Alex Chilton (guitar, b. 1950 - 2010)While this blog is about jazz, ever once in a while you have to mention the music that is truly dear to you. This week the music world lost a legend. Alex Chilton's voice and lyrics were the light and soundtrack for generations. Alex Chilton was the founding member of not just one band influential band but two. He started his career in his teens with the late sixties outfit The Box Tops and in the seventies he formed Big Star.
Most people may not know Big Star but you know their songs and the influence. With them you may not get R.E.M., The Replacements, Wilco, Teenage Fanclub, Jeff Buckley and countless other mellow guitar bands. The band recorded 4 highly influential albums and have become the benchmark for the aforementioned bands and continues to be the blueprint on how it should be done. The songs "September Guurls" and "Kangaroo" have been cover by numerous musicians (Kangaroo by Buckley and This Mortal Coil famously in recent decades). I personally got into Big Star by a high school friend while hanging out at their house. He played the vinyl of #1 Album and from that point on I was hooked. Alex Chilton's and Chris Bells sweet melodies captured my childhood years as much as Chilton's solo work did for the rest of my life. Today is a sad sad day indeed. Love Live Big Star. Long Live Alex Chilton.