Thursday, March 18, 2010
Cream Alex Chilton, 1950-2010
Posted by Jim Ridley on Thu, Mar 18, 2010 at 7:56 AM
Alex Chilton has died of a suspected heart attack, aged 59.The singer and guitarist, who rose to prominence in Big Star and The Box Tops, passed away on Wednesday (March 17) in a New Orleans hospital.
Memphis-born Chilton is said to have complained about his health earlier on Wednesday, before being taken to hospital by paramedics, reports The Commercial Appeal.
Chilton was to play Saturday at SXSW with his seminal '70s pop band Big Star.
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Alex Chilton's contributions to music were huge. He was one of the few people to take what the British Invasion folks had done and goose it with a little Memphis grease. He was a first-rate guitarist with an instantly identifiable sound, a chameleonic singer and an inspired digger for obscure pop, soul and r&b gems. I saw him do some amazing shows in Nashville in the '80s, when he emerged from New Orleans to begin performing and recording again, and I also saw him do all sorts of one-offs, like a show he did in 1998 in New Orleans with a great band--covering Huey "Piano" Smith and Coasters songs, with Chilton just playing his inimitable guitar. He'll be missed.
This sucks big time. Terrible loss of a totally legendary Tennessean. I had been hoping to catch Big Star down here on Saturday.
"The Ballad of El Goodo" is the best power-pop song of all time.
For someone who could come across so jaded, he could also sound utterly unguarded and innocent and open-hearted, as on "Thirteen" and "I'm in Love with a Girl." Those records will never stop breaking my heart.
And let's not forget his work with The Box Tops. "The Letter" is one helluva 2-minute song.
And could there be a better Slim Harpo cover by a white guy than "Tee Ni Nee Ni Noo/Tip On In?"
@JR My 45 of "Sweet Cream Ladies" is one of my most prized possessions. "The Letter" is just the tip of the iceberg with that catalog.
I really don't know what to say. This is hitting me harder than I would've expected. We're listening to Big Star and Alex all day at Grimey's. We have a white label test pressing of "Sister Lovers" by "Alex & Jody" with all the info scrawled in pen by Jim Dickinson on the cover (details about it are discussed on page 161 of the Big Star book by Rob Jovanovic). It's priceless, it's not for sale and it's breaking our hearts. Come by to see it and pay tribute if you desire. Next up, the Big Star box.
Alex will be sorely missed by so many. Last night I was thinking about how many people were listening to his music all at the same time as they got the word and that was some comfort. He was immensely talented and a true iconoclast. He was an artist in every sense of the word.
If you're in your fifties and haven't been to the doctor in years, please go. That's one lesson we can learn here.
Rest In Peace, Alex Chilton.
I'm heartbroken. Alex Chilton has always been my Elvis. He will be very, very missed.
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."
I never travel far without a little Big Star.
To tell you the truth, I always heard it as "Children by the millions sleep with Alex Children when he comes round," which did strike me as kind of odd.
I feel incredibly lucky to have seen him last year in Brooklyn with Big Star.
This just came as such a shock.
Pete, you were the guy who first played Alex Chilton for me, back at McGill. I also remember hearing Feudalist Tarts for the first time at your place, maybe on Blair.
To tell you the truth, I always heard it as "Children by the millions sleep with Alex Children when he comes round," which did strike me as kind of odd.
That's OK. I went nuts over the years trying to figure out what Chilton was saying in "September Gurls": "I had no tush?" "I was so pushed?" "I did no putsch?" "I was your bush?" Then I looked up the actual lyric online, and it made even less sense to me. Proof of a rock truism: sometimes the most meaningful lyrics aren't meant to be understood.
Also, if you consider that another line in "Alex Chilton" is "If he was from Venus, would he feed us with a spoon?," you stop wondering so much about the "Children by the millions" line.
After Alex died I went back to the solo stuff, like "What's Your Sign Girl" from 1995. Such inspired re-constructions of such oddball material. I found the original press kit for "Radio City" with the lyric sheet, tucked away in a box-- Pink, the line in "September Gurls" is "I was your butch/And you were touched." I take it as your Butch--your bad little boy, maybe?
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