Alex Chilton: Being a legend must be exhausting

by Eric Zappa
7.26.2001

“Children by the millions wait for Alex Chilton when he comes round… I’m in love with that song,” sings Paul Westerberg of The Replacements on “Alex Chilton”, a tribute to one of his musical heroes. Westerberg may have overstated things a little when he described Alex Chilton as having “millions” of followers, but the fans Chilton does have are some of the most influential people in the music business.

One of the most acclaimed musicians of the last 30 years, Chilton has always been a critic’s darling. At the tender age of 16 he formed The Box Tops, a Memphis based rock ‘n’ roll band with heavy R&B influences. The band’s first single “The Letter” hit the number one slot on the US charts in 1967. Critics raved about the band’s soul drenched sound. The Box Tops were even credited with influencing some of the most popular bands of the time including The Who, The Beatles, and The Rolling Stones.

Stax's #1 Record/Radio City reissue

After the break up of The Box Tops in 1970, Chilton formed Big Star. Big Star invented a new type of rock that focused on melody and vocal harmonies. Although they failed to have any chart or critical success in their time, the Power Pop sound Big Star created would have a long lasting effect on modern rock. The pop hooks and moody love songs would become the musical blueprint for everyone from R.E.M. and The Bangles to Teenage Fanclub and Elliott Smith. Rock critics would once again rave about Chilton and Big Star, but not until 10 years after their breakup. To this day Big Star’s Number #1 Record is found on many writer’s lists of the 20 greatest rock albums of all time.

Throughout his career Alex Chilton has always thumbed his nose at mainstream success. He has insisted on making music on his terms regardless of the tastes of the time. Despite a recent resurgence of interest in Big Star (due to a slew of CD re-issues), Chilton has not opted to go back to the Power Pop formula he helped perfect. Instead he has chosen to return to his Memphis roots by playing classic R&B and soul. His latest effort, Set, pays tribute to the songs Chilton loved as a teenager. He energetically bops through tunes like the Eddie Floyd hit “Never Found Me A Girl” and the more obscure Brenton Wood gem “Oogum Boogum”. Set was recorded all in one night, all live, mostly on the first take to capture the spontaneity Chilton lives for.

Big Star, Chilton is on the far right

Like Elvis Costello’s Kojak Variety or Paul McCartney’s Run Devil Run, this collection of tunes is at times a little self-indulgent and was probably a little more fun to record than it is to listen to. But that may be the point. Chilton does not care what people want to hear from him, he is content to kick back with some pals and jam out the songs he loves. This artistic integrity is certainly refreshing in our modern era of one hit wonders. This type of musical aloofness will only make music critics love Alex Chilton even more.