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Originally Posted by JackR
Thanks, all, for your thoughts… particularly Bruce, whose story made me feel I haven’t completely lost it. Chilton’s passion for the card is touching, especially since he apparently didn’t have a ton of money at the time. Plus, he was only 16 when he sang one of the greatest rock tunes of all time. Rock on, Alex!
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Hard to believe a skinny white boy sang lead on that one, huh?
Like most people, I spent the majority of my life only knowing "The Letter" and "Cry Like A Baby", and that the lead singer was just a kid when he sang those songs. His story, and the projects that he touched, are really worth learning more about if you're still mostly in the dark as I was until about 15 years ago.
Chilton is truly fascinating, and the band he started in the 70's, Big Star, was very storied. Great music, too! Chliton was big on quickly changing musical directions when he lost interest. Because he was so young when he achieved his first and greatest commercial success, he was still only in his 20's when punk came along and able to transition into that genre in a way that his older 1960's contemporaries could and would not. It didn't work out from a standpoint of financial achievement, but Chilton was definitely the embodiment of an artist.
Although he apparently came from money, it meant little to him. After a period of musical decline, he was working at a restaurant--not as a musician, but a restaurant worker. Thankfully, a rediscovery of Big Star helped him make a bit more money towards the end of his life. He hated playing those songs, as the bigger brainchild of the band was Chris Bell, who died tragically in a car accident (another member of the 27 Club). He made New Orleans his home, and lost a lot of the little he had in the wake of Katrina.
There are some wonderful documentaries on Chiton, Bell and Big Star available online. Highly recommended, especially if you love 60's & 70's music and are hoping to find something fresh, yet vintage!