Sad News Today

2010 seems to be the year that we are losing are great alternative artists. I found out yesterday evening that Alex Chilton passed away yesterday. Singer and guitarist of Big Star, one of the most influential rock groups to come out of the 1970s died at the age of 59 reportedly suffering from a heart attack in New Orleans, just days before Big Star were scheduled to perform at SXSW Festival in Austin, Texas.

Chilton had been complaining about his health earlier in the day, and was eventually taken to a New Orleans hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Big Star drummer Jody Stephens confirmed Chilton’s passing, “Alex passed away a couple of hours ago,” Stephens said. “I don’t have a lot of particulars, but they kind of suspect that it was a heart attack.”

Chilton began his musical career in his teens as a member of the Box Tops before returning to his native Memphis to form Big Star with guitarist/co-songwriter Chris Bell, drummer Jody Stephens and bassist Andy Hummel. Blending power pop with the sound of the Beatles and the Beach Boys, Big Star were critically acclaimed but largely ignored commercially. In their short time together in the early-’70s — though Bell exited the band after #1 Record, Hummel after Radio City — Big Star only released three studio albums, but what three incredible albums they were: 1972’s #1 Record, 1974’s Radio City and 1978’s dark but beautiful Third/Sister Lovers all placed on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, and their classic tracks “Thirteen” and “September Gurls” both made the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
While they only lasted a few years, Big Star’s impact continues to reverberate decades later. R.E.M. and the Replacements both named Big Star and Alex Chilton as major influences, and the Replacements’ Pleased to Meet Me features a song titled “Alex Chilton.” Chilton became a cult musical icon, and artists as diverse as Beck, Wilco, Elliott Smith, R.E.M., Cheap Trick, Jeff Buckley, Garbage, Bat For Lashes and Whiskeytown have covered Big Star’s songs. Renewed interest in the band’s music led to a reunion of sorts in the early ’90s and a new album in 2005’s In Space, which featured two members of the Posies, Ken Stringfellow and Jon Auer. Just last year, a box set celebrating Big Star’s entire catalog, Keep an Eye on the Sky was released.

Paul Westerberg and the Replacements spoke for countless artists and diehard fans when they wrote a song called "Alex Chilton" in 1987.

"Children by the millions 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.' "

RIP ALEX CHILTON, you will be missed!