Chris Bell (American musician)


Bell in the studio

Background information
Birth name: Christopher Branford Bell
Born: January 12, 1951; Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.
Died: December 27, 1978 (aged 27); Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.

Christopher Branford Bell (January 12, 1951 – December 27, 1978) was an American musician and singer-songwriter. Along with Alex Chilton, he led the power pop band Big Star through its first album #1 Record (1972). He also pursued a solo career throughout the mid-1970s, resulting in the posthumous I Am the Cosmos LP.

AllMusic Guide praised Bell as "one of the unsung heroes of American pop music" and noted his lasting impression, saying: "Despite a life marked by tragedy and a career crippled by commercial indifference, the singer/songwriter's slim body of recorded work proved massively influential on the generations of indie rockers who emerged in his wake."

Bell's catalog of proto-alternative rock has inspired the likes of Beck, R.E.M., Teenage Fanclub, Pixies, Primal Scream, Afghan Whigs, Pete Yorn, Wilco, The Posies, and The Replacements, all of whom have covered his music or expressed their admiration for Big Star in the press.

His life was documented in the acclaimed documentary Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me, released in 2013 by Magnolia Pictures.

Bell's life, and the career of Big Star, was documented in the 2018 book There Was a Light: The Cosmic History of Chris Bell and the Rise of Big Star. The 400-page oral-history style bio contains rare interviews with Bell, his bandmates, friends, family and notable fans.

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Death

Bell died on December 27, 1978 when he lost control of his Triumph TR7 sports car, sometime after 1:00 a.m. He was on his way home from a band rehearsal. The car struck a wooden light pole on the side of the road. The pole fell and killed him instantly. He was 27. His funeral was held the next day, December 28, the birthday of former bandmate Alex Chilton.

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Alex Chilton

Background information
Birth name: William Alexander Chilton
Born: December 28, 1950; Memphis, Tennessee, United States
Died: March 17, 2010 (aged 59); New Orleans, Louisiana, United States

William Alexander Chilton (December 28, 1950 – March 17, 2010) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer best known as the lead singer of the Box Tops and Big Star. Chilton's early commercial success in the 1960s as a teen vocalist for the Box Tops was never repeated in later years with Big Star and in his subsequent indie music solo career on small labels, but he drew an intense following among indie and alternative music musicians. He is frequently cited as a seminal influence by influential rock artists and bands, some of whose testimonials appeared in the 2012 documentary Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me.

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