Chris Bell

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Memphis, United States (January 12, 1951 – December 27, 1978)

Chris Bell (January 12, 1951–December 27, 1978) was a singer, songwriter, and guitarist born in Memphis, Tennessee. Along with Alex Chilton, he led the power pop band Big Star, which recorded albums during the early 1970s. Chris Bell left the group after their first album, #1 Record, but contributed some music and lyrics to their second LP, 1974’s Radio City. He recorded as a solo artist for the remainder of the 1970s; two of these influential solo recordings, “I Am The Cosmos” and “You And Your Sister,” were released on a 1978 single on Car Records. These two songs became popular among collectors of Big Star-related items, and they were later covered on the 1991 Blood album.

Bell began to concentrate on solo work after leaving Big Star, recording demos at Ardent Studios and Shoe Recording in Memphis with old friends including Richard Rosebrough, Terry Manning, Bill Cunningham, Ken Woodley, and occasionally Chilton and Jim Dickinson. During the late 1970s, a few of Bell’s pop song lyrics began to evince influences from his newfound interest in Christian spirituality. He worked at his father’s restaurant as he grappled with clinical depression. Although he released the single in 1978, none of his solo material was released on a full length album during his lifetime.

Tagged as:

power pop, singer-songwriter, rock, pop, melancholy
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I Am the Cosmos
Chris Bell
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The Annointed Testimony
Chris Bell
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Blues 2001
Chris Bell
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Reflections
Chris Bell
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Top Tracks

1	Speed of Sound	409
2	I Am The Cosmos	177
3	You And Your Sister	99
4	Speed Of Sound (Soundtrack Version)	61
5	Better Save Yourself	49
6	Look Up	48
6	I Got Kinda Lost	48
8	There Was a Light	47
9	Make a Scene	46
10	Get Away	42
10	I Don't Know	42
12	Fight at the Table	41
13	Though I Know She Lies	39
14	I Am the Cosmos (Slow version)	31
15	You and Your Sister (Country version)	28

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foxyluva wrote:
Tuesday morning

The Deluxe version of I Am the Cosmos is well worth getting.

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captain_great wrote:
April 2009

You and your sister: best song of all fucking time!

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semionato wrote:
March 2009

already the best thing of 2009 music-wise.

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jigabooda wrote:
February 2009

You and Your Sister...have you guys heard the This Mortal Coil cover, sung by Kim Deal? It's just as good as the original, it's amazing.

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JSonicC wrote:
January 2009

im gonna get the record. speed of sound is amazing

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cruz992 wrote:
January 2009

Yeah...You And Your Sister, then Though I Know She Lies...the whole album is ace really once it sinks in. Apparently it will be reissued by Rhino next year with more tracks, along with a Big Star boxset. If a movie has a Chris Bell song in it, what's the loss? My niece recently saw that film, maybe she'll seek out his music...

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ihafkenschiel wrote:
October 2008

you and your sister is his best, then speed of sound

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YControl755 wrote:
October 2008

holy god, now speed of sound is way more popular than i am the cosmos because of nick and norah's. i love speed of sound, but that is just wrong. cosmos is immortal. i hope people take the initiative to seek out the whole record.

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nightdriver wrote:
October 2008

if it gets more people to appreciate an amazing songwriter, i'm all for it.

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room237 wrote:
October 2008

WTF is this holyhiphop shit? Chris Bell wrote some fantastic songs! Why not have a few of them on there instead?

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aneta133 wrote:
October 2008

hej jak to dziala tzn jak w tym trzeba brac udzial

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mikeetcetera wrote:
October 2008

ha, i saw the 400% jump of chris bell, and wondered what pseudo-indie film is using him in its soundtrack. chris bell rules no matter what.

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peterjarrett wrote:
September 2008

uh oh... Chris Bell is on the "Nick and Norah's infinite playlist" soundtrack... Can't decide if this is good or awful.

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maxlewier wrote:
September 2008

And for the sake of Chris Bell, please remove this HolyHipHop-Crap from Bell's Top Tracks. They are not even close to be good ones. It's blasphemy!

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Linus-Grunger wrote:
July 2008

For The Respect of Chris Bell, Who Died At 27 Years Old, Please Join This Group... http://www.last.fm/group/The+Twenty+Seven+Club

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mutantindiekid wrote:
July 2008

Apparently, I Am The Cosmos is one of Michael Stipe's influences when writing for R.E.M. So now you know.

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captain_great wrote:
June 2008

I don't know how such great music can have so few people listening it.

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marbley wrote:
June 2008

what the heck is with the holyhiphop? :O god bless, the real chris bell...

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genius6287 wrote:
May 2008

can anyone recommend other similar stuff other than big star? also has anyone else noticed references to chris bell in richard ashcroft's solo stuff (if you havent heard him then i recommend a listen)

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gameshowhost wrote:
March 2008

Its the missing fourth Big Star album. They both wrote #1 Record, they both wrote on Radio City, Alex wrote Third, and Chris wrote I am the Cosmos.

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