Alex Chilton R.I.P.

So shocked.

 

Sometimes some things really do make you proud of one's government and the way it can operate.

That was lovely and heartfelt and wholly appropriate.

Thanks for posting.

L.

 

R.I.P. Alex Chilton.

 

Very sad... thankful I got to see Alex perform live solo, with the reformed Big Star for a one off college radio promo show for a few hundred people, and with the original Box Tops...

 

A fitting tribute. As I watch that it makes me realize that Alex Chilton was an artist for the ages -- not just the new "alternative" age. He music transcends time and space.

The only sad thing is that his greatness never resulted in an equivalent amount of fame. I suspect that was OK w/him, because, as the congressman said, he did his work on his terms. There is a unique purity to his music. Because of that his songs will stand the test of time, all the more cherished because his creativity now exists in the past tense.

 

This was GREAT - posted on Allmusic.com:

 

Wahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

 

Very cool. With all the problems in our government it's nice to see that..

 

Wow. That was unexpected, but amazing.

 

RIP Alex Chilton.

 

"In my opinion, Alex was the most talented triple threat musician out of Memphis — and that's saying a ton," Paul Westerberg, the former Replacements frontman, said in an e-mail to The Associated Press. "His versatility at soulful singing, pop rock songwriting, master of the folk idiom, and his delving into the avant garde, goes without equal. He was also a hell of a guitar player and a great guy."

 

59 is no age to die. (scares me because I'm not much younger)

Add one more BIG STAR to that helluva band in that rock and roll heaven. And one less for us.

 

RIP! What a loss!

 

Way too young. May he rest in peace.

 

This is so sad, he was still performing and too young to die as are so many.

 

Oh no, I heard about his passing late today. Very, Very sad news.... this is hitting me hard.

One more hand at the great mixing board in the sky.

 

"Children by the millions..."

cry for Alex Chilton.

His songs have had a profound effect on my life.

 

I'll miss Alex, but I'll also regret that in the past 17 years Big Star never played locally during the time I've lived in 5 major markets. I had a few friends that helped organize the '93 show at my Mizzou after I graduated from there but I couldn't travel back to Columbia that day due to other commitments. It's one of the few regrets I tend to harbor.

One thing that always struck my as unique about Alex is that he had a great identifiable voice with the Box Tops that to me is unrecognizable from his great identifiable voice with Big Star. It's not like he was a chameleon, but rather transformed from a great soul singer in his teens to a great power pop singer in his 20s. His Box Tops voice sounded more mature and seasoned, but his Big Star voice hit a new emotional peak.

BTW, I got a call last night from a friend who broke the news on my way to see a St. Pats show w/ local cover band Geezer (dressed as old men doing Weezer covers) playing the Green album. They shouted out a tribute to Alex which was nice.

 

I was floored last night when I heard about it. Was at a bar with a bunch of fellow musicians....after they played their set, I told them....it was as if I told them their best friend had died. We played "Alex Chilton" on the jukebox in his memory.

I respect the work of Big Star....I am in the minority of HUGE Box Tops fans, though. Have everything they ever did, and I love just about all of it. He was a major force in the later years of that group and, along with Bill Cunningham, brought the Box Tops into some serious music cred with the Dimensions and Non-Stop albums.

Cheers, Alex.

 

shocked to see a piece on the NBC nightly news tonight (right before an obit on the guy who played Davey Crockett), mentioning Big Star....!

 

Beautiful.

 

"Name a star after someone!" the radio ad says.

They should name one Alex Chilton

R.I.P.

 

The congressman delivering this tribute to Alex, Steve Cohen, once represented Albert King in a gambling charge (King was acquitted) and was a good friend of Warren Zevon's and delivered his eulogy.

 

While I have had and loved the first two Big Star albums since their initial release, and 3rd since the 80's PVC vinyl reissue, I have never listened to this band as deeply as in the last three months with the Rhino box. The depth of emotion and playing is unsurpassed. It is amazing just how good this band was.

Not long ago, after listening to the third disk of the Big Star box set, the final track being a demo of Alex singing "Nature Boy" with piano accompaniement, without thinking about it and not realizing what was coming, I followed up with the fourth disk of "The Debut Records Story" which begins with "Nature Boy" played by Miles Davis & Charles Mingus. What a great unintentional juxtaposition.