Singer-guitarist Alex Chilton, who made a name for himself as a member of the Box Tops and Big Star, and later as a solo artist, died Wednesday at a New Orleans Hospital, reports The Commercial Appeal. He was 59. Chilton found fame at the age of 16 as the singer of the ‘60s pop-soul band the Box Tops, who scored a No. 1 hit with “The Letter.” Following the dissolution of the Box Tops in 1970, Chilton would go on to form the Memphis-based Big Star with Jody Stephens, Chris Bell, and Andy Hummel. Although their albums— #1 Record, Radio City, and Third/Sisters Lovers—never achieved great commercial success, the band was influential to fellow musicians and ultimately recognized as a power-pop pioneer. (The Replacements paid tribute to Chilton on Pleased to Meet Me with the song “Alex Chilton,” and That ’70s Show used a cover of Big Star’s “In The Street” as its theme song.) Chilton embarked on a solo career in the mid-70s that produced albums including Like Flies on Sherbert and High Priest, and reunited with his Big Star bandmates in the ‘90s. The band was scheduled to play Saturday night at South by Southwest.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpwOYiL_zRg&feature=player_embedded

:rip: Alex Chilton

:rip:

So sad. I loved the Boxtops music. Another singer gone to heaven.