The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.A song that was intended as a song for an 11 year old became a disco hit of 1979: Ring My Bell by Anita Ward. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by Verb8tm, Inc., an NPR contractor, and produced using a proprietary transcription process developed with NPR. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at for further information. This is NEWS & NOTES.Ĭopyright © 2007 NPR. You can ring my bell.ĬHIDEYA: I'm Farai Chideya. Unidentified Group: (Singing) Ring, ring, ring. NEWS & NOTES was created by NPR News and the African-American Public Radio Consortium. To join the conversation or sign up for our newsletter, visit our blog at. To listen to the show or subscribe to our podcast, visit our Web site,. Unidentified Group: (Singing) My bell, ding, ding, ding.ĬHIDEYA: That's our show for today. Unidentified Group: (Singing) My bell, ding, dong, ding. WARD: You can ring my bell, ring my bell. Unidentified Group: (Singing) My bell, ring, ring, ring.
WARD: (Singing) You can ring my bell.ĬHIDEYA: That was NPR producer Christopher Johnson with his staff song pick of the week, "Ring My Bell" by Anita Ward. I told her some stories and I had got to hear her laugh, and maybe she smiled, too, like a 4-year-old on a bright Saturday morning, surrounded by the best kind of love. JOHNSON: I was thinking about my mom so I called her up. Unidentified Group: (Singing) Ding, dong, ding, dong. WARD: (Singing) You can ring my bell, you can ring my bell. Instantly, I was back in that Granada - the 4-year-old doing back up vocals going boo(ph), boo. The other day, I was flipping through my records and I found the "Ring My Bell" single. But we have these kinds of memories for a reason. It's hard sometimes to think back to those drives when she was a lot healthier. She's been through a lot in her life taking care of my big brother and I. JOHNSON: My mom is not doing so good these days. WARD: (Singing) You can ring my bell, ring my bell. And I remember how safe I felt next to my mom, listening to her sing for me. I remember so vividly how happy I was to be headed for our whole day of play. When I hear "Ring My Bell" today, I can still smell that springtime parkway and feel that seatbelt across my little belly. Mom would click on the radio, and back then, Anita Ward was a huge hit and the deejays had her song on all the time. JOHNSON: We go cruising through Sligo Creek Park in her big green Ford Granada. The first stop was 7-Eleven where she let me handpick my favorite bottles of orange drink and fruit punch, and don't forget potato chips. Man(ph) struggling to carry that big cooler in one hand while holding proudly on to my momma with the other one. We've stepped out of our little apartment and on to the sunny concrete in the 'hood. But when I was home on Saturday mornings, I would hope and pray that mom and I would go on for a drive somewhere that day.Īnd in the summer time, when she grabbed that cooler, oh shucks, that meant we were headed for the park - monkey bars and merry-go-round and a creek to get filthy soaking wet in. Most weekends, I went to stay with Grandma Clara(ph) in D.C.
For Christopher, though, the song still triggers old memories.ĬHRISTOPHER JOHNSON: We didn't have a lot of money when I was growing up, but gas must have been cheap because, instead of heading off on expensive vacations, my mom and I would get in the car and roll. WARD: (Singing) You can ring my bell…ĬHIDEYA: "Ring My Bell" made it to number one on black, club and pop charts. Unidentified Group: (Singing) My bell, ding, dong, ding, dong…
ANITA WARD (Singer): (Singing) You can ring my bell, ring my bell. He's chosen Anita Ward's 1979 disco smash "Ring My Bell." And now our staff song pick of the week from producer Christopher Johnson.