About Big Star

“Sure, it would’ve been nice to have been huge at the time. But, here we are, 30 years later, and Big Star is still playing, our music is turning up in movie soundtracks, and young people are still excited to discover the records. I mean, if that isn’t success, I don’t know what is.” – Jody Stephens, Big Star

Creative tension, record company quarrels and poor distribution plagued American power pop band Big Star right from the start but their earnest sound amassed a cult following among musicians and fanatics alike, a credibility that would go on to influence some of the most popular artists today. Formed in 1971, in Memphis, Tennessee, by singer/guitarist Chris Bell, bassist Andy Hummel and drummer Jody Stephens, they played as Ice Water (and sometimes Rock City). With the addition of singer/guitarist Alex Chilton, they settled on the Big Star moniker, which they borrowed from a local supermarket chain.

Musically, Big Star leaned heavily on the easy pop harmonies of the British Invasion, contrasting that lightness with achingly beautiful melodies and dark themes. They recorded their first album, #1 Record, in 1972 at Ardent Studios where Bell sometimes worked as an engineer and session guitarist. It held great promise, winning critical acclaim with reviewers but lack of airplay and shoddy marketing prevented it from making a splash on the charts. Decades later, much loved tracks “Thirteen” and “In The Streets” would be covered by everyone from Wilco to Garbage to Cheap Trick.

The failure to launch took its toll on the band and by the time they completed their second album, Radio City, in January 1974, both Bell and Hummel had left. Bell would embark on a relatively unsuccessful solo career, marred by clinical depression and frequent drug use; the sole highlight a stunningly tragic single, "I Am the Cosmos."

Like #1 Record, Radio City scored high marks with reviewers, but issues at Stax once again thwarted the band’s mass success. Radio City, with its raw and shimmering guitars, lyrics oscillating between whimsy and melancholy, could have been their breakthrough. This is perhaps most evident in the hit-that-never-was "September Gurl," a power-pop confection clocking in at just 2 minutes, 41 seconds and laden with hooks. Ultimately the disconnect between the company, the band and it’s potential audience led the group to dissolve and all but disappear before the release of their 3rd album.

In 1978, the first two albums would be released together as a double album, followed shortly thereafter by the third album, entitled Third/Sister Lovers. Issued as a limited overseas run, Third/Sister Lovers garnered the group a significant cult following, and it became increasingly clear just how important Big Star's music had been. In fact, countless alternative rock bands - R.E.M., The Replacements, and Cheap Trick to name a few - have not only cited the band as an enormous influence but paid tribute through dozens of covers. The demand for the return of Big Star was so strong that Chilton and Stephens reformed in 1993. The two recruited The Posies’ Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow to fill in on guitar and bass duties on a 4th studio album In Space, released in 2005, and on a series of tour dates that continue today.

On September 15th, 2009, Rhino released KEEP AN EYE ON THE SKY, a 4-disc boxed set featuring stand-out album tracks, unreleased demos, alternate takes and live performances captured from 1968 to 1975.