A Word On Alex Chilton

I don't have a whole lot to say about Alex Chilton; I've never been the world's biggest Box Tops or Big Star fan, though I like both bands. "The Letter" was always a favorite cover of ours when Crimson Timebomb was together, and I have a rudimentary knowledge of Big Star's most well-known songs like "The Ballad of El Goodo," "Thirteen," and "September Gurls." It's impossible for any Memphis resident who loves classic rock to not know of Chilton or either of his bands, and anyone who loves the opening to "That 70's Show" has him to thank for the opening song, "In the Street." Still, other than that, I don't know much about him or his music. There are loads of people who can talk about him more eloquently and in far greater detail than I ever could.

I tend to compare him to two other Memphis music legends--Elvis Presley and Isaac Hayes. All three were huge influences on popular music, although Chilton was probably the least known of the three, settling into a legacy as a cult figure more than rock god. His influence is all over power pop and rock music since the seventies, much of which has been well documented by now. Even though I've listened to more Elvis than Big Star, and even though I've met and spoken to Isaac, I still feel closer to Alex Chilton.

I think it's because he was so young in his prime with the Box Tops and Big Star. He was a young rock star, about my age, from Memphis, and that's all he ever was. Elvis came from out of town, hit it big, and became a worldwide cultural figure who transcended the limits of just a rock star. Hayes was the same way, to a lesser extent, fulfilling multiple music roles in his prime at Stax and later becoming just as well-known as Chef on "South Park" to the younger generation.

Chilton wrote and played rock 'n roll music, that's all. He never achieved the fame of many of his peers, but he had a dedicated group of followers. More so than Isaac or Elvis, he let his feelings out in his music, from the innocent love songs ("Thirteen," "I'm In Love With A Girl") to the energetic rockers ("Don't Lie to Me," "You Get What You Deserve") to the angst and depression (pretty much all of the Third/Sister Lovers album). While Elvis didn't write most of his hits, and Hayes was a better musical arranger and composer, Chilton was the best lyricist of the three, and certainly among the greats of classic rock.

In a way, Chilton reminds me of Gram Parsons. Both were exceptional songwriters, neither were ever commercially successful, but they were both very influential to the development of rock music, as well as my own musical education. When Chilton died this week, amid all the Big Star I was listening to, I had random urges to listen to Parson's albums, G.P. and Grievous Angel, as well as the Flying Burrito Brothers. Incidentally, in a 1991 interview on NPR's "Fresh Air," Chilton stated that he was influenced by the Flying Burrito Brothers around the time he formed Big Star, so perhaps that has something to do with it.

I guess what makes this sad to me is that it's another chapter of Memphis' music history coming to an end, just as Isaac's death did a couple years ago. While Ardent Studios is still in business, and Stax has seen a resurgence in interest, the old identity of Memphis as an important music city continues to fade. It's another reminder of how much I wish I had grown up in the Sixties and Seventies to experience the musical culture of this city (although I'm sure my parents would argue otherwise).

In any case, it's a shame to have lost Alex Chilton so suddenly. He continued playing until the end, and would have played tonight with Big Star at the South by Southwest Festival, which will now be used as a star-studded tribute show in his honor. With any luck, though, his legacy will continue and the current generation will pick up his records and their guitars. Whether or not any of them make it big, whether or not they put Memphis back on the musical map, they'll be playing good rock music, and I think that's what Alex would have wanted.