The legend of the band Big Star was born back in May 1973, when a promoter flew legions of young rock critics into Memphis for a "convention" that was essentially a stunt to get them to hear Big Star perform.
Big Star, a Memphis group built around former Box Tops singer and songwriter Alex Chilton ("The Letter"), was a bit out of step with the music of its day, a power-pop quartet just a little ahead of its time. Most people know them for creating the song "In the Street" that was adapted and covered by Cheap Trick as the theme to "That '70s Show."
With their jangly Byrds-inspired guitars and close harmonies, Chilton, Chris Bell, Andy Hummel and Jody Stephens were already earning glowing reviews, if not great record sales.
But that May '73 junket stunt cemented them in legend. As the fame never came and the decades of musical...
Big Star, a Memphis group built around former Box Tops singer and songwriter Alex Chilton ("The Letter"), was a bit out of step with the music of its day, a power-pop quartet just a little ahead of its time. Most people know them for creating the song "In the Street" that was adapted and covered by Cheap Trick as the theme to "That '70s Show."
With their jangly Byrds-inspired guitars and close harmonies, Chilton, Chris Bell, Andy Hummel and Jody Stephens were already earning glowing reviews, if not great record sales.
But that May '73 junket stunt cemented them in legend. As the fame never came and the decades of musical...
- 7/5/2013
- by editorial@zap2it.com
- Pop2it
Musician lost a two-year battle with cancer.
By Kara Warner
Big Star's Chris Bell, Jody Stephens, Andy Hummel and Alex Chilton in 1972
Photo: Charlie Gillett/ Redferns
More sad news for Big Star fans. Almost four months to the day since Alex Chilton's sudden death comes the loss of original bassist Andy Hummel. According to Dallas website Dfw.com, Hummel died Monday (July 19) after a two-year battle with cancer.
Current bassist Ken Stringfellow broke the news, tweeting: "Another sad loss for Big Star fans as Andy Hummel passes away after long illness."
Jason Elzy, a representative with Big Star's label, Rhino Records, confirmed the report to MTV News: "Sadly, I can confirm this is true. Andy has passed away."
The Memphis-born Hummel, along with singer/songwriter Chilton, guitarist Chris Bell and drummer Jody Stephens (who is the only living original member), formed the rock band in 1971, and their uniquely layered...
By Kara Warner
Big Star's Chris Bell, Jody Stephens, Andy Hummel and Alex Chilton in 1972
Photo: Charlie Gillett/ Redferns
More sad news for Big Star fans. Almost four months to the day since Alex Chilton's sudden death comes the loss of original bassist Andy Hummel. According to Dallas website Dfw.com, Hummel died Monday (July 19) after a two-year battle with cancer.
Current bassist Ken Stringfellow broke the news, tweeting: "Another sad loss for Big Star fans as Andy Hummel passes away after long illness."
Jason Elzy, a representative with Big Star's label, Rhino Records, confirmed the report to MTV News: "Sadly, I can confirm this is true. Andy has passed away."
The Memphis-born Hummel, along with singer/songwriter Chilton, guitarist Chris Bell and drummer Jody Stephens (who is the only living original member), formed the rock band in 1971, and their uniquely layered...
- 7/19/2010
- MTV Music News
The death of musician Alex Chilton in the middle of last March brought an untimely end to a very unusual career. Only 59 at the time of his death, his years as a professional musician began all the way back in 1966; he was only 16 when, as the lead singer of The Box Tops, he made it to the top of the charts with "The Letter." After the dissolution of that band, whose music was largely dictated by outside writers and producers, the Memphis-born Chilton attempted a solo career before hooking up with young Memphis musicians Chris Bell, Andy Hummel, and Jody Stephens to form Big Star. To say that this band created what came to be known as "power pop" is, in this former music writer's opinion, rather too kind to most of the groups put under the "power pop" rubric. And since this is a film website and not a music website,...
- 4/14/2010
- MUBI
Influential rock musician was scheduled to play at SXSW this week.
By Gil Kaufman
Alex Chilton
Photo: Frank Mullen/ Wireimage
Cult rock icon Alex Chilton, leader of the influential 1970s power-pop band Big Star, died on Wednesday in a New Orleans hospital at age 59.
The Memphis Commercial Appeal reported that Chilton, who was also a member of the 1960s pop-soul group the Box Tops ("The Letter"), had been complaining about feeling unwell earlier in the day and was taken by paramedics to an emergency room, where doctors could not revive him after he suffered a suspected heart attack.
"I'm crushed. We're all just crushed," said John Fry, a longtime friend of Chilton's and owner of Memphis' Ardent Studios, the legendary recording studio whose label, Ardent Records, released the first two Big Star albums. "This sudden death experience is never something that you're prepared for. And yet it occurs."
Chilton's death...
By Gil Kaufman
Alex Chilton
Photo: Frank Mullen/ Wireimage
Cult rock icon Alex Chilton, leader of the influential 1970s power-pop band Big Star, died on Wednesday in a New Orleans hospital at age 59.
The Memphis Commercial Appeal reported that Chilton, who was also a member of the 1960s pop-soul group the Box Tops ("The Letter"), had been complaining about feeling unwell earlier in the day and was taken by paramedics to an emergency room, where doctors could not revive him after he suffered a suspected heart attack.
"I'm crushed. We're all just crushed," said John Fry, a longtime friend of Chilton's and owner of Memphis' Ardent Studios, the legendary recording studio whose label, Ardent Records, released the first two Big Star albums. "This sudden death experience is never something that you're prepared for. And yet it occurs."
Chilton's death...
- 3/18/2010
- MTV Music News
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