Alex Chilton RIP 2010

i think i want tav falco to deliver my eulogy.

The answers mean little, and the questions even less.

Some interesting comments and stories on Bob Leftsetz' e-mail thing (his story about Chilton is not as interesting). Producer Richard Robinson, singer Eric Carmen, and John Fry of Ardent Music, among others, all offer their thoughts. I think it gets posted eventually on his archive--http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/index.php/archives/

Lefsetz

Hm. His part is already there on the website, but nothing from Eric Carmen et al.

Cut and paste from Lefsetz e-mail:

From: Eric Carmen
Subject: Re: Re-Alex Chilton

I always liked Big Star, but never met Alex until the summer of 2005 when the Box Tops played on the same bill with the Raspberries in Denver and Chicago.

The Chicago show was an outdoor "rockfest" sort of deal, and I saw Alex walking around backstage (which meant outside the trailer/ dressing room). He looked like a rock'roll version of Tom Wolfe, dressed in a cream-colored linen suit as I approached him and introduced myself. We chatted for a few minutes until one of the backstage photographers saw the two of us together, and suddenly there were a bunch of photographers asking for a picture of Alex and me (two icons of power pop, etc.) Alex refused to do it, because he knew someone would sell the photo to a rock magazine and profit "in the crass, commercial, materialistic world," which he refused to be a part of. I thought that was pretty funny, but I wish I had the photo.

Eric

_________________________________________

My father, Si Siman, published "The Letter." It was written 100% by the incomparable Wayne Carson. In Springfield, Missouri that in years previous had battled Nashville for the country music capitol. That year ('67) Wayne had two #1's in two different formats. "The Letter" with the Boxtops and "Somebody Like Me" with Eddy Arnold. Not sure anyone else has done that...

It was my home's national anthem. We stood up and saluted when it came on the air. Put me through college ("Always on My Mind" through law school). Talk aboutshort, it has 30 seconds of jet airplane on the end. 1:26 of raw power.

Alex Chilton was an amazing singer. His voice will be missed. He was part of the Memphis music scene when it DOMINATED the charts. Chips Moman, Dan Penn, Spooner Oldham, American Studios, world class musicians (like Reggie Young and the Memphis horns), world class writers (like Mark James). It was a magical time for an impressionable kid.

Rest in peace.

_________________________________________

I engineered for Alex in the late 70s when he was in New York and it was a dark period for him. Heavy drug use, heroin apparantly.

But he had his vision, and he never acted like a rock star with a track record, just an artist doing his craft. I engineered Chris Stamey's record (which Alex produced) and several Alex songs (originals and covers) during that time. They were supposed to appear on ORK records but never did. Cassettes were made and some appeared here and there from the cassettes. The masters are still at the studio.

Alex was a lovable guy and was always polite. We talked about engineering and tech stuff. I loved his production methods. The songs he did included "Can't seem to make you mine" and "Shakin the World". There were others that I cant remember now.
Alex, RIP, you were great.

Cheers,

Richard Robinson

RIP Alex!

Another tribute here:

http://www.clashmusic.com/feature/alex-chilton-remembered

Guess it's too late for an NME tribute thesedays.

Unless Bobby Gill's prompting it.

man what an absolute bummer. dude was younger than my father, and based on a brief spotting of him in NOLA a couple of years back looked to be fairly healthy and in good spirits. i was really getting excited about an upcoming Big Star homecoming performance at the recently refurbished and storied Levitt Shell (WPA-built, site of Elvis' 1st paid concert, and of course the second side of Nobody Can Dance).

listened to the Beale Street Green bootleg this morning, which features a wild version of Baron of Love w/ Jim Dickinson on vocals -- hopefully those two are fucking things up in the afterlife ...

This is one of those musician deaths where, though I didn't know him personally, it very much feels like a friend dying.

:-(

― Cunga

This. Instant choke up when I heard about it.

Nice Chilton overview/memorial on Pfork today written by Joe T., with an unfuckwithable playlist to accompany:

http://pitchfork.com/features/articles/7779-the-life-and-music-of-alex-chilton

just saw that the link for the Chilton/Jody Stephens 1975 radio broadcast is still active, if anyone's interested. http://doomandgloomfromthetomb.tumblr.com/post/187210978/dusted-in-memphis-in-honor-of-yet-another
a very cool performance ...

^^
Radio City 'nearly as good' as #1 Record? Anyone else think that's fucked up?
I like the first one, but compared to the other two it's a very nice record in the company of works of genius.....or am I out on a limb here?

x-post -quote from P'fork piece

think it's just a matter of taste ... i like Radio City better, but I love #1 Record, too.

.....or am I out on a limb here?

Nope: Hey Hey Hey It's the Big Star #1 Record vs. Radio City Poll

The Billboard article on the SXSW tribute has a powerful memorial from his widow Laura:

Laura Chilton's complete statement:

"Even though Alex left this world way too soon, I feel so fortunate to have been his friend and wife. I would like to say a fewthings about his relationship with music and also speak of what he was about as a person. He was an individual who did what he pleased. However, he was also the most considerate and sincere person I've ever known. He loved life and people and usually befriended the underdogs. He saw beauty in what other people would just dismiss- old ricketyhouses about to fall down- he would say- "now that's a great house worth buying." He would spend 10 minutes chatting with ahomeless person on the street and always helped them out with some money. He was a good listener and was very compassionate. He was extremely generous- always giving time, energy and money to his friends with a no strings attached attitude.

There is one aspect to his personality that seemed to define how he approached and interpreted life and that is a consistenttendency to be absolutely clear in expression and communication. His mind worked analytically; he had a low tolerance level forvagueness and carelessness. His relationship with music was all about analysis. When listening and appreciating a piece of music,whether it be a Beach Boys tune or a Bach partita, he was able to pay attention to individual elements simultanously: harmony,rhythm, melody, meter, etc.

I believe this is why he loved working in the studio- producing records. He spoke a lot about John Frye teaching him how to do work in the studio and how he enjoyed playing around with the different elements. The one thing he was absolutely proud of was producing the Cramps records. He would play them at home and and just talk and talk about the experience. He was also quite proud of the Detroit garage band The Gories -- both his work with them and the band itself. He was very excited for them now that they are playing shows again.

At home in New Orleans Alex lived a simple and relaxed life. He watched a lot of TV while fooling around on the keyboard and guitar. We played music together- both classical and pop. He rode around town on his bike and loved to strike up conversation with whoever he came across. For the past few years, when I lived with him, he listened and played classical Baroque music, Scott Joplin rag tunes and 60's pop music. Names that often came up include the following: Carole King, Petula Clark, Brian Wilson, the Byrds, Frederic Knight, the band Free, George Frederic Handel, Georges Muffat, Haydn and the baroque performance group Musica Antiqua Koln. There are dozens more but these names come to mind as I'm writing this.

The final point I would like to draw attention to was he valued spontaneity. This would seem to contradict his insistence on analysis and accuracy but somehow he managed to be both at the same time. Honestly, this remains a mystery to me and is probably why he has been described as a genius and a musician's musician. I am only speculating on this but I am thinking it is probable. I will miss him forever and will honor him by maintaining and developing what I've learned from him: compassion, spontaneity, honesty, directness, generousity, an excellent listener and enthusiasm about what life has to offer. He had a blase attitude towards death- it didn't interest him. The same goes for sleep;,he just said the other day that he wished he could be awake 24/7- life was too interesting and he didn't want to waste it sleeping. I laughed at that but I knew he was serious.

On that note, I need to end this little essay and go take a nap- here's what Alex would say: "Night, sug."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGkECbnFTFU

:-)

hey so like dmr said, the college radio station we both worked for put on the first Big Star reunion show. I did a zine about it a long time ago and i've thrown it up online if y'all want to take a look

http://matchnumbereight.tumblr.com/

The one thing he was absolutely proud of was producing the Cramps records. He would play them at home and and just talk and talk about the experience.

Hero.

john davis (superdrag) wrote a nice sad song, which is up on their website. deliberately in a sister lovers mode, i guess. (he also wrote a little eulogy for chilton on magnet's website.)

roots punk performer, raconteur, ex-Panther Burns drummer Ross Johnson talks about Alex. recorded last fall but serves as a nice eulogy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmB-qRATuxA

I posted that big star/chilton bootleg over at doomandgloomfromthetomb.tumblr.com -- I see a link to it was posted elsewhere in this thread, but if you haven't gotten it, do it! Really essential stuff. the "surfer girl" cover is priceless.

I love that he was so proud of The Gories and Cramps records!
Has Poison Ivy been quoted anywhere in any of these tributes? Would be interesting to hear her take on him.

Y'know, for some reason I get bummed out a lot thinking about ol' Poison Ivy living without Lux. I hope she's doing OK.

lifted from Eggleston's Stranded in Canton

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-eVsH49_2U

Rock hard
Cripples
Rock hard

"My rival, I'm gonna stab him on arrival" cracks me up every time I hear it

dad a-- "take me home, walking dead and lovely day: Memphis 75..." etc

now where did you learn that? i'm not doubting you, i'm just looking for a source of information.

All info gleaned from the back cover of my copy, which clarifies that it's really "Dusted In Memphis (And Elsewhere)." This and the Big Star radio thing that Ryko eventually reissued were the first two bootlegs I ever bought.

"My rival, I'm gonna stab him on arrival" cracks me up every time I hear it

― famous for hating everything (Shakey Mo Collier), Tuesday, March 23, 2010 6:22 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

doesn't he then say he's going to shoot the guy, too.

"like flies on sherbet" is really unaccountably great. the title track and "my rival" are probably my faves.

i don't know any other folks chilton's age who seemed so at home with the postmodern ironies of post-new wave musical culture. in a weird way "like flies" seems roughly analogous to "mccartney ii," doesn't it?

sorry, "sherbeRt"

i guess it would figure that there wouldn't be a lot of crossover between the American Idol thread and the Alex Chilton thread, but this happened tonight

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8T2sVNAfr4

no real clear indication whether the guy was doing it as a deliberate Chilton tribute or it was just a coincidence, but i enjoyed it

Dating myself, but I liked it better when that guy was doing his Joe Cocker shtick than when he was doing Michael Bolton shtick.

Dating myself

Need to get out more.

Knew that was coming, and should have been able to predict where from.

Actually, now that I am more fully awake, I remember that Joe Cocker DID do a version of "The Letter" and that horn part is copped from his version.

just saw that the link for the Chilton/Jody Stephens 1975 radio broadcast is still active, if anyone's interested. http://doomandgloomfromthetomb.tumblr.com/post/187210978/dusted-in-memphis-in-honor-of-yet-another
a very cool performance ..

I remember reading how Jody Stephens song 'For You' aka 'Sometimes' was performed during this set, yet it doesn't appear on this bootleg. Has anyone ever had a copy of it? Sure I saw it on some bootlegs list online.

The one thing he was absolutely proud of was producing the Cramps records. He would play them at home and and just talk and talk about the experience.
Hero.

was going to pick this line out of the eulogy too. knowing how invested he was in those at the same time as digging on elgar and haydn is so satisfying. that his widow feels compelled to talk about what kind of listener he was and who he most enjoyed in an obituary is testament to where that stood in his day to day life.

-a local Memphis tv news feature on Chilton producing the Cramps.

haha!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQYhQuO458o

OMGGGGGOD

reporter name-checking the Klitz at the end is lol

yo tylerw thank u for posting Beale St Green, Shasta gave some linx upthread but they were all dead.

no prob -- it's a pretty killer collection. The Big Star rehearsals are crazy tight -- I'm honestly not sure how Chilton is playing guitar and singing at the same time on a lot of it. He really was an incredible player -- all kinds of crazy chording/lead/rhythm things going on. Bummed that I never got to see him live just to watch his hands!

lux pretty much indistinguishable from elvis in the interview segments. the clips with alex remind me of how bubblegum his speaking drawl was; i remember there's some big star acoustic thing where he plays thirteen and manages to stretch out 'anachronistic' to like ten syllables introducing it.

I am personally really psyched to hear the other Elektra demos, 'She Might Look My Way" is a lost pop gem (xp).

Some of this stuff is on the Beale Street Breakdown/Starcrossed boot I have, I guess I should put that up on my blog.

yeah, the elektra stuff is great -- though I can understand why it didn't result in him getting a record deal! pretty ramshackle.

Poison Ivy on Chilton from a 2006 interview

http://www.plan9music.com/Article/4499

9x: How did you run into Alex Chilton?
PI: Alex was dating this photographer who have photographed us a lot. For instance, she took the photo that was the front cover of GRAVEST HITS. We became friends and he'd seen us quite a few times, it turns out. He really dug us, and we dug him, but we didn't know each other prior to that, and he just said, 'How'd y'all like to go to Memphis?' and we were like, boing! 'Yep, we would.' I don't know if you know what a drive-away service is. When somebody needs their car taken from one city to another they give it to a drive-away service and waits until someone is going to be going that way. I don't know if people realize that people like us end up being the people driving their car. We slept on the floor of Alex's girlfriend, and even at Alex's parents' house. He got us in Ardent; he seemed to have some relationship with Ardent Studio, and Sam Phillips' studio, to where we could get cheap time or free time. He created a situation that was great. We tried to record in New York before, at Bell Studio, and it was just horrible. We didn't know what the producer was looking for. He'd have us do "TV Set," like, ten times. With Alex it was the opposite. He'd say, 'Aw, you're on a groove, man. Just keep playing,' so we just played our whole set, one song after another, without retakes. We learned a lot from that about the importance of keeping it loose. A lot of top recording artists never learn the importance of keeping loose in a studio. It is kind of a sacred event. It's going to last forever. Nick Knox barely knew us, and he even seemed somewhat frightened of us at the time which, if you knew Nick, is strange, because a lot of people are frightened of him. He's a frightening person. He didn't know us that well yet, and he had the guts to go down to Memphis with us. He'd never even seen us live before he played with us live, so that was interesting. That was quite an initiation. 9x: What was so frightening about Nick? PI: He was just dangerous, creepy, and sweet, with a crazy, sick sense of humor.

When somebody needs their car taken from one city to another they give it to a drive-away service and waits until someone is going to be going that way. I don't know if people realize that people like us end up being the people driving their car.

I bet they do...

listened to third all the way through last night

what a great album

kinda hard to hear now