"Ring My Bell" is a 1979 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. 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. "Ring My Bell" went to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, the Disco Top 80 chart and the Soul Singles chart. It also reached number one on the UK Singles Chart. It also garnered Ward a nomination for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance at the 1980 Grammy Awards.

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." Billboard magazine included the song on its list of the 50 sexiest songs of all time. Songwriter Frederick Knight, however, said that he deliberately avoided any overly suggestive lyrics, wanting to project a clean-cut image for Ward.

Legacy

The significance of "Ring My Bell" to the history of disco music is discussed in Episode 3 of the 2024 PBS series Disco: Soundtrack of a Revolution.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

All-time charts

Certifications

Collette version

"Ring My Bell" was covered by New Zealand-born Australian pop singer Collette. It was released in 1989 as her debut single. The song peaked at number 5 on the ARIA Charts and was certified gold by ARIA.

Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certification