Big Star
Wikimp3 information about the music of Big Star. On our website we have 54 albums and 53 collections of artist Big Star. You can find useful information and download songs of this artist. We also know that Big Star represents Rock genres.
Biography
[Edit]The quintessential American power pop band, Big Star remains one of the most mythic and influential cult acts in all of rock & roll. Originally led by the singing and songwriting duo of Alex Chilton and Chris Bell, the Memphis-based group fused the strongest elements of the British Invasion era — the melodic invention of the Beatles, the whiplash guitars of the Who, and the radiant harmonies of the Byrds — into a ramshackle but poignantly beautiful sound which recaptured the spirit of pop's past even as it pointed the way toward the music's future. Although creative tensions, haphazard distribution, and marketplace indifference conspired to ensure Big Star's brief existence and commercial failure, the group's three studio albums nevertheless remain unqualified classics, and their impact on subsequent generations of indie bands on both sides of the Atlantic is surpassed only by that of the Velvet Underground.
The roots of Big Star lie in the group Icewater (also known as Rock City), formed in 1971 by singer/guitarist Bell in association with guitarist Steve Ray, bassist Andy Hummel, and drummer Jody Stephens. Ray left the group a short time after its inception and was soon replaced by Chilton, the one-time Box Tops vocalist who was just 16 years old when the group topped the pop charts with their 1967 classic, "The Letter." Chilton had recently returned to Memphis after attempting to mount a solo career in New York City; he first played with Bell years earlier in a high school cover band, and with his arrival, Icewater rechristened itself Big Star, borrowing the name from a local supermarket chain. Recording soon commenced at the local Ardent Studios, where Bell occasionally worked as an engineer and session guitarist; despite solid critical notice and some radio airplay, their brilliant 1972 debut, #1 Record, nevertheless fell prey to the distribution problems of the newly formed Ardent label's parent company Stax — more often than not, the album simply never made its way to retailers.
In the meantime, Bell and Chilton continued to butt heads over Big Star's direction — the former envisioned a primarily studio-oriented project, while the latter preferred performing live; moreover, Chilton's past success in the Box Tops guaranteed him the lion's share of attention from listeners and critics, minimizing Bell's own contributions in the process. In late 1972, Bell finally left the band — his subsequent attempts to mount a solo career proved largely fruitless, with only a spectacular solo single, "I Am the Cosmos," receiving official release prior to his untimely death in a 1978 car crash. (A posthumous solo compilation, also titled I Am the Cosmos, was finally issued to unanimous critical acclaim in 1992.) Following Bell's exit, Big Star briefly struggled on as a three-piece before disbanding, with Chilton returning to his stalled solo career; months later, he reteamed with Hummel and Stephens to play a local music writers' convention, and the performance was so well-received that they decided to make the reunion permanent.
Big Star's second album, 1974's Radio City, remains their masterpiece — ragged and raw guitar pop infused with remarkable intensity and spontaneity. It also contained perhaps their best-known song, the oft-covered cult classic "September Gurls." (Another highlight, "Back of a Car," bears the unmistakable input of Chris Bell, although the duration and extent of his return to duty is unknown.) Distribution difficulties again undermined whatever hopes of commercial success existed, however, and Hummel soon announced his resignation; Chilton and Stephens recruited bassist John Lightman for a handful of East Coast live dates, including a WLIR radio broadcast later issued as Big Star Live. Work on a planned third album soon began, but the sessions proved disastrous as Chilton, reeling from years of music industry exploitation and frustration, effectively sabotaged his own music — where Radio City teetered on the brink of collapse, the new songs tumbled over completely, culminating in one of the most harrowingly bleak pop records ever made. An album's worth of material was completed and shelved, and then Big Star was no more.
The story might have ended there, but in 1978, the third Big Star album was finally issued overseas — variously titled Third and/or Sister Lovers, it appeared for years in essentially unauthorized versions containing neither the complete session nor the proper sequencing. Still, the record earned a significant cult following, and with the emergence of the nascent power pop movement, it became increasingly clear just how prescient Big Star's music had been. Countless alternative rock bands — R.E.M., the Replacements, the dB's, and Teenage Fanclub, to name just four — cited the band's enormous influence in the years to follow, and in 1993, the Posies' Jonathan Auer and Ken Stringfellow backed Chilton and Stephens for a reunion gig at the University of Missouri, a performance captured on the Columbia live disc.
To the surprise of many, the Big Star reunion continued with tours of Europe and Japan, and — most shocking of all — even an appearance on television's The Tonight Show, although no new studio recordings were forthcoming. Sporadic reunions continued, and a new track ("Hot Thing") was recorded for a compilation released in 2003. Chilton, Stephens, Stringfellow, and Auer then entered the recording studio to complete a new Big Star album, In Space, released in 2005. The band also played high-profile gigs in England and America, while in 2009, Rhino issued a definitive box set, Keep an Eye on the Sky. One year later, however, on the eve of 2010's SXSW festival, Chilton died in New Orleans of heart failure.
Title: #1 Record Radio City (Bonus Track Version)
Artist: Big Star
Genre: Rock, Punk, Pop, Alternative
Title: Can't Help Myself (Coke Studio South Africa: Season 2) - Single
Artist: Big Star, Kyle Deutsch
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Rap
Title: Live At Lafayette's Music Room-Memphis, TN
Artist: Big Star
Genre: Rock, Punk, Punk Rock, Pop, Alternative
Title: 올해가 가고 - Single / olhaega gago - Single
Artist: Big Star, Electroboyz, Brave Girls
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Rap, Pop, K-Pop
Title: 홀로서기 Standing Alone - Single / holloseogi Standing Alone - Single
Artist: Big Star
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Rap, Pop, K-Pop
Title: Complete Columbia: Live at University of Missouri 4/25/93
Artist: Big Star
Genre: Rock, Punk, Pop, Alternative
Title: Columbia: Live At Missouri University 4/25/93
Artist: Big Star
Genre: Rock, Punk, Pop, Alternative
Title: 느낌이 와 (I Got the Feeling) - Single / neukkim-i wa (I Got the Feeling) - Single
Artist: Big Star
Genre: Dancefloor, Pop, Dance Pop, K-Pop
Collections
Title: Adventureland (Original Soundtrack)
Genre: Theatre/Soundtrack
Title: World of Pain: 20 Pounders, Vol. 2
Genre: Rock
Title: Snap Riddim
Genre: Reggae
Title: Binghi Riddim
Genre: Reggae
Title: Adventureland (Original Soundtrack)
Genre: Theatre/Soundtrack
Title: A Rocking Time Mixtape: 2Min -
Genre: Ambient, Trip Hop, Electronica, Industrial, Hip Hop/R&B, Avant Garde Jazz, Rock, Alternative Rock, Blues Rock, Experimental Rock, Folk Rock, Garage Rock, Glam Rock, Indie Rock, New Wave, Psychedelic Rock, Punk, Post Punk, World Music, Country Rock, Pop, Pop Rock, Indie, Experimental
Title: Late Night Tales: Belle And Sebastian
Genre: Electronica, Hip Hop/R&B, Blues, Rock, Reggae, Classical
Title: Sounds From The South (CD 2)
Genre: Soul Jazz
Title: Easy Acoustic CD 02
Genre: Acoustic
Title: Dancefloor Party (CD2)
Genre: Dancefloor
Title: Dance Just Best Grooving (CD1)
Genre: Dancefloor, Club/Dance
Title: Las 500 Mejores Canciones De La Historia (CD09)
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Rap, Soul, Rock, Punk, Country, Pop, Pop Rock, Alternative
Title: Las 500 Mejores Canciones De La Historia (CD20)
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul, Rock, Rock & Roll, Pop
Title: Aqui Hay Temazo (CD2)
Genre: Electronica, Dancefloor, Pop
Title: Group Chase Freaky Dance (CD1)
Genre: House, Trance, Dancefloor, Club/Dance, Classical
Title: Rock Top 600 Vol 6 (CD2)
Genre: Rock
Title: SPECIAL SOUND (CD2)
Title: My Favourite Hits Of 1974 (CD7)
Genre: Soul, Soul Jazz, Rock, Hard Rock, Progressive Rock, Heavy Metal, Pop, Pop Rock
Title: Greatest Ever! Driving Rock (CD3)
Genre: Rock
Title: Greatest Ever! Driving Rock (CD3)
Genre: Rock
Title: Svengali (Original Soundtrack)
Genre: Theatre/Soundtrack
Title: Ultimate Nightclub Waves Hits (CD2)
Genre: House, Club/Dance, Nu Disco, Funk
Title: Stax Singles Vol 4: Rarities And The Best Of The Rest (CD5)
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul, Blues, Rock, Punk Rock
Title: Stargirl (Original Soundtrack)
Genre: Theatre/Soundtrack
Title: Power Pop Essentials 2020 (CD1)
Genre: Dancefloor, Pop, Dance Pop
Title: Power Pop Essentials 2020 (CD2)
Genre: Dancefloor, Pop, Dance Pop
Title: Big Blues Ballads 2021 (CD2)
Genre: Blues, Blues Rock
Title: Dad Rock Essentials (CD2)
Title: Jangle Pop Essen (CD1)
Genre: Garage, Rock, Emo, New Wave, Punk, Pop, Alternative, Indie
Title: Jangle Pop Essen (CD2)
Genre: Garage, Rock, Emo, New Wave, Punk, Pop, Alternative, Indie
Title: Americana Collected 2022
Genre: Folk Rock, World Music, Country, Folk
Title: Late Night Talks 2023
Genre: Alternative
Featuring albums
Title: Late Night Tales: Belle & Sebastian (Remastered)
Artist: Belle & Sebastian
Genre: Rock, Dancefloor, Dance Pop, Alternative
Title: Late Night Tales: Belle and Sebastian (Remastered)
Artist: Belle & Sebastian
Genre: Rock, Alternative
Title: Congratulations On Your Decision To Become A Pilot - Single
Artist: THE BAUDELAIRES
Genre: Rock, Indie Pop, Latin, Alternative
Title: Stax Singles, Vol. 4: Rarities & the Best of the Rest
Artist: Various Artists
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul
Title: I Hate CDs: Norton Records 45 RPM Singles Collection, Vol. 1
Artist: Various Artists
Genre: Rock, Rock & Roll, Punk Rock
Title: Adventureland (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Artist: Various Artists
Genre: Theatre/Soundtrack