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.

"[1] Bell's catalog of proto-alternative rock has inspired the likes of Elliott Smith, 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.

He had started playing music at age 12, influenced heavily by The Beatles and other British Invasion groups like The Yardbirds and The Who.

One of Bell's early groups included Memphis natives Richard Rosebrough and Terry Manning, with whom he continued to work for the rest of his music career.

[3] In 1964 and 1965, Bell played lead guitar in a British Invasion-influenced group called the Jynx (the name being a pun on The Kinks) with local musicians, including lead vocalist Mike Harris, rhythm guitarist David Hoback, drummer DeWitt Shy, and bassist Bill Cunningham, and later, bassist Leo Goff.

Other lead vocalists at some of the group's shows and rehearsals (though not present on their recordings) included local teens Ames Yates, Vance Alexander, and Alex Chilton.

Bell continued to perform and record in Memphis throughout the rest of the decade, including a stint in the heavier psych-rock band Christmas Future with Terry Manning and Steve Rhea.

By the late 1960s, after attending UT in Knoxville, he had turned his focus toward writing original songs, and Manning brought Bell into the studio for his first professional recordings as a session guitarist.

These groups featured a revolving set of musicians including Jody Stephens, Terry Manning, Tom Eubanks, Andy Hummel, Richard Rosebrough, Vance Alexander, and Steve Rhea.

Bell also played in groups with local songwriter Keith Sykes, as well as the Baker Street Regulars with Van Duren and Jody Stephens in 1976.

[8][9] In later life he turned to born-again Christianity in an attempt to deal with his difficult relationship with his own sexuality, his friends reporting he was "determined not to be gay".

Eventually, well-known artists including R.E.M., Ian Moore, Teenage Fanclub, and The Replacements began touting the recordings of Big Star as significant works.

Bell's version of "Speed of Sound" is heard over the opening credits to the film Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist.