{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"LeRoy Bell","description":"www.LeRoyBell.com is an American singer and songwriter. He and friend Casey James formed the duo Bell and James, composing songs that were hits for other artists most notably two charting hit singles for Elton John. Later Bell with bassist Terry Morgan formed the group, LeRoy Bell & his Only Friends. In 2011, Bell auditioned for the American The X Factor and was chosen for the Final 16 and went on to the live shows being mentored by Nicole Scherzinger. He was eliminated after the \ufb01fth live show \ufb01nishing 8th overall in the inaugural season of the American The X Factor. BELL AND JAMES Bell and James was a duo soul group formed by LeRoy Bell (on drums and guitar) and Casey James (on guitar, bass and keyboards). They both had played in other bands together before they decided to team up as Bell & James. The duo released three albums: Bell & James (1978), Only Make Believe (1979) and In Black and White (1980), and had a number of singles, the most successful and well-known being \u201cLivin\u2019 It Up (Friday Night)\u201d released on A&M Records. It reached #15 on the U.S. Hot 100. SONGWRITING LeRoy Bell also co-wrote many songs for others in partnership with Casey James. They were encouraged by LeRoy\u2019s uncle Thom Bell who owned Mighty Three Music, a music publishing and production company along with Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff. The latter were a famous composing duo collaboration Gamble and Huff to whom Bell and James provided some of their compositions. Their songs were recorded by a number of groups including: The Spinners The O\u2019Jays (notably in \u201cThis Time Baby\u201d) The Temptations Rita Marley Gladys Knight & the Pips Freda Payne The Three Degrees WITH ELTON JOHN Most notably, two of the LeRoy Bell songs were recorded by Elton John. One was \u201cMama Can\u2019t Buy You Love\u201d and the other \u201cAre You Ready for Love\u201d. The songs, a LeRoy Bell-Casey James co-composition appeared in the The Thom Bell Sessions in 1977. Elton John\u2019s song version of \u201cMama Can\u2019t Buy You Love\u201d went to the Top 10 in the general charts and #1 the Adult\/Contemporary chart and in the fall of 1979, earning Elton a Grammy Nomination for \u201cBest Male R&B Vocal Performance\u201d. His song \u201cAre You Ready for Love\u201d was even a bigger hit. Tracklist of Elton John singles: Side 1: \u201cAre You Ready for Love\u201d (LeRoy Bell, Thom Bell, Casey James) (8:31) Side 2.1: \u201cThree Way Love Affair\u201d (LeRoy Bell, Casey James) (5:31) Side 2.2: \u201cMama Can\u2019t Buy You Love\u201d (LeRoy Bell, Casey James) (4:03) In February 1989, The Complete Thom Bell Sessions was released by MCA Records, although it had been recorded in 1977. In addition to \u201cMama Can\u2019t Buy You Love\u201d and \u201cAre You Ready for Love\u201d, it featured three additional songs, including \u201cCountry Love Song\u201d also co-written by LeRoy Bell. 1. \u201cNice and Slow\u201d (Elton John, Bernie Taupin, Thom Bell) 2. \u201cCountry Love Song\u201d (LeRoy Bell, Casey James) 3. \u201cShine on Through\u201d (Elton John, G. Osborne) 4. \u201cMama Can\u2019t Buy You Love\u201d (LeRoy Bell, Casey James) 5. \u201cAre You Ready for Love\u201d (LeRoy Bell, Casey James) 6. \u201cThree Way Love Affair\u201d (LeRoy Bell, Casey James) In 2003, Fat Boy Slim mixed Elton John\u2019s single version making it to the British Singles Chart. The song also charted in many European charts. WITH TEDDY PENDERGRASS LeRoy Bell had a long-running cooperation with Teddy Pendergrass for whom he wrote 5 songs in three different albums: 1979: \u201cI\u2019ll Never See Heaven Again\u201d on the album Teddy 1979: \u201cSet Me Free\u201d, also on album Teddy 1982: \u201cLoving You Was Good\u201d on album This One\u2019s for You 1983: \u201cHeaven Only Knows\u201d from the album Heaven Only Knows (lead song) Pendergrass album 1990: \u201cGlad to Be Alive\u201d from the album Truly Blessed OTHERS 1979: Lou Rawls: \u201cBark, Bite (Fight All Night)\u201d on the album Let Me Be Good to You 1980: Lou Rawls: \u201cHeartache (Just When You Think You\u2019re Loved)\u201d and \u201cYou Are\u201d on album Sit Down and Talk to Me 1988: Kimiko Kasai: \u201cLove Talk\u201d from album Love Talk (lead song) 2001: Me and You: \u201cYou Never Know What You Got (Til It\u2019s Gone)\u201d 2002: Jennifer Lopez: \u201cStill\u201d cowritten with James and Jennifer Lopez herself in the latter\u2019s album This Is Me\u2026 Then 2005: The Freemasons: \u201cLove on My Mind\u201d that appears on albums Shakedown, Unmixed and Shakedown 2 He has also written for Phyllis Hyman SOLO CAREER Starting in the 2000s, he worked solo and toured extensively. In the process, he released various albums including his debut solo EP Spending Time (on his own   ","author_name":"The B.I.STANDER Podcast","author_url":"http:\/\/thebistanderpodcast.libsyn.com\/website","html":"