Alex Chilton, CBGB, 1977
Photo: Godlis ©
Alex Chilton fans are probably familiar with these stories, but I wanted to collect them in one place. They address what I call his “missing years,” a 20-year span bookended by Big Star‘s dissolution in the mid-’70s and their re-emergence as indie gods in the mid-’90s.
Those two decades are critical in understanding Chilton’s iconoclasm, a trip that takes us from Memphis to New York to New Orleans, and includes a wondrous detour through my beloved Tuscaloosa, Alabama. It says a lot about Chilton’s legacy that the comments section for each of these stories are as good as the articles themselves. The man left a mark, no doubt.
Incidentally, all the pictures of Alex (1 above, 2 below) were taken by famed NYC street photographer, Godlis. You can link to his website by clicking on his name, but I also recommend visiting his blog, Diary of a Lunatic Photographer. Great stuff.
Alex Chilton: 1975-1981
By David Gendelman, Crawdaddy
“After recording the third Big Star record in 1974, Chilton would spend the next seven years searching for and then fine-tuning his artistic vision. He would find it an aesthetic of raw spirit and destruction that made for great rock ‘n’ roll and left a number of casualties along the way, including, for a time, Chilton himself.”
Alex Chilton’s life in New Orleans was a mystery, and that’s how the Big Star singer wanted it
Keith Spera, New Orleans Times-Picayune
“By 1982, Chilton had soured on the music business in general, and his native Memphis in particular. Struggles with substance abuse didn’t help. Hoping a change of scenery would reinforce his decision to quit drinking, he resolved to start over in New Orleans.”
Classic. Only Alex Chilton moves TO New Orleans to quit drinking. It’s like moving to Texas to get away from the heat.
Getting High With Alex Chilton In Tuscaloosa, 1986-1990: An Oral History
Via Deadspin
“In the late ’80s, after the Box Tops and Big Star, but before the Box Tops and Big Star reunions would put enough money in his pocket to make fraternity parties a thing of his past, Alex would pass through town three, four, maybe five times in a year. In Tuscaloosa at least, Alex Chilton was revered, despite, or maybe due to, a mercurial nature that seemed to tip-toe between mischievous and merciless; people felt honored just to buy him weed.”
Apparently, the Tide wasn’t the only thing rolling in T-Town.
FYI, originally this post included some info on my Clarence White series, which is why “revisiting-clarence-white” is in the URL. But, since the series has finished, that whole spiel seemed superfluous. So, no CW material, but the URL was grandfathered in the redesign.
i was writing for Wavelength Magazine in New Orleans in the mid-80's and spent half a day in Alex Chilton's backyard waiting for an interview that never happened.
I did get 2 minutes during a carrot juice break on the MTV Cutting Edge shoot in '86. At the time I had a band and a song my college radio station played called “Jefferson Avenue”.
ME Have you heard any cover versions of of your songs that you've liked?
ALEX No. To tell the truth I haven't. But I haven't heard the Bangles song yet (“September Gurls”)
ME What new bands and new records do you like?
ALEX I don't know. When I want to hear some music I play my guitar. I did some stuff with the Replacements
ME Were you surprised when “The Letter” became a hit?
ALEX No. I think everyone thinks their song's gonna be a hit
ME Yeah I think “Jefferson Avenue” will be a smash hit. Don't you?
ALEX This carrot juice sucks
-St George Bryan
The recent Chilton biography documents this period well. He was truly AWOL from the music biz from Jan 1982 when he moved to New Orleans to the summer of 1984, when he started playing music full time again.
But he toured his rump off from 1985 to 1989, and not just by hopping between frat houses. You can download several concerts and club gigs broadcast on the radio from this period, including shows in Rotterdam, Munich, Bremen, Dornbirn, and Baton Rouge. He was getting his albums and EPs reviewed in Rolling Stone and other music magazines.
For a guy who didn’t like to try too hard or play the music biz game, or even play original material (at this point in his career), he was surprisingly visible and productive from 1985 to 1993, when he decided to reform Big Star. I’m amazed he was able get so much work during a period when 1.) Big Star records were long out of print and probably owned by just a few thousand aging 70’s-era hipsters, and 2.) his own new recordings were completely out of step with the 1980s new wave and alternative rock scenes.
I wish he’d cut one or two more solo records in the final decade of his life. “Set” / “Loose Shoes” from 1999 was a bad note to go out on, but he put his unique stamp on many great tunes that never got a studio recording. He wasn’t exactly missing from 2000 to 2010, but for me this is a lost decade as far as his discography goes.
Thanks for writing, Nigel, and apologies for taking so long to approve. I normally get an email alert when someone comments, but alas, that did not happen. I appreciate your recontextualizing of Chilton’s post-’70s career. He’s an interesting cat, to be sure. So many people love Big Star and his more R&B-flavored work that many of the songs and albums that didn’t bear that obvious stamp have gotten swept under the rug. As for the Chilton bio, I need to read that. Can’t believe I haven’t done so yet.