Anita Ward

Anita Ward's moment in the spotlight was brief but blindingly bright. A former social worker and teacher with a psychology degree, she was thrust into music stardom almost by accident. Her producer, Frederick Knight, had written 'Ring My Bell' as a teen-oriented song about receiving a call on a new telephone, but its pulsing synth bass, infectious rhythm, and Ward's cool, inviting vocal transformed it into a disco and pop juggernaut. It spent weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in the summer of 1979, becoming one of the last major hits of the disco era before the genre's commercial crash. While she never replicated that monumental success, the song secured her a permanent place in the pantheon of one-hit wonders whose tracks define an era. Ward eventually returned to her academic roots, but 'Ring My Bell' continues to ring out as a timeless party starter.