We continue our look back at the music of 50 years ago…..
The critics were effusive in their praise. Other musicians knew that this was great music. And yet, the Memphis based band Big Star disappeared almost without a trace until they were “re-discovered” years later. Their 1972 debut was called “#1 Record”.
Alex Chilton and Chris Bell were 15 years old when the Beatles played Memphis in 1966. They were hooked. If the name Alex Chilton sounds familiar it’s probably because of this….
Chilton was 16 when he sang that. After the Box Tops broke up in 1970, Chilton and Bell decided to put together a band and start writing songs ala Lennon/McCartney. Bell had a sound he wanted to achieve. A sound that few other bands were pursuing at the time. Hooky pop songs with jangly guitars and tight harmonies.
They recorded for Ardent Records which was distributed by Stax. Stax was in the throes of major financial problems and could not get the album into record stores or promote it properly.
Despite critical acclaim from writers who had come to Memphis for a convention and heard the band live, the album languished. It’s incredible to note that all three Big Star albums made the Rolling Stone list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. Record World called it “one of the best albums of the year”…
Rolling Stone wrote later that the band “created a seminal body of work that never stopped inspiring succeeding generations” Think REM or Tom Petty…or a generation of indie bands that populated the 90’s.
If you know them at all, it’s probably for this song….
and because of this…..
There was an excellent documentary on the band that came out a number of years ago. I highly recommend it.
My favorite cuts on the album are “Thirteen”, “Don’t Lie To Me”, “When My Baby’s Beside Me” , ‘Give Me Another Chance” and “Watch The Sunrise”…but the critics at the time were right…it’s all good.
Enjoy!
