Billy Bland (April 5, 1932 – March 22, 2017) was an American R&B singer and songwriter. == Life and career == Bland, the youngest of 19 children, first sang professionally in 1947 in New York City, and sang with a group called The Bees in the 1950s on New Orleans's Imperial Records. In 1954, "Toy Bell" by the group caused some unrest by veering into the dirty blues genre. Dave Bartholomew brought them to New Orleans, where they recorded a... [more on Wikipedia]