Alex Chilton, Big Star, and Musical Immortality

Alex Chilton isn't a household name. Even if you don't know who he is, though, you probably know at least a few of his songs.

Alex Chilton isn't a household name.

Even if you don't know who he is, though, you probably know at least a few of his songs. If these opening lines sound familiar – "Gimme a ticket for an aeroplane, ain't got time to take a fast train" – then you've heard Chilton, singing "The Letter" with the Box Tops in the 1960s. And anyone who's ever watched That '70s Show has heard Cheap Trick cover "In the Street" during the show's opening credits.

A chart-topper when he was just 16, the Memphis native got his start singing lead for the Box Tops, though he wrote few of their songs and was backed by session musicians. Within a few years of leaving that band, he learned to play guitar, formed Big Star and subsequently wrote and recorded three records that drew critical acclaim but were largely ignored by the public. It was an incredibly dejecting experience for someone who’d dreamt of fame. A solo career rose from the ashes of Big Star, one in which Chilton constantly reinvented himself, playing everything from punk to R&B to old standards. As his sound changed, so too did his ethos; where once he’d courted fame, he now seemed happiest simply playing whatever music he was into at the moment.

My own discovery of Big Star began in 1993, when I had Blood by This Mortal Coil on heavy rotation on my Discman. Made up of a mix of covers and original material, the album includes a haunting song called "I Am the Cosmos." No, it's not a Big Star song. It's by Chris Bell, Chilton's sometime Big Star bandmate, recorded after he left the band. But I didn't know that at the time – I just loved hitting the back button to hear the song again. Later, I was browsing used CDs at a record store and came upon one called I Am the Cosmos by Chris Bell. I knew nothing about Bell, but I knew it had to include the same song I liked on Blood, so I bought the disc. Further record store browsing brought me to the reissue of Big Star's first two albums, packaged together on one CD as #1 Record/Radio City. A glance at the personnel list revealed two surprises. Chris Bell – hey, I love that record of his! And Alex Chilton – the guy the Replacements sang about? I was intrigued, so I bought it, listened, and fell in love. Most people who listen to Big Star end up falling in love.

Among my circle of friends, I’ve found that most fans of Chilton and Big Star have a story to tell about how they found out about his music and how it impacted them. Some heard the Replacements song "Alex Chilton," which imagines a world in which Chilton is a Beatles-level superstar, and wanted to learn more. Others heard covers of Big Star's songs – "September Gurls" by the Bangles, "Thirteen" by Wilco – and sought out the original versions.

Written by Linnea Crowther. Find her on Google+.