Old Music Tuesday: Big Star

by Bob Boilen

Good news for power-pop fans: Big Star's first two albums are being remastered and reissued on June 16. I've not heard the remasters yet, so I'll save the praise/critique until then, but the good news is that it's a chance for another generation to hear simple pop in its purest, sweetest form.

I saw this and thought I'd share it while we wait for the reissues. It's footage of Big Star working on its first album, called #1 Record. You'll see founding member Chris Bell and Alex Chilton here.

Bell would eventually leave the band he started while Chilton carried on, and the song you hear while this old footage plays is one that Chilton recorded under the Big Star name, minus Chris Bell. Bell died shortly after this song was released in 1978; his funeral was on Alex Chilton's birthday.

3:56 PM ET | 05-12-2009 | permalink

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