Anita Ward is an American singer and musician from Memphis, Tennessee.
She attended university and after graduating she became a school teacher. Although this would have been a great career, she signed a record contract launching a professional music career at the end of the 1970’s when in her early 20’s.
Many stories mirror that of the origins of “Ring my bell” usually this could be the original concept was different than the eventual end result, or the artist had a dislike of the song and had to be persuaded to get on board.
The joint owner of the independent label Juana Records was soul singer and producer Frederick Knight, who himself was successful when signed to the legendary Stax label. It was with Knight that she began to record her debut album. He suggested she record the song which Knight had originally written for 12 year old Stacy Lattisaw in 1978. The lyrics related to talking to school friends on the phone, so a more juvenile perspective.
Anita disliked the song but Knight said that with the trend of the disco sound she should capitalize on it. Anita changed her mind after Knight completely rewrote the lyrics so it had more adult appeal. The subject matter is that of a woman encouraging her partner to relax with her after a hard day at work, hence the global hit we have today. Part of the appeal of the track is the electronic drum playing a high pitched tone on the first beat of every bar. It also contains chimes.
The single was released May 25th 1979 in the UK and across Europe on T.K. Records who were the main distribution company for Juana Records outside US. Some counties like Australia used the Epic label. Not only did it become a UK and US #1 single, it also topped the charts in Canada, Norway, Spain and New Zealand. It peaked at #3 in Australia and South Africa
It made the top ten in many European countries. #2 Sweden, France and Ireland #3 Germany, Finland and Austria, #4 Belgium #5 Switzerland #8 The Netherlands #9 Italy.
Although the song was a massive hit across the globe, Anita was never able to follow this up and has been labelled as a one hit wonder, the very thing she had feared. She recorded two albums with Knight both disco in sound, but these were at the end of the disco era and when she started a third disco album she ran into contractual problems with Knight and the album was never finished. She was injured in a car accident at the same time and this effectively halted her career.
The B side was “If I Could Feel That Old Feeling Again”. As a contrast to the A side, this track is a heart felt ballad.
Jukebox Dave 