For every success story in the history of rock music, there are an equal amount of flame outs and misses. To make it, you have to be talented but you also have to be more than a fair amount of lucky. If you’re lucky, you’ll have a long fruitful career making music for decades, but if you’re really lucky, your music will inspire countless artists to pick up an instrument, write a song, and have successful careers of their own.
Memphis power pop pioneers Big Star may not have been around for long — active only for three years between 1971 and 1974, and the original lineup played a grand total of seven shows — but their music changed the trajectory of rock music forever. The group's cult status began with their beloved cult classic #1 Record, which will be inducted into the GRAMMY Hall of Fame on May 16.
The quartet was founded by songwriters Chris Bell, who cut his teeth playing in bands inspired by the sounds of the British Invasion, and prodigy Alex Chilton (who had been playing music professionally with the Box Tops and was just 16 when their song "The Letter" became an international hit). Bell asked Chilton to join the band — which also included Andy Hummel (bass) and Jody Stephens (drums) — in 1970 and formed a Lennon/McCartney-esque partnership. Together, they would write and record #1 Record, the only album they would ever make together.
Big Star’s story is marred in tragedy; the group's run was cut short by a lousy record deal, artistic differences, and untimely death. Yet their debut release remains a touchstone and incredibly influential pop-rock release. #1 Record is an album of contrasts, where achingly beautiful ballads like "Thirteen," "The Ballad of El Goodo," and "Try Again" paired seamlessly with foot-stomping rockers like "When My Baby’s Beside Me," "Don’t Lie to Me," and "In the Street." At the heart of these songs is a youthful naivete; during a time when radio was dominated by the prog rock of Genesis and Yes or the arena-rock blues of Led Zeppelin or Cream, Big Star was still tapping into the flowery sound of the Byrds and the Beach Boys with doe-eyed reverence.
Bell, in particular, played an instrumental role in the '60s-indebted sound of #1 Record, adding a rich layer of harmonies and lush instrumentation to the aforementioned ballads as well as key album tracks "My Life is Right" and "Watch the Sunrise." (His production would be sorely missed on Big Star's following records.) After unsuccessfully launching a solo career, Bell — who also dealt with drug and alcohol issues as well as suicidal ideation — tragically died in a car accident in 1978 at age 27.
Big Star released two more albums in the seventies — 1974’s Radio City, 1978’s Third/Sister Lovers, and one reunion record in 2005 In Space, which only featured Chilton and Stephens — but they would never quite reach the heights of #1 Record. Hummel died of cancer in 2010, and Chilton died in 2011 after a fatal heart attack. The only remaining member of the original Big Star lineup is Stephens, who currently keeps the Big Star legacy alive by touring with the Big Star Quintet, whose members include Mike Mills (R.E.M.), Jon Auer (the Posies), Pat Sansone (Wilco), and Chris Stamey (The dB's), all of whom have made music indebted to Big Star’s.
Today, the songs on #1 Record shine as bright as a neon star in the darkness. While Big Star may not have lived up to their name, their songs have cemented their place in music history through the bands that followed them. For over 50 years, the relatable, youthful spirit and beautiful melodies have provided the blueprint for '80s/'90s college rock heroes R.E.M., the Replacements, Counting Crows, and Wilco. Big Star's DNA can be still be found in today’s modern power pop resurgent artists like Dazy, 2nd Grade, and Hurry. As Mike Mills of REM once put it: "They wrote incredible songs, got incredible sounds, and made incredible records." In short, they are your favorite band’s favorite band.
To celebrate #1 Record getting its rightful place in the GRAMMY Hall of Fame, take a look at songs from that record reimagined through the eyes of some of music’s most cherished artists
The Replacements – "Alex Chilton" (1987)
While not a cover of any song off #1 Record, the Replacements' "Alex Chilton" is a perfect example of the impact Big Star’s music had on young songwriters even a decade after that album’s release. Paul Westerberg once referred to Chilton as "the most talented triple threat musician out of Memphis." But Chilon was also a mentor and a friend to Westerberg and his band, having even produced a few songs for them during the making of their 1985 album Tim (although those versions didn’t make it on that album and were released later on the 2023 Let It Bleed box set).
"Alex Chilton" details an alternative universe in which millions of children would sing for Chilton and fall in love with his songs. "I never travel far without a little Big Star," Westerberg sings in the bridge, a sentiment echoed by his contemporaries (among them REM, Teenage Fanclub, Primal Scream, and the Posies).
Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit – "When My Baby’s Beside Me" (2009)
It says something about the strength of the songs on #1 Record that when Jason Isbell recorded his first album with his new band The 400 Unit, he included "When My Baby’s Beside Me." While Isbell would eventually be more renowned for his ballads like "Cover Me Up" and "If We Were Vampires," he and The 400 Unit let loose on "When My Baby’s Beside Me" — much like he used to with the Drive-By Truckers. While the song is less in his Americana/southern rock wheelhouse, power pop suits Isbell and The 400 Unit quite well.
Cheap Trick – "In the Street a.k.a. That 70’s Song"
If you were a fan of the Fox hit sitcom "That 70’s Show," then you’ll be very familiar with power pop pioneers Cheap Trick’s version of "In the Street," which was the theme song for most of the show’s eight seasons. Cheap Trick take a few liberties, adding new lyrics and a different arrangement to the tune, but they still remain true to Big Star’s rebellious youthful spirit at the heart of the song. Hello Wisconsin!
Juliana Hatfield – "Don’t Lie to Me" (2006)
Juliana Hatfield has been a college rock queen since the '80s, first with her band Blake Babies, then joining the Lemonheads for a brief stint before embarking on a fruitful solo career. Throughout, she’s been invited to contribute to tribute albums, even releasing a few of her own covering artists like the Police, Olivia Newton-John, and ELO. In 2006, she covered "Don’t Lie to Me" for Big Star Small World which also featured contributions from Gin Blossoms, Wilco, Afghan Whigs, and Teenage Fanclub.
In 2020, she told Lit Hub that she didn’t think much of the song itself, praising it only for being "so dumb and easy that her band could bang it out quickly." But therein lies the magic of the song, written at a time when prog rock was gaining popularity — sometimes you just need some straight up rock 'n' roll.
Counting Crows – "The Ballad of El Goodo" (2013)
The Counting Crows have always held an earnest passion within their music. Part of that is due to frontman Adam Duritz and the way he can soulfully paint a picture in every song he sings. Duritz has cited Big Star as one of his biggest influences. "Nothing affected me as much as Big Star," he told Consequence in 2021. "They were massively influential and they changed me as well."
It makes sense then that for their 2013 covers album Underwater Sunshine (or What We Did On Our Summer Vacation) the band chose "The Ballad of El Goodo," a defiant song about sticking to your beliefs. "And there ain't no one goin' to turn me 'round" Duritz sings with defiance in the song’s chorus, and as the song gently closes and the instruments fade, we are left with a simple plea: hold on.
The Big Star Quintet – "Watch the Sunrise" (2022)
When auditioning for the band that would become Big Star, "Watch the Sunrise" was one of the first songs Alex Chilton played for Chris Bell, Andy Hummel, and Jody Stephens. It was also the b-side to the "Thirteen" single. So it’s a little poetic then that Stephens — the only living original member of Big Star —continues to keep the song alive today touring with The Big Star Quintet. "This is a song the first time I ever played at CBGB’s with Alex we did it," Quintet member Chris Stamey says in the video above at a show in Ardmore Music Hall in Philadelphia in 2022, "and we never did it again. But it was a wonderful first time."
Bedouine, Hurray for the Riff Raff, & Waxahatchee – "Thirteen" (2020)
If there is one song that defines the wide-eyed, youthful ethos within #1 Record, it’s "Thirteen." It’s the sparsest track on the record, but it’s also the most poignant, as Chilton sings about a budding relationship over a gently strummed acoustic guitar. Everything about it is innocent: He’s just a kid in love hoping to receive that same love in return; he wants to win her over by walking her home from school and taking her to the dance; if only her dad would get off his back. "Won’t you be an outlaw for my love?" he asks. When you put it this way, how could anyone say no?
It’s easy to find oneself in the feeling of young love it captures, which might be why so many artists have covered the song themselves. If Big Star wanted to be the Beatles, then "Thirteen" is their "Yesterday." Most recently, Bedouine, Hurray for the Riff Raff, & Waxahatchee released a version in 2020 after fiddling around with it in a dressing room jam session on a tour stop in Columbia in 2018. It stays pretty true to the original, with the three artists taking a verse each.
Wilco’s version, first featured on the Big Star covers compilation Big Star Small World from 2006 and then again on their Alpha Mike Foxtrot: Rare Tracks 1994 – 2014 compilation, takes a dreamy, rootsy approach to the song. Elliott Smith’s cover from his 2007 posthumous compilation New Moon is intimate and bare, his voice just above a whisper in your ear, conveying the youthful nervousness within the lyrics. Finally, Rolling Stone once asked Alex Chilton what his favorite Big Star cover was, and he singled out Garbage’s 1998 cover of "Thirteen," which transforms the song with a trip-hop sheen and confident delivery from Shirley Manson. It completely flipped the script on Chilton’s original version, which may be why he liked it so much.