Ring My Bell#Collette version
{{short description|1979 single by Anita Ward}}
{{about|the song by Anita Ward}}
{{Infobox song
| type = single
| name = Ring My Bell
| image = Ring My Bell by Anita Ward US vinyl red label A-side.png
| caption = One of side-A pressing labels of the US 7-inch vinyl single
| artist = Anita Ward
| album = Songs of Love
| B-side = "If I Could Feel That Old Feeling Again"
| released = 1979
| recorded =
| genre =
- Disco{{cite web|first= Greg |last= Prato |title= Anita Ward – Artist Biography |website= AllMusic |access-date= June 12, 2014 |url= http://www.allmusic.com/artist/anita-ward-mn0000479204/biography}}{{cite book|first=Alice|last=Echols|title=Hot Stuff: Disco and the Remaking of American Culture|chapter= Ladies' Night: Women and Disco|url=https://books.google.com/books/about/Hot_Stuff_Disco_and_the_Remaking_of_Amer.html?id=DzrvOAA2tvAC|date=March 29, 2010|publisher=W. W. Norton & Company|isbn=978-0-393-06675-3|page=118}}
- dance{{cite web|first= Tom |last= Breihan |title= The Number Ones: Anita Ward's "Ring My Bell"|website= Stereogum |date= February 10, 2020 |url= https://www.stereogum.com/2072917/the-number-ones-anita-wards-ring-my-bell/columns/the-number-ones/|quote= ...A fun, frisky lightweight dance jam full of barely-disguised sex metaphors and catchy-as-hell hooks.|accessdate= July 11, 2023}}
| length = {{unbulleted list|3:30 (7" single)|8:11 (12"/ album)}}
| label = Juana Records (through TK)
| writer = Frederick Knight
| producer = Frederick Knight
| chronology = Anita Ward
| next_title = Make Believe Lovers
| next_year = 1979
| misc = {{External music video|{{YouTube|fRMMUatW8eo|"Ring My Bell": TopPop}}}}
}}
"Ring My Bell" is a disco song written by Frederick Knight. The song was originally written for eleven-year-old Stacy Lattisaw as a teenybopper song about children talking on the telephone.{{cite web|title= "Ring My Bell" – Anita Ward |publisher= Super Seventies |access-date= June 12, 2014 |url= http://www.superseventies.com/1979_7singles.html}} When Lattisaw signed with a different label, American singer and musician Anita Ward was asked to sing it instead, and it became her only major hit in 1979.{{cite web|title= Ring My Bell by Anita Ward |website= Songfacts |access-date= June 12, 2014 |url= http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=5548}}
"Ring My Bell" went to number one on the US Billboard Hot 100, the Disco Top 80 chart and the Soul Singles chart. It also reached number one on the UK Singles Chart.{{cite book|first= David |last= Roberts |year= 2006 |title= British Hit Singles & Albums |edition= 19th |location= London |publisher= Guinness World Records Limited |page= 591 |isbn= 1-904994-10-5}} It also garnered Ward a nomination for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance at the 1980 Grammy Awards.{{cite web|title= Anita Ward |website= Grammy.com |access-date= May 3, 2018 |url= https://www.grammy.com/grammys/artists/anita-ward}}
Composition
The song is noted for its innovative use of the Synare electronic drum, playing a decaying high-pitched tom tone on the first beat of every bar. It also uses chimes. The lyrics concern a woman encouraging her partner to relax with her after a hard day at work.
The lyric "You can ring my bell" was seen as sexually suggestive according to 1984 book The Slanguage of Sex, "'You can ring my bell any time you want to' would be regarded as a 'come-on' phrase in the US if used by a female," and "Songs like 'Ring My Bell' by Anita Ward caused scarcely a raised eyebrow in the '70s."{{cite book|first1= Brigid |last1= McConville |first2= John |last2= Shearlaw |year= 1984 |title= The Slanguage of Sex |publisher= Macdonald |page= 31 |isbn= 9780356103402 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=1U4bAAAAYAAJ}} Songwriter Frederick Knight, however, said that he deliberately avoided any overly suggestive lyrics, wanting to project a clean-cut image for Ward.{{cite magazine|first= Paul |last= Grein |title= Memphis Teacher's Disk Cracks Top 10 |magazine= Billboard |date= June 9, 1979 |page= 9 |issn= 0006-2510 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=CCQEAAAAMBAJ&q=%22Anita+Ward%22&pg=PT8}}
Legacy
In October 2000, VH1 ranked "Ring My Bell" No. 53 in their list of "100 Greatest Dance Songs".{{cite web|title=100 Greatest Dance Songs|url=http://vh-1.com/insidevh1/shows/100greatestlist/100dance.jhtml|publisher=VH1|date=October 2000|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020324113157/http://vh-1.com/insidevh1/shows/100greatestlist/100dance.jhtml|archive-date=March 24, 2002|access-date=April 11, 2025}} In 2010, Billboard magazine included it in their list of "The 50 Sexiest Songs of All Time".{{cite magazine|title= The 50 Sexiest Songs Of All Time |magazine= Billboard |date= February 11, 2010 |access-date= October 13, 2016 |url= http://www.billboard.com/articles/list/959432/the-50-sexiest-songs-of-all-time}} In 2020, Slant Magazine ranked "Ring My Bell" No. 80 in their "The 100 Best Dance Songs of All Time" list.{{cite magazine|author=Slant Staff|title=The 100 Best Dance Songs of All Time|url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/music/100-greatest-dance-songs/|magazine=Slant Magazine|date=June 15, 2020|accessdate=April 10, 2025}} The significance of the song to the history of disco music is discussed in Episode 3 of the 2024 PBS series Disco: Soundtrack of a Revolution.{{cite web | url=https://www.pbs.org/video/stayin-alive-wvvwry/ | title=Disco: Soundtrack of a Revolution | Stayin' Alive | Episode 3 | PBS | website=PBS }} Same year, Forbes ranked it No. 12 in their list of "The 30 Greatest Disco Songs of All Time".{{cite magazine|first=Jacqueline|last=Schneider|title=The 30 Greatest Disco Songs Of All Time|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/entertainment/article/best-disco-songs/|work=Forbes|date=April 27, 2024|accessdate=April 11, 2025}}
In March 2025, Billboard ranked it No. 33 in their list of "The 100 Best Dance Songs of All Time", writing, "Anita Ward was working as a substitute teacher in Memphis when she recorded "Ring My Bell", a fizzy disco delight that became her only major hit. (But what a hit: the song spent two weeks at No. 1 on the Hot 100 in the spring of 1979.) The track was written by Frederick Knight, who had minor success in the early 1970s with the famed soul outfit Stax Records. Knight initially penned "Ring My Bell" for the young singer Stacy Lattisaw, envisioning a song about teenagers chatting on the phone. This origin story is almost impossible to believe after listening to Ward's finished product with its bawdy single entendre: You can ring my bell, anytime, anywhere. The instrumentation is pleasingly plush, with a "whoop"-ing sound accenting the first beat, guitars pawing around the edges of the drums, and a chiming motif that pairs perfectly with Ward's flirty hook."{{cite web|first1=Andrea|last1=Domanick|first2=Andrew|last2=Unterberger|first3=Elias|last3=Leight|first4=Eric|last4=Renner Brown|first5=Jason|last5=Lipshutz|first6=Joe|last6=Lynch|first7=Kat|last7=Bein|first8=Katie|last8=Bein|first9=Krystal|last9=Rodriguez|first10=Lily|last10=Moayeri|first11=Melinda|last11=Newman|first12=Thomas|last12=Smith|first13=Zei|last13=McCarthy|url=https://www.billboard.com/lists/best-dance-songs-all-time/|title=The 100 Best Dance Songs of All Time: Staff List|work=Billboard|date=March 28, 2025|access-date=April 6, 2025}}
Charts
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
=Weekly charts=
| class="wikitable"
!Chart (1990) !Peak |
| {{single chart|UK|99|date=19900909|access-date=July 9, 2017}} |
| class="wikitable"
!Chart (2022) !Peak |
| {{single chart|Hungarysingle|17|year=2022|week=9|access-date=March 10, 2022}} |
{{col-2}}
=Year-end charts=
=All-time charts=
| class="wikitable"
!Chart (1958-2018) !Position |
| US Billboard Hot 100{{cite magazine|title= Hot 100 60th Anniversary |magazine= Billboard |access-date= February 22, 2020 |url= https://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100-60th-anniversary}}
|align="center"|340 |
{{col-end}}
Certifications
{{Certification Table Top}}
{{Certification Table Entry|type=single|region=Canada|artist=Anita Ward|title=Ring My Bell|award=Platinum|relyear=1979|certyear=1979}}
{{Certification Table Entry|type=single|region=United Kingdom|artist=Anita Ward|title=Ring My Bell|award=Gold|relyear=1979|certyear=1979|id=5532-2685-1}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true}}
Collette version
{{Infobox song
| type = single
| name = Ring My Bell
| artist = Collette
| album = Raze the Roof
| B-side = Save Yourself
| recorded = Studios 301, Sydney
| released = February 27, 1989{{cite web|title= Australian Music Report No 761 – 27 February 1989 > Singles: New Releases |publisher= Australian Music Report |via= Imgur |access-date= July 8, 2017 |url= https://i.imgur.com/h5dr5Sh.jpg}}
| genre =
| length = 3:22
| label = CBS
| writer = Frederick Knight
| producer =
- Kirke Godfrey
- Peewee Ferris
| chronology = Collette
| next_title = All I Wanna Do Is Dance
| next_year = 1989
}}
"Ring My Bell" was covered by New Zealand-born Australian pop singer Collette and released in 1989 as her debut single. The song peaked at number five on the Australian ARIA Charts and was certified gold by ARIA.{{cite web|title= 1989 ARIA Singles Chart |publisher= ARIA |access-date= April 30, 2020 |url= https://www.ariacharts.com.au/annual-charts/1989/singles-chart}}
=Track listing=
- 7" (CBS 654631)
:A. "Ring My Bell" – 3:22
:B. "Save Yourself" – 4:06
- 12"
:A1. "Ring My Bell" (Ring-a-Ling Mix) – 6:12
:A2. "Ring My Bell" (Ding-Dong Mix) – 5:41
:B1. "Save Yourself" (Survival Mix) – 5:53
:B2. "Save Yourself" (Pow Wow Mix) – 6:39
=Charts=
{{col-begin|width=74%}}
{{col-2}}
==Weekly charts==
| class="wikitable sortable"
!Chart (1989) !Peak |
| {{single chart|Australia|5|artist=Collette|song=Ring My Bell|access-date=March 13, 2017}} |
| {{single chart|New Zealand|4|artist=Collette|song=Ring My Bell|access-date=March 13, 2017}} |
| {{single chart|UK|93|date=19890423|access-date=July 9, 2017|refname="UK2"}} |
{{col-2}}
==Year-end charts==
=Certification=
See also
- List of 1970s one-hit wonders in the United States
- List of Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles of 1979
- List of Cash Box Top 100 number-one singles of 1979
- List of European number-one hits of 1979
- List of number-one dance singles of 1979 (U.S.)
- List of number-one R&B singles of 1979 (U.S.)
- List of number-one singles of 1979 (Canada)
- List of number-one singles in 1979 (New Zealand)
- List of number-one singles of 1979 (Spain)
- List of RPM number-one dance singles of 1979
- List of UK Singles Chart number ones of the 1970s
- VG-lista 1964 to 1994
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{YouTube|r1UkZLT20TI|Anita Ward - Ring My Bell}}
{{Collette Roberts}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles
Category:Cashbox number-one singles
Category:European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles
Category:Number-one singles in New Zealand
Category:Number-one singles in Norway
Category:Number-one singles in Spain
Category:RPM Top Singles number-one singles
Category:Songs written by Frederick Knight (singer)