Big star
| Big star | |
|---|---|
 Alex Chilton 2004 |
|
| General information | |
| origin | Memphis , United States |
| Genre (s) | Power pop , pop rock |
| founding | 1971, 1993 |
| resolution | 1974, 2010 |
| Website | bigstarband.com |
| Founding members | |
| Alex Chilton † (1971–1974, 1993–2010) | |
| Chris Bell † (1971–1972) | |
| Andy Hummel † (1971–1973) | |
| Jody Stephens (1971-1974, 1993-2010) | |
| Last occupation | |
| Alex Chilton (1971–1974, 1993–2010) | |
| Jon Auer (1993-2010) | |
| Ken Stringfellow (1993-2010) | |
| Jody Stephens (1971-1974, 1993-2010) | |
| former members | |
| John Lightman (1974) | |
Big Star was an American rock band from Memphis , formed in 1971 , who mainly played power pop . Big Star acquired the reputation as a "cult band", which remained commercially unsuccessful in its heyday, but influenced numerous subsequent bands and musicians.
Band history
The band was formed in Memphis , Tennessee in 1971 by Chris Bell (guitar, vocals), Andy Hummel (bass), Jody Stephens (drums) and Alex Chilton (vocals, guitar). Chilton was previously singer with Box Tops and had a big hit with The Letter in 1967 , but left the band in 1970. Bell, Hummel and Stephens played together in the band Icewater before Big Star.
Songwriters Chilton and Bell were the creative minds behind the debut # 1 Record . The debut album was released in 1972. Since it was commercially unsuccessful, Bell left the group that same year to begin a solo career. He died in a car accident in 1978. The second album, Radio City, from 1974 was also only rarely sold. Hummel left the band and was briefly replaced by John Lightman. Chilton and Stephens recorded some songs for a double album with producer Jim Dickinson. Some guest musicians, including Steve Cropper , took part. After the recordings, Big Star broke up in 1974. The record company Stax Records declined the release due to low sales expectations. The third album was released in 1978 under the title 3rd or Third . In 1985 the record was reissued as Sister Lovers and re-released several times from 1992 under the title Third / Sister Lovers .
Only later was the band recognized in the professional world. The three albums # 1 Record , Radio City and Third were put on the list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time by the music magazine Rolling Stone . # 1 Record and Third were also included in the 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die . Chilton and Stephens met Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow at the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1993 for a reunion and toured. Some recordings have been published.
In early 2004 the band met to record new songs. In September 2005 the fourth studio album In Space was released. In 2006 the song I'm In Love With A Girl was used in a TV commercial for the Heineken brewery.
Alex Chilton died in March 2010 and Andy Hummel in July of the same year.
In 2012 the documentary Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me was released , which thematizes the history of the band.
influence
Big Star exerted some influence on numerous indie and alternative bands in the 1990s and 2000s. The Scottish band Teenage Fanclub in particular has repeatedly named Big Star as a formative influence. Other artists who have covered songs by Big Star are Elliott Smith , Garbage , Erlend Øye and Håkan Hellström ( Thirteen ), Evan Dando , the Counting Crows and Vanessa Paradis ( The Ballad of El Goodo ), His Name Is Alive ( Blue Moon ), This Mortal Coil ( Holocaust and Kangaroo ), Graham Coxon ( Nighttime ), Jeff Buckley and Beck ( Kangaroo ), The Bangles and The Replacements ( September Gurls ) and Nada Surf ( Blue Moon ). On May 23, 2006, Big Star, Small World , a tribute album was released , which included Gin Blossoms , Wilco , Afghan Whigs and Whiskeytown .
Discography
Studio albums
- 1972: # 1 Record ( Ardent Records / Stax Records )
- 1974: Radio City (Ardent / Stax)
- 1978: Third (PVC Records; republished as Third / Sister Lovers )
- 2005: In Space ( Rykodisc )
Live albums
- 1992: Live (Rykodisc)
- 1993: Columbia: Live at Missouri University (Zoo / Volcano)
- 1999: Nobody Can Dance (Norton)
- 2011: Live Tribute at the Levitt Shell (Ardent)
- 2014: Live In Memphis (Omnivore)
- 2018: Live at Lafayette's Music Room (Omnivore)
Compilations
- 1994: Biggest (Line Records)
- 1999: The Best Of (Big Beat Records)
- 2003: Big Star Story (Rykodisc)
- 2009: Keep an Eye on the Sky ( Rhino Records )
- 2013: Nothing Can Hurt Me: Original Soundtrack (Omnivore)
- 2016: Complete Third (Omnivore)
- 2017: Big Star Box Set (Burger Records)
- 2017: The Best of Big Star (Craft Recordings)
literature
- Rob Jovanovic: Big Star: The Story of Rock's Forgotten Band. Fourth Estate, London 2004. ISBN 978-0007149087
- Bruce Eaton: Big Star's "Radio City" (33 1/3). Continuum Inter. Publis. 2009. ISBN 978-0826428981
Individual evidence
- ↑ Dimery, Robert (ed.): 1001 albums - music that you should hear before life is over, 8th edition, Edition Olms Zurich 2015, p. 256.
- ↑ Ryan Dombal: RIP Big Star Bassist Andy Hummel , Pitchfork Media, July 20, 2010
