There Was A Light, Rich Tupica
There Was A Light, Rich Tupica
List: $29.99 | Sale: $21.00
Club: $14.99

There Was A Light
The Cosmic History of Chris Bell and the Rise of Big Star

Author: Rich Tupica

Narrator: Chris Abernathy

Unabridged: 14 hr 15 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 09/22/2020

Synopsis

There Was A Light details the pop culture phenomenon that made Big Star legendary and divulges how its staunch fanbase saved the band from obscurity.

With Chris Bell at the center of the Big Star universe, this book carefully reveals the production of the band's masterful 1972 debut LP, #1 Record, for Ardent/Stax Records. Despite stellar reviews, the record suffered abysmal sales. Soon after, toxic personality conflicts and turmoil tore the band apart while Bell battled drug abuse and depression. There Was A Light then delves into Big Star's second and third albums, while recounting Bell's second act as a struggling solo musician and born-again Christian. During several trips to Europe, he produced ambitious recordings and pitched himself to record labels—even crossing paths with Paul McCartney. From this fertile era arose Bell's lone solo album, the posthumously released I Am the Cosmos—his swan song and masterpiece.

About Rich Tupica

Rich Tupica is a Lansing, Michigan-based journalist and music critic whose work has been published in national and international publications, including UNCUT, Record Collector, American Songwriter, and Ugly Things magazine. Locally, he has worked for multiple Michigan newspapers, reporting both entertainment and hard news stories.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Steve on September 26, 2018

All you would need to know about Chris Bell and Big Star, excellently sourced, well assembled and tied together with rare photos and ephemera - as good as it gets for fans......more

Goodreads review by Clif on November 25, 2018

Excellent book about Chris Bell and Big Star. Gives lots of details in a oral history format. Lots about Alex Chilten as well. Lots of great post "#1 Record" info. Like what Bell did with Big Star after that and how he worked on his solo stuff. Also, seemingly random based on the title, the end of t......more

Goodreads review by JJ Cooper on March 13, 2021

The depth of this biography is impressive This is both an in-depth biography of Chris Bell and an incredibly easy read thanks to the oral history format. Well done and valuable for any Big Star fan.......more

Goodreads review by Mark on October 18, 2021

A must read for Big Star fans. This deep dive into Chris’s life is also a good overview of parts of the music business from the 70s that did not achieve wide spread popularity.......more

Goodreads review by Eric on April 12, 2022

I'm particularly fond of musical biographies, and fascinated by some of the more tragic stories (Chris Bell is an unfortunate member of the 27 Club, consisting of musicians, actors, and similar people who have died at the age of 27). This was also at least my third foray into a musical biography tha......more

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