Most of us do not know the name Alex Chilton. We do know the voice however. Alex Chilton at the age of 16 sang " Gimme a ticket for an aeroplane, ain't got time to take a fast train." The Letter is a song we all know from that era and well beyond. For whatever reason however Chilton even at that age was not happy being a successful, " conventional singer" and so when he formed the bang Big Star he became one of those artists who was more influential than he was successful.
Bands from the Replacements to REM placed Chilton as a huge influence on their careers. Big Star had very modest success but their music was gifted, in fact the first two albums are currently on my to buy VERY SOON list on Amazon.
Alex Chilton lived to be 59 but his decision in his teens to step away from success made him like that eccentric person we all know. One who has more talent that we ever will have but chose to express it in ways that only he was comfortable with. One thing I do know is that he does not have to compromise now. I suspect his voice now sings what he wants when he wants.
Rest in Peace Alex Chilton.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment