You might as well have told me that Paul McCartney or Keith Richards just died. He was that good. That important to some people. Who was Alex Chilton, some of you ask? In a parallel universe where all things are just and right, Alex Chilton would have led one of the biggest and greatest bands of the 70's, made boatloads of cash, and shaped the direction of music for the past 40 years. In reality, Chilton was a promising child prodigy of sorts, led the cult band of all cult bands, toiled in obscurity for most of his career, and has been enjoying a career resurgence the last decade or so. Chilton died suddenly last night of heart problems in New Orleans.
Chilton was the teenage lead singer of the pop/soul group The Box Tops, and they scored some chart success with "The Letter" in the late 60's. But Chilton's real mark was left with three classic records he made in the 1970's with Big Star. Joining forces with fellow Anglophile Chris Bell, Chilton formed Big Star in Memphis and recorded #1 Record, one of the great pop/rock records. (It reached #12 on Dez's Top 100 Albums List. Read about it here.) Bell soon left, disillusioned over the lack of commercial success, and Chilton soldiered on leading a trio and released Big Star's second classic, Radio City. Still no mass success. Many words have been written trying to explain why Big Star wasn't bigger than it was, but one of the main problems was lack of promotion and record label troubles that had very little to do with Big Star itself. In other words, really bad luck. Chilton then recorded (and released years later) Big Star's phenomenal 3rd/Sister Lovers, a stark, bitter, beautiful kiss-off. Through the late 70's and 80's, Chilton's cult status grew as he released odd, very uncommercial solo records. In the early 90's, he reunited with Big Star drummer Jody Stephens and joined up with members of The Posies in a new line-up of Big Star (Bell died in a car accident in the late 70's, original Big Star bassist Andy Hummel didn't participate), released a decent new Big Star record called In Space, and toured extensively to appreciative audiences.
Those are the facts. But it is really about that great Big Star music that has influenced countless indie, college-radio bands. Especially in the 80's. Bands from REM to The Replacements cite Big Star and Chilton as major influences on their sound. Big Star was the bridge between the brilliant pop jingle jangle and vocal harmonizing of The Byrds mixed with the garage bite of early Kinks to those great 80's bands who tried to create smart, guitar-driven pop/rock music. One of the best deals around is #1 Record and Radio City available on a single CD. Do yourself a favor and go buy that. If you really want to take the plunge, the Big Star box set Keep An Eye on the Sky is well worth the money. Read my full review here.
As fellow rock cult hero Paul Westerberg sang in his Replacements song "Alex Chilton": "Children by the million sing for Alex Chilton when he comes 'round / They sing 'I'm in love, what's that song? / I'm in love with that song'...I never travel far without a little Big Star."
ABOVE: Here is a decent NPR story on Big Star
ABOVE: The gorgeous "Thirteen" from #1 Record
ABOVE: "September Gurls" from Radio City, their "biggest" hit
RIP Alex Chilton.
3 comments:
Alex's Japanese fans appear to be devastated.
Makes me a little mad I didn't go to see him when he played as the "boxtops" at Epcot last year. Heard the set was really ragged but it isn't often you get to see a legend.
Ed-
The "Box Tops" set I saw was pretty bad. Alex stopped halfway through "Neon Rainbow" because he couldn't remember the lyrics.
I know that a lot has been said about his greatness, but that lack of professionalism can't be dismissed.
One messed-up dude, in my opinion.
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