Big Star was an American rock and roll band of the early 1970s whose work is often cited as a prime example of power pop. Drawing upon pop music traditions — especially The Beatles, The Byrds, The Kinks, The Zombies, Badfinger, The Who, Todd Rundgren, Moby Grape, The Beach Boys and Free — Big Star's music was lyrical, powerful, and at times melancholic pop for the post-1960s generation. Their approach not only recalled the British Invasion groups but the spare, relaxed style of Stax Records, the Memphis soul label, as well as the edgy rockabilly of early Sun Records. In an era of singer-songwriters and heavy-metal groups, they played melodic, concisely written songs. Their reputation, negligible in 1974, has steadily grown, and they are today considered one of pop's classic groups. Rock and roll (also spelled Rock n Roll, especially in its first decade), also called rock, is a form of popular music, usually featuring vocals (often with vocal harmony), electric guitars and a strong back beat; other instruments, such as the saxophone, are common in some styles. ... The 1970s in its most obvious sense refers to the decade between 1970 and 1979. ... Power pop is a long-standing musical genre that draws its inspiration from 1960s British and American pop music. ... The Beatles were a British pop and rock group from Liverpool, England. ... The Byrds (formed in Los Angeles, California in 1964) were an American rock group. ... The Kinks are a British rock group. ... For the undead creature of Vodun lore, see zombie. ... Badfinger Badfinger was a rock & roll band formed in Swansea, Wales in 1965. ... The Who is a British rock band of 1960s and 1970s fame. ... Todd Rundgren (born June 22, 1948) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and record producer born in Upper Darby, a suburb of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. Rundgren began his career in Woodys Truck Stop, a locally popular Philadelphia electric blues band on the model of the Paul Butterfield Band, which... Moby Grape was a rock music group of the 1960s, formed by manager Matthew Katz (of Jefferson Airplane) in San Francisco. ... The Beach Boys are a pop music group formed in Hawthorne, California in 1961, whose popularity has lasted into the twenty-first century. ... Simon Kirke, Paul Kossoff, Andy Fraser, Paul Rodgers (photo: Lucy Piller) Free was a R&B-style rock band which formed in London in 1968 best known for their popular song All Right Now. Lead singer Paul Rodgers, went on to become lead singer of the rock band Bad Company... The 1960s in its most obvious sense refers to the decade between 1960 and 1969, but the expression has taken on a wider meaning over the past twenty years. ... Stax Records was a Memphis, Tennessee based record label that existed from 1959 to 1976. ... 1974 (MCMLXXIV) is a common year starting on Tuesday (click on link for calendar). ...

Early history

Big Star was formed in 1971 in Memphis, Tennessee, by guitarist/vocalist Chris Bell, bassist Andy Hummel, drummer Jody Stephens, and guitarist/vocalist Alex Chilton. All four at times contributed to the songwriting and lead vocals, with Chilton and Bell singing and writing the majority of the early songs as a team modelled after Lennon and McCartney's collaborative style. 1971 (MCMLXXI) is a common year starting on Friday (click for link to calendar). ... Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, of which it is the county seat. ... Chris Bell was a singer, songwriter and guitarist born on January 25, 1951 in Memphis, Tennessee. ... Alex Chilton, circa 1999 Photo: Aimeé Toledano Alex Chilton (born on December 28, 1950, in Memphis, Tennessee) is an American songwriter, guitarist, singer and producer best known for his work with the pop-music bands the Box Tops and Big Star. ...

Bell had previously worked on a couple of the songs in Big Star's early repertoire while in the groups Icewater and Rock City, whose personnel had also included Stephens, Terry Manning, Thomas Eubanks, Steve Rhea, Hummel, Vance Alexander, Richard Rosebrough, and eventually Chilton. Recordings from the late 1960s and early 1970s by these groups are included on the Rock City and Rockin' Memphis 1960's–1970's Vol. 1 albums released on Lucky Seven/Rounder Records in 2003. 2003 (MMIII) is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The Big Star group, named after a local Memphis grocery store, did not receive its final name until recording sessions by the lineup that included former Box Tops lead singer Alex Chilton were underway for Big Star's first album, #1 Record. This album was recorded by Ardent Studios head John Fry, with assistance from Terry Manning, who contributed occasional backing vocals and keyboards. #1 Record, was released in 1972, but the band's Ardent Records label encountered problems with its Stax and Columbia Records distributors, resulting in poor sales. The Box Tops were a United States pop music group of the late 1960s. ... Ardent Studios is the Memphis studio where albums released by Ardent Records and many other recording labels are recorded. ... 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year that started on a Saturday. ... Ardent Records was a Memphis-based record label of the early 1970s. ... For the record company, see Stax Records. ... Columbia Records is the oldest continually used brand name in recorded sound, dating back to 1888. ...

The distinctive photo for Radio City was taken by American color photographer William Eggleston

Bell, struggling with severe depression and disappointed by the album's lack of commercial success, left the group in 1972 to pursue a solo career. Big Star soon disbanded for a brief period, but then reformed and released Radio City (1974), an album featuring two of Big Star's more famous songs, "September Gurls" and "Back of a Car." Although uncredited, Bell contributed to the writing of a few of the album's songs, including "O My Soul" and "Back of a Car," according to Fry (quoted by Clark, 1992) and Hummel (quoted by Jovanovic, 2004). Radio City's original album cover was a color photograph, "The Red Ceiling," by noted photographer William Eggleston. In spite of critical acclaim, the album did not sell well; Hummel quit and was replaced by John Lightman for live concerts. Cover of the Big Star album Radio City. ... Cover of the Big Star album Radio City. ... Radio City is one of the more influential albums in the history of power pop music. ... Radio City is one of the more influential albums in the history of power pop music. ... 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... William Eggleston (born 1939) is an American photographer. ... John Lightman is a legendary bass guitar player in Memphis, Tennessee. ...

Chilton and Stephens recorded tracks with producer Jim Dickinson for a planned double album with an array of friends and guests including vocalist Lisa Aldridge, drummer Richard Rosebrough, Lee Baker of Mud Boy and the Neutrons, and Steve Cropper. Rosebrough had played on some of Chilton's post-Box Tops solo recordings in 1970 prior to Chilton's joining Big Star and also appeared on a couple of recordings on Radio City, including "Mod Lang," according to an interview with Hummel in Perfect Sound Forever. After finishing the recordings, Big Star again disbanded in late 1974. The album was finally released four years later, on the PVC label, as Third. Third (retitled Third/Sister Lovers for its 1992 CD release), combined a confessional approach with a distinct pop sensibility that recalled a variety of influences from the Left Banke to the Velvet Underground. Jim Dickinson is an American record producer, pianist and singer. ... Mud Boy and the Neutrons is a Memphis rock music band who influenced the Memphis alternative rock scene in the 1970s through the 1990s, inspiring groups like Tav Falcos Panther Burns, North Mississippi Allstars, Big Ass Truck, and others from the area. ... Steve Cropper (born October 21, 1941) is a guitarist, songwriter, producer, and soul musician. ... 1974 (MCMLXXIV) is a common year starting on Tuesday (click on link for calendar). ... Third, also known as Sister Lovers and Beale Street Green, is a rock album recorded by Memphis power pop group Big Star in 1974. ... 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ... Left Banke group photo The Left Banke was an American 1960s pop-music group which produced two hit singles, Walk Away Renee and Pretty Ballerina. Often utilizing so-called baroque string arrangements, the bands music is best viewed as an imaginative response to the work of The Beatles, The... The Velvet Underground and Nico (from left to right: John Cale, Nico, Lou Reed, Sterling Morrison, and Maureen Tucker) The Velvet Underground (Affectionately known as The Velvets, or V.U. for short) was an American rock and roll band of the late 1960s. ...

In the 1980s, critics began to cite Big Star's albums as among the finer recordings of the previous decade, and an important link between the classic guitar-pop of the '60s and the new-wave and alternative rock sounds of the '80s. Many alternative bands and artists of the '80s and '90s, including R.E.M., Teenage Fanclub, The Replacements, Primal Scream, Bill Lloyd and the dB's, cited Big Star as a major influence. The Bangles included a cover of "September Gurls" on their 1985 album Different Light and, most recently, Wilco has shown a strong Sister Lovers influence, especially in the album A Ghost Is Born. R.E.M. is a rock band formed in Athens, Georgia in early 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and vocalist Michael Stipe. ... Teenage Fanclub is a British pop-rock band from Glasgow, Scotland, founded in 1989. ... The Replacements (also known as The Mats or The Mats by fans) were a seminal alternative rock band from Minneapolis, Minnesota. ... Primal Scream. ... The dBs were a power pop group of the late 1970s and 1980s. ... The Bangles in a 1980s publicity photo; Debbi Peterson, Susanna Hoffs, Vicki Peterson, Michael Steele. ... Wilco Wilco is an American contemporary rock band, predominantly known for its country music roots. ...

Later history and reunion

Chilton and Stephens reunited in 1993 with Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow of the American pop band The Posies taking the place of Bell (who had died in a car crash in 1978) and Hummel (who had left music for an engineering career) at the University of Missouri (see KCOU). For an encore, the band performed Gene Chandler's "Duke of Earl," reflecting Chilton's marked, post-Big Star interest in early rock and roll. This appearance was followed by tours of Europe and Japan, as well as an appearance on The Tonight Show. Other Big Star releases include Columbia: Live at Missouri University 4/25/93, a recording of the first reunion show; Big Star Live, a 1974 radio broadcast from Long Island; and Nobody Can Dance, a recording of the last Big Star show, performed at Overton Park in Memphis. 1993 (MCMXCIII) is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ... The University of Missouri System is one of two public state university systems in the state of Missouri. ... College radio station at the University of Missouri-Columbia founded in a dorm broom closet in the 1970s (88. ... Gene Chandler, was born Eugene Dixon, July 6, 1937 in Chicago, Illinois. ... The Tonight Show is NBCs long-running late-night talk and variety show, currently hosted by Jay Leno in Burbank, CA (near Los Angeles). ...

Big Star was introduced to a new generation of fans when "In the Street" was selected as a representative song of the 1970s decade by the producers of the sitcom That '70s Show, who used it for the show's theme song in 1998. In 1999 Cheap Trick recorded a new version of the song, renamed "That '70s Song," for the show. "That '70s Song" and the original Big Star version of "September Gurls" were included in a 1999 album released by the television program's producers, That '70s Show Presents That '70s Album: Rockin'. A sitcom or situation comedy is a genre of comedy performance originally devised for radio but today typically found on television. ... That 70s Show is a Fox Network television sitcom centered around the lives of a group of teenagers living in the fictional town of Point Place, Wisconsin during the late 1970s. ... 1998(MCMXCVIII) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... 1999 (MCMXCIX) is a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... Cheap Trick is an American rock and roll band from Rockford, Illinois that gained popularity in the late 1970s. ...

The reunited Big Star returned to Ardent Studios in early 2004 to work on 'Big Star In Space.' With songs cowritten by Chilton, Stephens, Auer, and Stringfellow, the new album was released in on September 27 2005 on Rykodisc. 2005 (MMV) is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Rykodisc was one of the first CD-only record companies in the late 1980s. ...

Personnel

• Jon Auer — guitar, vocals (1993–current)
• Chris Bell — guitars, vocals (1971–1972)
• Alex Chilton — guitars, vocals (1971–current)
• Andy Hummel — bass, vocals (1971–1973)
• John Lightman — bass, vocals (1973–1975)
• Jody Stephens — drums, vocals (1971–current)
• Ken Stringfellow — bass, vocals (1993–current)

Chris Bell can refer to: Chris Bell (politician) Chris Bell (musician) This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Alex Chilton, circa 1999 Photo: Aimeé Toledano Alex Chilton (born on December 28, 1950, in Memphis, Tennessee) is an American songwriter, guitarist, singer and producer best known for his work with the pop-music bands the Box Tops and Big Star. ... John Lightman is a legendary bass guitar player in Memphis, Tennessee. ... Ken Stringfellow is an American musician, best known for his work with the Posies, and recently R.E.M. and the re-formed Big Star alongside fellow Posie Jon Auer. ...

References

• Ankeny, Jason. "Big Star Biography." Accessed Apr. 28, 2005.
• Auer, Jon (April 11, 2005). "New Posies and Big Star release...?" Big Star Book. Accessed Apr. 28, 2005.
• Boldman, Gina. That '70s Show Presents That '70s Album: Rockin' review." Allmusic.com. Accessed Jun. 20, 2005.
• "Box Tops Biographies." Box Tops Official website. Accessed Jun. 19, 2005.
• Clark, Rick (1992). "Liner notes." Big Star: #1 Record/Radio City double cd. Memphis: Ardent Records.
• Gordon, Robert (1995). It Came From Memphis. New York: Pocket Books. ISBN 0-7434-1045-9.
• Gross, Jason (July 2001). "Big Star — Andy Hummel." Perfect Sound Forever. Accessed Jun. 19, 2005.
• "The Jokers." Box Tops Official website. Accessed Jun. 19, 2005.
• Jovanovic, Rob (2004). Big Star: The Story of Rock's Forgotten Band. London: Fourth Estate. ISBN 0-00-714908-5.
• "The Jynx." Box Tops official website. Accessed Jun. 19, 2005.
• Manning, Terry. "Liner notes." Rock City. Nassau: Lucky Seven Records.
• Ritchie, Paul (April 1996). "Alex Chilton: Live in Glasgow." Ready Steady Go! Accessed May 12, 2005.
• Ritchie, Paul (August 5, 1998). "Teenage Fanclub." Ready Steady Go!. Accessed May 12, 2005.
• "Rock City and Rockin' Memphis album descriptions." Lucky Seven Records website. Accessed Jun. 30, 2005.
• Rosen, Craig (August 16, 1999). "Cheap Trick Does Big Star For 'That '70s Show.'" Cheap Trick News on Yahoo! Music. Accessed May 12, 2005.
• Stern, Theresa (December 22, 1996). "Interview: Jody Stephens." Perfect Sound Forever. Accessed Jun. 19, 2005.

April 11 is the 101st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (102nd in leap years). ... 2005 (MMV) is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see Nassau (disambiguation). ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) is a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... August 5 is the 217th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (218th in leap years), with 148 days remaining. ... 1998(MCMXCVIII) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... August 16 is the 228th day of the year (229th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1999 (MCMXCIX) is a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... December 22 is the 356th day of the year (357th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) is a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ...

External links

• Big Star Book
• Big Star Page at Harmonē
• Big Star Reference Pages
• The Official Big Star Homepage
• The Unofficial Big Star Homepage
• Judith Beeman's Back of a Car Big Star zine site
• Jeff the Joker's Alex Chilton, Big Star & the Box Tops: Interviews & Reviews