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Alex Chilton
William Alexander Chilton (December 28, 1950 – March 17, 2010) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer best known as the lead singer of the Box Tops and Big Star. Chilton's early commercial success in the 1960s as a teen vocalist for the Box Tops was never repeated in later years with Big Star and in his subsequent indie music solo career on small labels, but he drew an intense following among indie and alternative rock musicians. He is frequently cited as a seminal influence by influential rock artists and bands, some of whose testimonials appeared in the 2012 documentary '' Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me''. Early life and career Chilton grew up in a musical family; his father, Sidney Chilton, was a jazz musician. A local band recruited the teenaged Chilton in 1966 to be their lead singer after learning of the popularity of his vocal performance at a talent show at Memphis's Central High School. This band was Ronnie and the Devilles, which was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Big Star
Big Star was an American rock band formed in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1971 by Alex Chilton (vocals, guiar), Chris Bell (vocals, guitar), Jody Stephens (drums), and Andy Hummel (bass). The group broke up in early 1975, and reorganized with a new lineup 18 years later following a reunion concert at the University of Missouri. In its first era, the band's musical style drew on the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and the Byrds. Big Star produced a style that foreshadowed the alternative rock of the 1980s and 1990s. Before they broke up, Big Star created a "seminal body of work that never stopped inspiring succeeding generations", in the words of ''Rolling Stone'', as the "quintessential American power pop band", and "one of the most mythic and influential cult acts in all of rock & roll". Three of Big Star's studio albums are included in the Rolling Stone's list of the Top 500 Albums of All-Time. Big Star's debut album, 1972's '' #1 Record'', was met by enthusiastic reviews, but ineffec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Box Tops
The Box Tops is an American rock band formed in Memphis in 1967. They are best known for the hits " The Letter", "Cry Like a Baby", "Choo Choo Train," and " Soul Deep" and are considered a major blue-eyed soul group of the period. They performed a mixture of current soul music songs by artists such as James & Bobby Purify and Clifford Curry; pop tunes such as "A Whiter Shade of Pale" by Procol Harum; and songs written by their producers, Dan Penn, Spooner Oldham, and Chips Moman. Vocalist Alex Chilton went on to front the power pop band Big Star and to launch a career as a solo artist, during which he occasionally performed songs he had sung with the Box Tops. The Box Tops' music combined elements of soul music and light pop. Their records are prime examples of the styles made popular by Moman and Penn at American Sound Studio in Memphis. Many of their lesser known Top 40 hits, including "Neon Rainbow", "I Met Her in Church", and "Sweet Cream Ladies, Forward March", are consid ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cry Like A Baby
"Cry Like a Baby" is a 1968 song written by Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham, and performed by The Box Tops. The song reached #2 in April 1968 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, a position it held for two weeks. It was kept out of the top spot by Bobby Goldsboro's "Honey", which stayed at #1 for five weeks. "Cry Like a Baby" also reached #2 on '' Cashbox'' for one week. It stayed on the Hot 100 for 15 weeks and ''Cashbox'' for 14 weeks. It was awarded a gold disc for selling over one million copies in the United States. Spooner Oldham explained in an interview how the song came to be: In contrast with "The Letter", which was played by the band, "Cry Like a Baby" used the Memphis Boys, American Sound Studio's house band, in the instrumental backing, which features session guitarist Reggie Young playing an electric sitar. Author Peter Lavezzoli cites this part as an example of the widespread influence of Indian classical music on rock and pop music in the late 1960s, in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Neon Rainbow
"Neon Rainbow" is a song written by Wayne Carson Thompson and made famous by Memphis blue-eyed soul band The Box Tops. About The track is featured on ''The Letter/Neon Rainbow''. The song starts with the lyrics "''The city lights, the pretty lights, They can warm the coldest nights''" and as they suggest, the song is about neon signs that come on at night and make even the city's coldest nights seem warm. The lyrics continue "''But in the daytime everything changes, Nothing remains the same. No one smiles anymore, And no one will open his door. Until the night time comes. And then the...''" suggesting that the city's inhabitants stay inside during the day and come out only at night. ''Billboard'' described the single as a "swinging rhythm item with compelling lyric." Petula Clark recorded the song for her 1970 album ''Memphis'' and Rita Pavone made an Italian version with the title "Il mondo nelle mani" (The world in the hands). ;Personnel *Alex Chilton – vocals *Bobby Wom ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Letter (Box Tops Song)
"The Letter" is a song written by Wayne Carson that was first recorded by the American rock band the Box Tops in 1967. It was the group's first and biggest record chart hit, reaching number one in the United States and Canada. It was also an international success and placed in the top ten in several other countries. The Box Tops lead vocalist Alex Chilton sang "The Letter" in a gruff blue-eyed soul style. The song launched Chilton's career and inspired numerous cover versions. English rock and soul singer Joe Cocker's 1970 rendition became his first top ten single in the U.S.; several other artists have recorded versions which also reached the record charts. ''Rolling Stone'' magazine included the Box Tops original at number 372 on its list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time"; the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame added it to the list of the "500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll". In 2011, the single was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Composition and recording Wayne Car ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
FAME Studios
FAME (Florence Alabama Music Enterprises) Studios is a recording studio located at 603 East Avalon Avenue in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, an area of northern Alabama known as the Shoals. Though small and distant from the main recording locations of the American music industry, FAME has produced many hit records and was instrumental in what came to be known as the Muscle Shoals sound. It was started in the 1950s by Rick Hall, known as the Founder of Muscle Shoals Music. The studio, owned by Hall until his death in 2018, is still actively operating. It was added to the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage on December 15, 1997, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2016. The 2013 award-winning documentary ''Muscle Shoals'' features Rick Hall, the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section (also called The Swampers), and the Muscle Shoals sound originally popularized by FAME. History Early history FAME (standing for Florence Alabama Music Enterprises) was founded by Rick Hal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Muscle Shoals, Alabama
Muscle Shoals is the largest city in Colbert County, Alabama, Colbert County, Alabama, United States. It is located along the Tennessee River in the northern part of the state and, as of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, the population of Muscle Shoals was 13,146. The estimated population in 2019 was 14,575. Both the city and the Florence-Muscle Shoals Metropolitan Area (including four cities in Colbert and Lauderdale County, Alabama, Lauderdale counties) are commonly called "the Shoals". Northwest Alabama Regional Airport serves the Shoals region, located in the northwest section of the state. Due to its strategic location along the Tennessee River, Muscle Shoals had long been territory of Native American tribes. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, as Europeans entered the area in greater number, it became a center of historic land disputes. The new state of Georgia had ambitions to anchor its western claims (to the Mississippi River) by encouraging European- ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
American Sound Studio
The American Sound Studio was a recording studio located in Memphis, Tennessee which operated from 1964 to 1972. Founded by Chips Moman, the studio at 827 Thomas Street came to be known as American North, and the studio at 2272 Deadrick Street came to be known as American East or the Annex. More than one hundred hit songs were recorded at these studios, with backing provided by the studio musicians "The Memphis Boys", also known as the "827 Thomas Street Band". Artists who recorded at American Sound Studio included Elvis Presley, Joe Tex, Wilson Pickett, Bobby Womack, Joe Simon, Merrilee Rush, Aretha Franklin, Oscar Toney Jr., Neil Diamond, Dusty Springfield, B. J. Thomas, Petula Clark, Roy Hamilton, and The Box Tops. History American Sound Studio was started in 1964 at 827 Thomas Street in North Memphis by producer Chips Moman and Don Crews. Between 1967 and 1971 approximately 120 hit songs were produced, and listed in the top 100 of ''Billboard'', at the American Sound Studio. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dan Penn
Dan Penn (born Wallace Daniel Pennington, November 16, 1941) is an American songwriter, singer, musician, and record producer, who co-wrote many soul hits of the 1960s, including "The Dark End of the Street" and "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man" with Chips Moman and "Cry Like a Baby" with Spooner Oldham. Penn also produced many hits, including " The Letter", by The Box Tops. He has been described as a white soul and blue-eyed soul singer. Penn has released relatively few records featuring his own vocals and musicianship, preferring the relative anonymity of songwriting and producing. Early life and career Penn grew up in Vernon, Alabama, United States, and spent much of his teens and early twenties in the Quad Cities–Muscle Shoals area.''Dan Penn'' |
Chips Moman
Lincoln Wayne "Chips" Moman (June 12, 1937 – June 13, 2016) was an American record producer, guitarist, and songwriter. He is known for working in R&B, pop music and country music, operating American Sound Studios and producing hit albums like Elvis Presley's 1969 ''From Elvis in Memphis'' and the 1985 debut album for The Highwaymen. Moman won a Grammy Award for co-writing " (Hey Won't You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song", a 1975 hit for B.J. Thomas. Music career Early years Moman was born in LaGrange, Georgia.Edd Hurt, "Chips Moman: The Cream Interview", ''Nashville Cream'', August 17, 2012 Retrieved 15 June 2016 After moving to |
Central High School (Memphis, Tennessee)
Central High School is a public high school ( grades 9-12) in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. Since it was founded in the early 1900s and is considered the first high school in Memphis; Central is often called "THE" High School. It is a part of the Shelby County Optional School system where it is recognized as a school specializing in college preparatory programs. The principal is Gregory McCullough. Central's mascot is the Warrior and the school colors are green and gold. For recognition as the successor to Memphis High School, the first high school in Memphis, Central High's football team, rather than having artwork denoting the "Warrior" mascot, simply has a capital "H", for THE High School History Central High was built in 1911 by the Memphis Board of Education, when the current building was erected on Raleigh Avenue, now called Bellevue Blvd. It is in the Jacobean Revival architecture style, with corner pavilions on the west facade, and rusticated surrounds on the uppe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major form of musical expression in traditional and popular music. Jazz is characterized by swing and blue notes, complex chords, call and response vocals, polyrhythms and improvisation. Jazz has roots in European harmony and African rhythmic rituals. As jazz spread around the world, it drew on national, regional, and local musical cultures, which gave rise to different styles. New Orleans jazz began in the early 1910s, combining earlier brass band marches, French quadrilles, biguine, ragtime and blues with collective polyphonic improvisation. But jazz did not begin as a single musical tradition in New Orleans or elsewhere. In the 1930s, arranged dance-oriented swing big bands, Kansas City jazz (a hard-swinging, bluesy, improvisationa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
