Bill Grant and Delia Bell
| Bill Grant and Delia Bell | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Hugo, Oklahoma |
| Genres | Bluegrass music |
| Years active | 1960–2006 |
| Labels | Kiamichi Records, County, Rebel, Rounder, Warner Bros. |
| Associated acts | The Kiamichi Mountain Boys, Emmylou Harris |
Bill Grant and Delia Bell are a bluegrass music duo from Oklahoma. Emmylou Harris has said of Delia Bell: “If Hank Williams and Kitty Wells had married and had a daughter, she would have sounded like Delia Bell.” Grant has been recognized as "Ambassador of Bluegrass Music" by three Oklahoma governors.
Delia Bell was born Delia Nowell on 16 April 16, 1938 in Bonham, Texas. Bell moved to Hugo as a child. She started playing music with her sisters and brother as a child, and began singing in her teens. She married Bobby Bell in 1959.
Bill Grant was born Billy Joe Grant on May 9, 1930, a Choctaw tribal member, and grew up on a ranch near Hugo, Oklahoma. Inspired by the music of Bill Monroe, he took up mandolin.
In 1959, Bell began singing with Bobby's friend Bill Grant. Bell accompanied herself on guitar, and Bill Grant played mandolin, and Bell sang tenor to Grant’s lead. In 1960, Bell and Grant were regulars on the Little Dixie Hayride radio show on KIHN radio.
When Bill Monroe heard them perform, he invited them to perform at his festivals in Bean Blossom, Indiana. This introduced the duo to a wider audience.
In the late 1960s, Grant and Bell formed the Kiamichi Mountain Boys (also known as the Bonham Brothers), named after the Kiamichi Mountains near their home.
They recorded more than a dozen albums for their own label Kiamichi Records as well as albums on County Records, Rebel Records, Rounder Records, and Warner Brothers. They toured England and Ireland 11 times during the 1970s.
The Kiamichi Mountain Boys were disbanded in 1980. After that, Grant and Bell worked either worked with the Johnson Mountain Boys or as a mandolin/guitar duo.
Emmylou Harris picked up Bell's solo album Bluer Than Midnight at a California record shop. Impressed by Bell's version of Ruth Franks' song "Roses In The Snow," Harris recorded it as the title track of her 1980 bluegrass album. In 1982, Harris produced Bell's self-titled solo album on Warner Bros. Records. One of the songs, "Flame in My Heart," was a duet with John Anderson. The album reached #35 on the Billboard charts, but Warner Bros. dropped her and others artists from their roster.
...
Wikipedia