By Elias Leight
The last six weeks have been good to Imani Zakee. She got a raise at work, and her boyfriend proposed. He got a promotion as well.
Zakee, 34, credits one crucial life change for this streak: She started listening to "Ring My Bell," a louche disco heater released by Anita Ward in 1979.
"I saw videos on TikTok where people were like, 'this song can help bring you abundance,'" she said. "I just started playing it to be funny. Then I started playing it every morning because I like it." Good news followed.
As other TikTok users shared similar stories -- sudden infusions of cash, new job openings -- "Ring My Bell" has surged. Last December, it was earning a little more than 200,000 streams a week on average in the U.S. That number was up 10-fold in the first half of March, according to the data company Luminate. Paris Hilton used Ward's track in a video as she rang the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange. A spokeswoman for the star did not respond to a request for comment about whether the song brought any unexpected benefits.
"The way that things are in the world, who wouldn't want to jump on a trend that's spreading positivity?" asked Sasha Carcasses, a 31-year-old salon owner. Her clip dancing to "Ring My Bell" racked up more than two million views. Soon after, brands reached out for the first time inquiring about possibly paying her for promotional partnerships.
Ward, who is retired and lives in Memphis, said she still receives 40% of the royalties from "Ring My Bell," so she stands to gain from its comeback as well. "I don't really pay much attention to TikTok," she admitted. "But I'm getting royalties, and I'm not upset about that."
Speculation about what has been dubbed the "'Ring My Bell' theory" ramped up in January after Jennifer Marie, 45, posted several videos. Since then, "my entire creative and financial life reopened after nearly three years of unemployment," she said in an interview.
Her audience on TikTok multiplied. Some of her new followers sent cash as thanks for the boost they got by listening to Ward. She even received a refund on an old electric bill.
Marie claimed this all happened because certain characteristics of "Ring My Bell" align with mysterious "coded phrases." Examples include "I am wealthy," "manifesting" and "Johnny Cash," though he wasn't known for either his financial expertise or his affinity to disco. The explanation is hard to untangle for those who aren't true numerology zealots.
But understanding it doesn't matter. Testing the "Ring My Bell" theory is easy -- and cheaper than hopping on a gambling app. After Chephrena Mbouombouo posted a TikTok clip featuring Ward's song, she sold a pair of necklaces she made. The 29-year-old video editor was also commissioned to create a stop-motion animation -- her "passion project" -- for an upcoming event.
Zakee's "Ring My Bell" clip prompted other TikTok users to weigh in with their own stories of wins that seemed heaven-sent. "People have been playing [the song] and random good things are happening to them," she said. One woman commented that after starting her day with Ward's track, she received her biggest tip ever, $175.
Not everyone is convinced. A challenger pointed out that if "Ring My Bell" was guaranteed to bring abundance, then all the members of Gen X who heard the track in 1979 would be rich by now. Ward's song "does NOT guarantee you will have a good day," another skeptic warned. She danced happily to it anyway.
It seems fitting that "Ring My Bell" could bring good fortune, if only briefly: The song was an out-of-the-blue hit for Ward. She was an unknown artist in 1979, and she wanted to cut a ballad.
Instead she released a propulsive track with a steamy chorus, a command that masquerades as an invitation: "You can ring my bell." Despite Ward's reservations about the song, it strutted all the way to No. 1 on the Hot 100. That summer, radio was a disco lovers' paradise, as fizzy singles from the Bee Gees, Donna Summer and Chic also topped the chart.
"Ring My Bell" "was a song that I thought I didn't like," Ward said. "I've had to eat crow, because it became big all over the world."
But she never got close to another hit. She worked as a teacher and in retail. Malaco Records, which specializes in soul, blues and gospel, acquired "Ring My Bell" in the 1980s, according to Stewart Madison, the label's vice president and director of business affairs.
The "Ring My Bell" theory has certainly proven true for Malaco, as streams and downloads of the song shot upward. "We're thrilled with it," Madison said. "It feels like having Christmas in March."
Write to Elias Leight at elias.leight@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 23, 2026 12:07 ET (16:07 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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