SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
Luke Bell was a promising young talent in country music. We interviewed him in 2016 about his self-titled album.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR CONTENT)
LUKE BELL: Referencing things in a subtle way is sort of a tip of the hat, and it's also what country music is about. I wouldn't go try to build a house without blueprints or having seen how anybody else builds a house or - I'm sure I could get it done but...
SIMON: But the kitchen sink might be in the bedroom.
L BELL: Right, right (laughter).
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "THE BULLFIGHTER")
L BELL: (Singing) I get loud when I get mad. And I get tough when I get sad.
SIMON: He opened for Hank Williams Jr., for Dwight Yoakam and Willie Nelson. But behind the scenes, Luke Bell was struggling. He died in 2022 of a fentanyl overdose at the age of 32. Now friends and family have compiled 28 of Luke Bell's songs into a new album. It is called "The King Is Back." And Luke Bell's mother, Carol, joins us now from Cody, Wyoming. Carol, thanks so much for being with us.
CAROL BELL: You're welcome. Thanks for having me.
SIMON: And we are all so sorry for you about the loss of your son. Can you tell us about him?
C BELL: You know, he was a really fun kid to raise. He walked into every room as if the king was back. He also struggled with insecurities. His lows were low, and his highs were high.
SIMON: Let me ask you about that phrase, the king is back. Where did that come from? I think of it as Elvis.
C BELL: That is such a great insight. At the record release party, the gentleman who played "The King Is Back" said he could remember tapping Luke on the shoulder when - the first time he heard it and saying, that is such a great song about Elvis. And he said Luke burst out laughing and said, that song's not about Elvis. That's about me.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "THE KING IS BACK")
L BELL: (Singing) I'm sure you've all been dying to see me. I bet you've all been wondering where I'm at. I heard things just ain't the same without me. Hold your hats. The party's on. The king is back.
C BELL: We used to say in our family that Luke sucked all the oxygen out of the room. He just took up so much space. But he always liked to refer to himself as the prodigal son. And he was like, I know you guys are glad I'm here.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "THE KING IS BACK")
L BELL: (Singing) It's high time somebody came a-swinging. It's high time somebody took a crack. It's high time for folks to start believing. Yes, that's right. The party's on, and the king is back. Yes, that's right. The party's on, and the king is back.
SIMON: You have a story about the night that Luke opened for Dwight Yoakam.
C BELL: I've listened to Dwight Yoakam since I was a teenager, and he probably was, too, practically. And when Luke got serious about music, I had said to him, when you get to play with Dwight Yoakam, we'll know that you've arrived. I wanted to be sure I was at that concert, and my husband was eight months into a pancreatic diagnosis and treatment. So I went by myself and invited my stepdaughter to join me there.
And Luke and the band met us at a Mexican restaurant before the show, and they were wearing these Yoakam-esque polyester Western suits, and they were really pleased with himself. And I'm sure he'd spent his entire salary for that gig on those suits, which, as a mom, was a little stressful. But he was sure it was going to be worth it. And it was just so fun to see him in his element, being and feeling totally accepted and loved. I think that's every mom's dream come true.
SIMON: Luke actually sang the title song of this album, "The King is Back," on that night, didn't he?
C BELL: He did. That was the first time I'd heard it.
SIMON: He didn't want to release it, though, I'm told. Why is that?
C BELL: Three months after his dad died, he was home for my birthday, and he said very earnestly that he felt that if he released that song, people would think he was Jesus and they would try and kill him.
SIMON: What did that say to you at the time?
C BELL: I'm sorry to admit that I knew so little about severe mental illness that - I mean, I definitely felt like, Luke, you need to get some help. I can tell you're really stressed. Maybe you should come home and take a break for a while. You know, nobody's going to think you're Jesus. You know, I went back to school in 2019, and I have a master's in counseling now, and I know that this is a very common early sign of mental illness, that people often think they're Jesus or some other biblical figure, some kind of prophet.
SIMON: Your son didn't avoid singing about mental health, emotional health, did he?
C BELL: He - no, he sure didn't. He was a pretty open kid - person.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "DAYDREAM BLUES")
L BELL: (Singing) I wake up down, and then I beat myself up, stare out the window of my pickup truck. I watch the weeds and trees whistle by. But your memory still makes me cry. But, oh, my darling, my princess, my love, my queen.
C BELL: You know, a lot of people just hear songs about somebody who thinks he's great, but I hear the undertones, which are that people who are on top have often spent some time gnawing on the bone to find the fat.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "DAYDREAM BLUES")
L BELL: (Singing) I got the daydream blues. I'm not sure which one I'd like to choose. The one of picking flowers for hours, making love in the sun, or the one where you kiss me soft.
C BELL: One of the reasons I've been so devoted to this project and to advocating for people with mental illness is because I feel like we often turn our backs on people when they need our love and support the most. And I think Luke was really aware of the ways that we hide our sadness and our pain. And I think his songs often show awareness of people in pain who are hiding behind something else - a cape, a crown.
SIMON: A song, sometimes.
C BELL: A song. Absolutely.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "DON'T MIND IF I DO")
L BELL: (Singing) Is there cigarettes in heaven? Is there alcohol on the moon?
SIMON: Carol Bell has just helped to release "The King Is Back," new album of the music of her son, Luke Bell. Thank you so much for being with us, Carol.
C BELL: Thank you for having me.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "DON'T MIND IF I DO")
L BELL: (Singing) If you give me a head of a horse and the wings of a wildwood dove, if you said go haunt your hay, honey, I just might say I don't mind... Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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