''There Was a Light: The Cosmic History of Chris Bell and the Rise of Big Star'' is a book by Rich Tupica, a Michigan-based journalist. It chronicles the life of the late Chris Bell and his band, Big Star, from his childhood in 1950s Memphis through his posthumous releases of 2017 and 2018. The book's narrative is told through verbatim quotes in an oral-history format. In September 2020, the book was published as a traditional paperback and audiobook by

Post Hill Press Post Hill Press, distributed by Simon & Schuster, is a small United States print and e-book publishing house that focuses on publishing "conservative politics" and Christian titles. The company was founded in 2013, and has offices in New York City ...

, which is distributed by

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest publ ...

. The first, limited-edition version of the book was published in December 2018 by HoZac Books.

About the book

The 469-page book details the life of Chris Bell, best known as the founder of Big Star, the legendary and influential power pop band. The book weaves together memories from Bell's family, friends, bandmates, fans and associates. The book, which has received favorable reviews, was released in conjunction with a series of album releases from Omnivore Recordings, including ''The Complete Chris Bell'' box set, and a series of other 2017 and 2018 Chris Bell and Big Star releases. Aside from Bell's close friends, ''There Was a Light'' features memories and thoughts from notable Bell fans like

Mike Mills Michael Edward Mills (born December 17, 1958) is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, and composer who was a founding member of the alternative rock band R.E.M. Though known primarily as the bass guitarist and backing vocalist of R.E.M., hi ...

R.E.M. R.E.M. was an American rock band from Athens, Georgia, formed in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the first alternative ...

Chris Stamey Christopher Charles Stamey (born December 6, 1954) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. After a brief time playing with Alex Chilton, as well as Mitch Easter under the name Sneakers, Stamey formed The dB's with Peter ...

and

Mitch Easter Mitchell Blake Easter (born November 15, 1954) is a musician, songwriter, and record producer. Frequently associated with the jangle pop style of guitar music, he is known as producer of R.E.M.'s early albums from 1981 through 1984, and as frontm ...

the dBs The dB's are an American alternative rock and power pop group, who formed in New York City in 1978 and first came to prominence in the early 1980s. Their debut album, '' Stands for Decibels'', is often acclaimed as one of the greatest "lost" powe ...

Pete Yorn Peter Joseph Yorn (born July 27, 1974) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. He first gained international recognition after his debut record, '' Musicforthemorningafter'', was released to critical and commercial acclaim in 2001. He is ...

Ivo Watts-Russell Ivo Watts-Russell (born 1954) is a British music producer and record label executive. He was joint-founder with Peter Kent of the indie record label 4AD. He has produced several records, although he prefers to use the term "musical director". Ea ...

Matthew Sweet Sidney Matthew Sweet (born October 6, 1964) is an American alternative rock/power pop singer-songwriter and musician who was part of the burgeoning music scene in Athens, Georgia, during the 1980s before gaining commercial success in the 1990 ...

and Rick Nielson of

Cheap Trick Cheap Trick is an American rock band from Rockford, Illinois, formed in 1973 by guitarist Rick Nielsen, bassist Tom Petersson, lead vocalist Robin Zander and drummer Bun E. Carlos. The current lineup of the band consists of Zander, Nielsen and ...

, among others.

Reception

The ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

'' gave the book a positive review, stating: "Chris Bell, who with

Alex Chilton 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 ...

co-founded the ahead-of-its-time Memphis band Big Star, died 40 years ago, before his accomplishments as a singer, songwriter and musical visionary could be widely acknowledged. Rich Tupica sets the record straight in ''There Was a Light: The Cosmic History of Chris Bell and the Rise of Big Star.''" Meanwhile, '' Under the Radar'' said: "Rich Tupica's There Was A Light is the holy grail of information on Big Star and the late Chris Bell. An oral history spanning 400 pages, ''There Was a Light'' is exhaustive in its detail and entrancing in its storytelling. It is everything the obsessive Chris Bell/Big Star fan could dream." ''

The Memphis Flyer The ''Memphis Flyer'' is a free weekly alternative newspaper serving the greater Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along th ...

'', a weekly publication that's covered Big Star's hometown legacy for years, said: "Tupica, a Michigan-based entertainment writer who's contributed to

Record Collector ''Record Collector'' is a British monthly music magazine. It was founded in 1980 and distributes worldwide. History The early years The first standalone issue of ''Record Collector'' was published in March 1980, though its history stretches ba ...

Uncut Magazine ''Uncut'' is a monthly magazine based in London. It is available across the English-speaking world, and focuses on music, but also includes film and books sections. A DVD magazine under the ''Uncut'' brand was published quarterly from 2005 to 2006 ...

, and

American Songwriter ''American Songwriter'' is a bimonthly magazine covering songwriting. Established in 1984, it features interviews, songwriting tips, news, reviews and lyric contest. The magazine is based in Nashville, Tennessee. History The ''American Songwri ...

, has done his homework — and his legwork. Though he writes very little as an author, except a few explanatory notes to create the context, his five years of labor on this volume yielded interviews and archival quotes from dozens of people, requiring four pages to list them all at the end. The final product is an encyclopedic compendium of sorts, illuminating Bell's life from a thousand angles."

References

{{Reflist

External links

Simon & Schuster page for "There Was A LightBillboard, May 2017
2018 non-fiction books Books about musicians 2020 non-fiction books