The saga of Big Star, and member Alex Chilton in particular, is one of the more compelling stories in rock history. Big Star was a quartet from Memphis, who included a young Chilton, formerly the teenaged lead singer for The Box Tops. It's a story of naivete, disillusionment, bitterness, and redemption, the first three of which come through in succession on their first, second, and final albums.
![Big Star [Promo Pic] (1972)](http://img123.echo.cx/img123/86/bigstarpic7rv.jpg)
![Big Star: Back Of A Car #1 [Fanzine] (1994)](http://img123.echo.cx/img123/6158/backofacar94fanzine9gd.gif)
Alex Chilton also had three distinct careers; with The Box Tops, Big Star, and solo; they bear little in common with each other. Fans of 60's oldies remember him as the soulful voice of "The Letter", one many believed was that of a black soul singer. Big Star fans know him as the quirky, depressed, erratic genius with a British-style pop songcraft ability, solo Chilton fans remember him as a punk-era enigma; sometimes boozed, sometimes brilliant, sometimes maddeningly inscrutable, blowing off any pretense of stardom, becoming the focus of a quirky, devoted cult while delivering strange, occasionally incoherent albums. This chaos ended in the 90's when Chilton became a specialist in semi-ironic, semi-reverent cover versions of obscure R&B and rock 'n' roll songs.
What is indisputable is that Big Star, with three albums, helped create power-pop and jangle-pop, both of which were two of the most important movements in rock during the 80's. At the time it was a thankless job; the band broke up hitless after just two and a half years. But their legacy remains strong to this day.
Born Dec. 28, 1950, Chilton grew up middle-class in Memphis, TN, and started playing guitar in high school, playing in loose combos with friends. He also took up bass, and could alternate between the two, making him a versatile and useful band member. He began to sing, just a little at first, and then more as he grew confident in his voice; he had his own natural tenor, but could also sing in a deeper, bluesier voice sounding much older than his 16 years. After paying dues in a number of local amateur combos, he had his first professional gigs in 1967 with a group called the DeVilles.
The DeVilles consisted of Gary Talley (guitar), John Evans (guitar), Bill Cunningham (bass), and Danny Smythe (drums). The band played white R&B and were good musicians in a music town; their popularity was already on the rise in town when they invited Chilton, 16, to join the band in 1967. Producers/songwriters Chips Momen and Dann Penn scouted the band and liked what they saw, especially in Chilton. Popular at the time was the 17-year-old white soul shouter Stevie Winwood, and Momen and Penn were seeking a similar act of their own when they came across Chilton and the DeVilles. They signed the band, which changed its name shortly after to The Box Tops to avoid confusion with another DeVilles.
Article comments
1 - Antfreeze
Really good stuff uao. I keep hearing references to BStar but didn't know anything about them. I saw the Boxtops as a youngster, (with the Cowsills!). The comparison to Eric Burton seems quite apropos, very similar voices. Thanks,
2 - uao
Thanks, Antfreeze, I appreciate the comments. Give Big Star a listen; you may enjoy 'em.
UNRELATED NOTE: I have spent the past hour trying to figure out why the Amazon links won't appear on this post. I can't figure it out; and I've got to go to work. Apologies to Eric and the gang; I'll try to fix it during my lunch break.
3 - uao
Never mind; I fixed 'em. Still not quite sure what happened...
4 - Antfreeze
Being a Beefheart fan I get the feeling I might prefer the "flat basketball percussion" period to Alex's more accessible stuff. Again, really well written and researched post.
5 - MRBenning
This is a very interesting piece. Thanks for the thoroughness. I've always known that Chilton had quite a career behind him, but never knew just how interesting it was.
6 - Vern Halen
I gotta tell you, I never did get Big Star - an overrated underrated band, if you get my drift. But your article was thorough & accurate, and I think you really captured the sense of their great potential & sad demise. Thanks - after reading this, I may have to go back & try them again.
7 - Ingemar
Thanks for the article. I really liked it. I have Big Stars 2 first albums, but must also get hold of their last ones.
Ingemar
8 - Pop Kulcher
Great write-up. I'm firmly among those who consider Big Star to be among not just the most influential, but very best bands ever. I still listen to their three main albums all the time. Another decent one you didn't mention is Nobody Can Dance, a combination of live-in-studio and live tracks that offers rawer takes on some of the tunes from the first two albums. Chris Bell's posthumous album is quite good (if partially unfinished and repetitive); worth it alone for "I Am The Cosmos" and his duet with Chilton, "You & Your Sister." Last year saw the release of Rock City, an album by Chris Bell's pre-Big Star band; he only sings on a third of the tracks (the others are so-so power pop), but it's an interesting look at early versions of a few BS tunes.
9 - Elias Cassenance
good info; it is, ahem (you must not be from the south) "Like Flies on Sherbert." Two Rs. "Sherbet" ain't really a word.
And really, too, you're entitled to your opinion on "Sherbert," but I don't agree--it's not perfect nor is it supposed to be. It's a record about HOW you play music; the songs themselves, I could give a shit in the best Memphis tradition of taking something pretty much worthless or ephemeral and turning into something else. You know, like Elvis did. I think it's a masterpiece of indirection.
Otherwise, good review, altho it's obvious at this late date that Big Star was more about Chris Bell than Chilton ("Third" is the whole enterprise of songcraft, Brit-invasion-inspired tuneage, and sanity itself dispensed with, given a fond goodbye by people too proud to abandon their craft but all too willing to jump ship). "Radio City" IS superior to the first record, and it's the one time when Alex Chilton really did imitation right, having already gone thru imitating Dan Penn in the Box Tops. Very odd music that never gets old; and I think Alex's solo career is a lot better than it seems on the surface--what are we, hung up on perfection, too serious to groove to Chris Kenner's "Sick and Tired" or "What's Your Sign Girl"? Oh right, we're ABOVE all that, gotcha.