Despite being credited for guitar and vocals in the liner notes, Bell's last-minute arrival at the Blue Album sessions meant that he only had time to re-record Cropper's backing vocals, while Cuomo re-did all of Cropper's guitar parts. Besides doing back-up vocals and playing rhythm guitar, during Weezer's live performances, Bell takes on many of the multi-instrumental duties, including keyboards or harmonica.
Bell was born in Iowa City, Iowa to parents Tom Bell, a geography professor at University of Tennessee, and Linda Menasco, an elementary school assistant principal, and raised in Knoxville, Tennessee. He first took an interest in music at age four, when his parents took him to an Elvis Presley concert at the Stokely Athletic Centre in Knoxville . Soon after, Bell became obsessed with his father's record collection, and played it constantly. Bell was forced by his mother to take piano lessons, and refused to let him take guitar lessons until high school, because she "wouldn't believe that he would practice." Eventually, during his freshman year in high school, Bell's parents allowed him to take guitar lessons from Knoxville musician Ben Bolt.