During its golden era, the Stax Records stable contained its fair share of larger-than-life stars and colorful characters. There was the "The Big O," Otis Redding; Isaac Hayes was "Black Moses"; Johnnie Taylor was the "The Philosopher of Soul"; Sam & Dave were "Double Dynamite."

Singer William Bell may not have had a snazzy nickname or an outsized persona, but he had a niche all his own. "I was the hopeless romantic," says Bell. "I could do the up-tempo, pulse-pounding stuff; I did it live in performance. But, on record, I always had my hits with the ballads. That was my forte."

In fact, soul ballads were not just Bell's forte, they were -- at least in part -- his creation. Bell's solo debut, 1961's self-penned weeper "You Don't Miss Your Water," would provide the template for the Southern soul ballad and helped launch the fledgling Stax label to national prominence.

One of the earliest Stax stars, Bell, now 69, has remained a key member of the label family. The Memphis native and Atlanta resident was a prominent presence at last year's Stax 50th anniversary celebrations and hosted the Isaac Hayes memorial service in August. Tonight (Friday), Bell returns to town for a show at the recently relaunched Levitt Shell at Overton Park, performing along with backing band The Bo-Keys.

Raised in South Memphis' LeMoyne Gardens, Bell was brought up in a hothouse musical atmosphere. "You look at it and you had (Stax songwriter) David Porter, Maurice White from Earth, Wind & Fire, and myself; we were all neighbors," says Bell. "I think we couldn't help but be creative."

Bell began singing in church, and then formed his first doo-wop group, the Del Rios, at 14. Within a year, after winning a couple talent shows, he'd been spotted by big band leader Phineas Newborn. "Phineas called and invited me down to the Flamingo Room (on Beale Street) one afternoon, and I auditioned for him. He hired me, but then my mom went ballistic," says Bell. "He had to get permission from her, but she finally gave in. She told him as long as he's ready to go to church on Sunday morning, he can do it. But Friday and Saturday nights I worked at the nightclub."

Bell and the Del Rios would cut one single for the Meteor label ("Alone on a Rainy Night") and eventually -- through a connection with Rufus Thomas -- ended up doing backgrounds on Carla Thomas's early hit "Gee Whiz." "That's how I came to the attention of Chips Moman and Jim Stewart over at Satellite, which became Stax."

Bell -- who'd begun writing songs -- was eventually persuaded by Moman to record them as a solo artist. His first foray was "You Don't Miss Your Water." A small pop hit (reaching No. 95 on the charts), it would go on to exert a key influence on the emerging Southern soul sound. Written while he was on the road with Newborn and feeling homesick, the song became Bell's signature -- and a tune covered by a remarkable range of artists over the years, from John Lee Hooker to the Byrds, Brian Eno to Jerry Lee Lewis.

After the success of "Water" Bell toured for a year or so, but his career was interrupted in 1963 when his Army draft number came up and he was sent off to Hawaii. Bell was discharged after a couple years, but during his time away, Stax had exploded, scoring national success with a number of new artists including Otis Redding. (Coincidentally, Bell had been in the studio on furlough the day Redding arrived as singer Johnny Jenkins' driver.)

Bell wasn't even sure he would return to music; he seriously considered going back to school on the G.I. Bill and becoming a doctor.

"I needed time to get myself reoriented to American music, 'cause all I heard was surfing music in Hawaii," say Bell, laughing. "I just glued my ears to the radio and listened to every piece of music I could. Finally, I started writing songs again. The first song that really hit big for me was 'Everybody Loves a Winner.' "

The next few years were particularly fruitful for Bell, who scored chart success for himself (with the Redding-inspired "Tribute to a King" and "I Forgot to be Your Lover") as well as romantic duets with Judy Clay ("Private Number"). He would also pen songs for others including Chuck Jackson ("Any Other Way") and Albert King ("Born Under a Bad Sign" -- later covered by British power trio Cream).

A key player in Stax's entire run, Bell still marvels at the label's lasting impact. "We didn't know if it would last. But we knew this was different from anything else we'd heard or experienced," he says. "The times that were going on politically too, it all kind of merged together."

Eventually, of course, the times would come to an end for Stax, as the company folded amid financial chaos in 1975. "We had been there since we were young kids," says Bell. "So when Stax folded, it was like 'Now what do we do?' "

Bell, who'd already begun splitting time between Memphis and his new home in Atlanta, tried his hand at acting for a time. "I did summer stock and a couple cameo parts in movies. But during that time they had all the blaxploitation movies and all the scripts I got they wanted me to play a pimp or hustler or something, and I wanted to be a Sidney Poitier," he says, laughing.

Eventually, Bell got back to the music business full-time, running his own label, Peachtree, producing a few acts and then cutting some sides for Mercury in 1977, including his comeback smash, "Trying to Love Two."

Bell has continued to work steadily since then and his music has endured, in part by being covered by others and sampled by various hip-hop and rap acts, including Dilated Peoples, Cam' Ron and Ludacris.

Bell is currently writing a follow-up to 2006's New Lease On Life and working behind the scenes with several other artists for his Wilbe label in Atlanta.

"This is a roller-coaster business, and I've been able to ride the roller coaster, on the downs and the ups. But I just keep working and singing my songs," adds Bell, with a chuckle. "Once a hopeless romantic, always a hopeless romantic."

For more on William Bell, go to williambell.com.

--Bob Mehr: 529-2517

PREVIEW

William Bell and the Bo-Keys

Friday at Levitt Shell in Overton Park. The free concert begins at 7 p.m.

Call 272-5159, or go to levittshell.org.