Alex Chilton Dies

Alex Chilton, singer and guitarist of Big Star, one of the most influential rock groups to emerge from the early 1970s, has died at the age of 59. Chilton  suffered a heart attack today in New Orleans.

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’s influence far outstripped his mainstream popularity.  There’s a fair chance that even if you dont have an intimate knowledge of Chiltons music a lot of your favorite bands do.

For guitar bands of every generation since Big Star that band came to be of almost mythical importance. Whether it be The Posies or Even or The Replacements or Ice Cream Hands,  anywhere there was  jaggling guitars, sublime pop melodies and the wide eyed belief in the power of rock n’ roll to see life in a quirky, innocent and yet knowing way there is a fair chance there was a Big Star fan lurking.

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.

Described by Rolling Stone as “Blending power pop with the sound of the Beatles and the Beach Boys, Big Star were critically acclaimed but largely ignored commercially.”

Big Star only released three studio albums 1972’s #1 Record, 1974’s Radio City and 1978’s Third/Sister Lovers. Bell left the band after #1 Record, Hummel after Radio City but all three albums  featured 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.

R.E.M. and the Replacements have both named Big Star and Alex Chilton as major influences, and the Replacements’ Pleased to Meet Me features a song titled “Alex Chilton” which served to introduce his name and subsequently his music to new audiences.

Chilton became a cult musical icon, and artists as diverse as Beck, Wilco, Elliott Smith, Cheap Trick, Jeff Buckley, Garbage,the Bangles 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.

Last year, a box set of Big Star’s entire catalogue, Keep An Eye On The Sky was released.

Chilton said in a 1987 interview with The Associated Press that he didn’t mind flying under the radar with Big Star and later as a solo artist.

“What would be ideal would be to make a ton of money and have nobody know about you,” he said. “Fame has a lot of baggage to carry around. I wouldn’t want to be like Bruce Springsteen. I don’t need that much money and wouldn’t want to have 20 bodyguards following me.”

“If I did become really popular, the critics probably wouldn’t like me all that much,” he said. “They like to root for the underdog.”

Chilton had been scheduled to perform with Big Star at the South by Southwest music festival in Austin, Texas. That performance went ahead as a tribute to Chilton with members of Big Star including Andy Hummel being joined by the likes of Mike Mills and Chuck Prophet

“Alex Chilton always messed with your head, charming and amazing you while doing so. His gift for melody was second to none, yet he frequently seemed in disdain of that gift,” the festival’s creative director, Brent Gulke, said in an e-mail.

Chilton also discussed his status as a “cult artist with Rolling Stone in 2000, making reference to the irony of the name of his best known band.

“It’s not like I’m a ‘big star’ constantly getting noticed, but I do get recognized, What’s nice is that the people in my neighborhood just know me as Alex. It’s funny, because I spent so much of my life moving from place to place and I went through a few dark periods, but in the last few years I’ve kind of settled down.”

Chilton is survived by his wife Laura and son Timothy.

Laura made her feelings known via a statement read at the Chilton tribute performance at SXSW last Saturday as read by publicist Heather West.

Even though Alex left this world way too soon, I feel so fortunate to have been his friend and wife. I would like to say a few things about his relationship with music and also speak of what he was about as a person. He was an individual who did what he pleased. However, he was also the most considerate and sincere person I’ve ever known. He loved life and people and usually befriended the underdogs. He saw beautyin what other people would just dismiss; old rickety-houses about to fall down- he would say, “now that’s a great house worth buying.” He would spend 10 minutes chatting with a homeless person on the street and always helped them out with some money. He was a good listener and was very compassionate. He was extremely generous, always giving time, energy and money to his friends with a no strings attached attitude.

There is one aspect to his personality that seemed to define how he approached and interpreted life and that is a consistent tendency to be absolutely clear in expression and communication. His mind worked analytically; he had a low tolerance level for vagueness and carelessness. His relationship with music was all about analysis. When listening and appreciating a piece of music, whether it be a Beach Boys tune or a Bach partita, he was able to pay attention to individual elements simultaneously; harmony, rhythm, melody, meter, etc.

I believe this is why he loved working in the studio producing records. He spoke a lot about John Fry (Founder of Ardent Studios) teaching him how to do work in the studio and how he enjoyed playing around with the different elements. The one thing he was absolutely proud of was producing The Cramps records. He would play them at home and just talk and talk about the experience. He was also quite proud of the Detroit garage band The Gories, both his work with them and the band itself. He was very excited for them now that they are playing shows again.

At home in New Orleans Alex lived a simple and relaxed life. He watched a lot of TV while fooling around on the keyboard and guitar. We played music together, both classical and pop. He rode around town on his bike and loved to strike up conversation with whoever he came across. For the past few years, when I lived with him, he listened and played classical Baroque music, Scott Joplin rag tunes and ’60s pop music. Names that often came up include the following: Carole King, Petula Clark, Brian Wilson, The Byrds, Frederick Knight, the band Free, George Frideric Handel, Georges Muffat, Haydn and the baroque performance group Musica Antiqua Koln. There are dozens more but these names come to mind as I’m writing this.

The final point I would like to draw attention to his valued spontaneity. This would seem to contradict his insistence on analysis and accuracy but somehow he managed to be both at the same time. Honestly, this remains a mystery to me and is probably why he has been described as a genius and a musician’s musician. I am only speculating on this but I am thinking it is probable. I will miss him forever and will honor him by maintaining and developing what I’ve learned from him: compassion, spontaneity, honesty, directness, generosity an excellent listener and enthusiasm about what life has to offer. He had a blase attitude towards death, it didn’t interest him. The same goes for sleep, he just said the other day that he wished he could be awake 24/7, life was too interesting and he didn’t want to waste it sleeping. I laughed at that but I knew he was serious.