Sad news. Legendary pop singer Alex Chilton, who despite being critically revered, never quite cracked the big time, has passed away.
From
commercialappeal.com:
Alex Chilton, the pop hitmaker, cult icon and Memphis rock iconoclast best known as a member of 1960s pop-soul act the Box Tops and the 1970s power-pop act Big Star, died Wednesday at a hospital in New Orleans.The singer, songwriter and guitarist was 59.
“I’m crushed. We’re all just crushed,” said John Fry, owner of Memphis’ Ardent Studios and a longtime friend of Chilton’s. “This sudden death experience is never something that you’re prepared for. And yet it occurs.”
Chilton had been complaining about his health earlier Wednesday, Fry said. He was taken by paramedics from his home to the emergency room but could not be revived.
Starting his musical career in the '60s pop group the The Box Tops, Chilton was best known for his work as the band leader of Big Star. Initially greatly influenced by the likes of The Beatles, Beach Boys and The Byrds, Big Star would go on to introduce dark themes and traces of melancholy to their brand of power pop, and in doing so, became the forebearers of the early '90s "alternative" sound.
Such reverberations can be heard in the alternative artists who claim Chilton as an influence, as well as covering his songs. These include the likes of The Bangles, Wilco, Graham Coxon, Garbage, Son Volt, Counting Crows, Elliott Smith, Jeff Buckley, Cheap Trick, Superdrag, Evan Dando, Cat Power, Yo La Tengo, Placebo, and our very own, You Am I.