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Big Star
From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist
Big Star was an American rock band from Memphis, Tennessee. The group formed in 1971 around Alex Chilton and Chris Bell, both singers and guitarists, with Andy Hummel on bass and Jody Stephens on drums. As a sixteen-year-old, Chilton had had a number 1 hit with The Letter, as the singer of the Box Tops. Big Star gained a reputation as a quintessential American power pop band, with influences from the Beatles and the Byrds of the 1960s.
Music and breakthrough
The debut #1 Record from 1972 received enthusiastic reviews, but poor promotion and limited distribution by the label Stax meant few sales. Bell left, and the second album, Radio City, completed in December 1973 and featuring September Gurls, also suffered from problems at the label, now Columbia. A third album from the autumn of 1974 was first shelved, and the band fell apart at the end of that year. In 1978 the first two records were released together in the United Kingdom, followed by Third/Sister Lovers. Shortly afterwards Chris Bell died in a car accident, aged 27.
Influence
Big Star's influence grew after the break-up. Bands such as R.E.M. and the Replacements cited the group as an example, and the music pointed ahead to the alternative rock of the 1980s and 1990s. In 1993 Chilton and Stephens came together again with Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow of the Posies, and in 2005 In Space was released. Chilton died in 2010, Hummel a few months later.
Listening
September Gurls · Big Star, 1974Apple Music ↗
Discography
Studio albums
- 1972#1 Record
- 1974Radio City
- 19783rd
- 2005In Space
- 2013Nothing Can Hurt Me (soundtrack)
- 2016Complete Third
Mentioned in other articles
- Powerpop Genre
In the early 1970s it was played by Badfinger, Raspberries and Big Star, followed later by Cheap Trick and The Knack.