before signing a recording contract, Amanda Moeller obtained a degree in psychology from Rust College in Holly Springs, Mississippi, and had become a schoolteacher. While recording her first album, record company owner Frederick Knight presented her with a song he had written the previous year for singer Stacy Lattisaw. Ward did not like the song, but Knight insisted that a dance track was needed to capitalize on the current disco trend, and Ward relented. The song, which was originally a juvenile-targeted tune about teens talking on the telephone, was rewritten with more "adult" lyrics, and the result was the single "Ring My Bell" which reached number one in Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom in 1979. Disputes with Frederick Knight, a car accident, and the fading appeal of disco music halted Ward's career, and she came to be regarded as a one hit wonder. Only one other single of hers made the Billboard charts in the U.S., "Don't Drop My Love," which halted at #87.
On New Year's Eve 2002 she performed "Ring My Bell" in New York City's Times Square before a crowd of revelers as part of the city's official celebration.
On New Years's Eve 2005, Anita performed in Memphis, Tennessee at Bealstreet. She sang her number one classic hit "Ring My Bell" and several other disco hits.
She has also appeared in Zagreb, Croatia on January 4, 2006, the night before the FIS World Cup slalom race on nearby Sljeme with some other groups and singers from disco era (Nile Rodgers & Chic, Village People, Thelma Houston and Rose Royce).
The Soap Factory Disco helped put disco on the national map. It was the location of a weekly disco television show of the same name in the mid and late 70s. Not generally frequented by celebrities, but a fun place. Then, one night at the close of the 70s, it made the decision to go from disco to rock and cater to a college crowd. It was a sign of the times.
