RIP Alex Chilton

Awesome. If I ever move to Memphis, you've got my vote, Congressman.

 

Found a link: http://www.myspace.com/jasonisbellmusic

 

He was 16. Same as Greg Munford, the guy who sang lead on "Incense and Peppermints" that same year.

RIP.

 

Chilton said his voice was engineered beyond recognition in the Box Tops hits, so that's perhaps why he sounds older.

 

That would be disputed here:

 

Interesting, I've he was told to sing that way, and it was no way near his normal voice. But it was his singing.

 

It was. That's explained in the youtube clip. I'm guessing that today there are enough electronic tricks available to change a three-year-old girl's voice to something like Ozzy Osbourne. But in 1967, when the Box Tops were recording, the two basic tools would have been compression and reverb, neither of which would have radically changed the timbre of the voice.

 

Aside from the Tim demo of "Can't Hardly Wait," that's my favorite 'Rents song.

 

Great clip.

Funny how they pointed out at the end of the clip that the song itself isn't as long as the clip - only one minute and 55 seconds.

I believe that, with the exception of "Stay" by Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs, it's the shortest song ever to go to number one.

Also a cool story about how the band got its name.

 

Good read for Chilton fans. From Deadspin, of all places...

http://deadspin.com/5507622/getting-high-with-alex-chilton-in-tuscaloosa-1986+1990-an-oral-history

 

Been listening to a Big Star tribute album as my way of remembering.

More than a 10 years old, it was hung up by legal trouble (?) and didn't get released until just a few years ago.

Found it at one my favorite record stores, a little joint in Kansas City, back when people still bought albums and such.

The album is rock solid, but has some really exceptional tracks. One by Whiskeytown, and another by Wilco. Ryan Adams and Jeff Tweedy just seem made to cover some Big Star.

Also a little props to How I met Your Mother, the show that used a Big Star song, 13, for one memorable montage. Of course it was discussed here, I think by mostly me and DoubleDown, if it was Big Star or the Wilco cover.

 

Just as a sad update, Chilton might have died because of a lack of health insurance.

http://www.avclub.com/articles/alex-chilton-didnt-seek-medical-attention-because,39979/

The Times Pic feature is here and a fantastic piece.

http://www.nola.com/music/index.ssf/2010/04/post_7.html