Christopher Branford "Chris" Bell (January 12, 1951 – December 27, 1978) was an American 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. Bell left the group after Big Star's first album, #1 Record (1972), failed to find commercial success, although some of his musical and lyrical contributions surfaced on the band's second album, Radio City (1974). Bell 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 were later included on Bell's posthumously released 1992 solo album I Am the Cosmos.
Bell died on 27 December 1978 at the age of 27 when he lost control of his small Triumph TR-7 sports car, sometime after 1 a.m. He was on his way home from his father's restaurant in East Memphis. The car struck a wooden light pole on the side of the road, killing him instantly. His funeral was held the next day, December 28, the birthday of former band mate Chilton.
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