A Man Called Destruction (book)

A Man Called Destruction: The Life and Music of Alex Chilton, from Box Tops to Big Star to Backdoor Man
	First edition cover
Author	Holly George-Warren
Cover artist	David Godlis (photographer)
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre	Biography
Publisher	Penguin Books
Publication date	2014
Media type	Print (Hardcover)
Pages	384 pp (1st ed., hardcover)
ISBN	978-0-698-15142-0 1st ed., hardcover

Last updated September 29, 2019

A Man Called Destruction: The Life and Music of Alex Chilton, from Box Tops to Big Star to Backdoor Man is a 2014 biography of musician Alex Chilton, written by Holly George-Warren.

William Alexander Chilton 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 music 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.

Summary

Alex Chilton's musical career began in October 1966, when the 15-year-old joined a band that would later be named The Box Tops. As their lead vocalist, he recorded "The Letter", one of the biggest hits of 1967.

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", 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 Keith Reid, Gary Brooker, and Matthew Fisher of 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 Letter (The Box Tops song) song by Wayne Carson Thompson, 1967

"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 sung in a gruff blue-eyed soul style by Alex Chilton. The song 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 reached the top ten in several other countries.

In 1971, Chilton formed the influential power pop group Big Star, a critically acclaimed but commercially unsuccessful band known for its harmonies and jangling guitars. Chilton's subsequent solo career on small labels drew an intense following among indie and alternative rock musicians.

Power pop is a form of pop rock based on the early music of bands such as the Who, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Byrds. It originated in the late 1960s as young music fans began to rebel against the emerging pretensions of rock music, and developed mainly among American musicians who came of age during the British Invasion. The genre typically incorporates melodic hooks, vocal harmonies, an energetic performance, and "happy"-sounding music underpinned by a sense of yearning, longing, or despair.

Big Star was an American rock band formed in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1971 by Alex Chilton, Chris Bell, Jody Stephens, and Andy Hummel. 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.

Alternative rock is a style of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1980s. In this instance, the word "alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream rock music. The term's original meaning was broader, referring to a generation of musicians unified by their collective debt to either the musical style or simply the independent, DIY ethos of punk rock, which in the late 1970s laid the groundwork for alternative music. At times, "alternative" has been used as a catch-all description for music from underground rock artists that receives mainstream recognition, or for any music, whether rock or not, that is seen to be descended from punk rock. Although the genre evolved in the late 1970s and 1980s, music anticipating the sound of the genre can be found as early as the 1960s, with bands such as The Velvet Underground and artists such as Syd Barrett.

According to The New York Times , George-Warren's biography addresses questions about Chilton's "wildly different incarnations as a cult figure" whose life and career confounded even the people closest to him, resulting in "a fascinating story, but also an exceptionally knotty one".^[1]

<i>The New York Times</i> Daily broadsheet newspaper based in New York City

The New York Times is an American newspaper based in New York City with worldwide influence and readership. Founded in 1851, the paper has won 127 Pulitzer Prizes, more than any other newspaper. The Times is ranked 18th in the world by circulation and 3rd in the U.S.

Author

Holly George-Warren is the author of over a dozen books, including New York Times bestsellers The Road to Woodstock (with Michael Lang), Public Cowboy #1: The Life and Times of Gene Autry, and Punk 365. She has written for Rolling Stone , The New York Times , The Village Voice , and Entertainment Weekly , and was the editorial director of Rolling Stone Press for eight years. She is a two-time Grammy Award nominee.

The Road to Woodstock is a 2009 book by Michael Lang and Holly George-Warren describing Lang's involvement in creation of the Woodstock Music & Arts Festival.

Michael Lang (producer) Music concert promoter and record producer

Michael Lang is a concert promoter, producer and artistic manager who is best known as a co-creator of the Woodstock Music & Art Festival in 1969.

Rolling Stone is an American monthly magazine that focuses on popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, who is still the magazine's publisher, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its musical coverage of rock music and for political reporting by Hunter S. Thompson. In the 1990s, the magazine broadened and shifted its focus to a younger readership interested in youth-oriented television shows, film actors, and popular music. It has returned to its traditional mix of content, including music, entertainment, and politics.

Critical reception

The New York Times wrote, "Ms. George-Warren's account is overly intense in its cut-by-cut chronology of his recording career. Yet the man comes through the minutiae, and he's a man whose story needed to be told."^[1]

According to Los Angeles Times critic Randall Roberts, "Warren's deep research examines the arc of Chilton's life, uncovers periods of intense focus in famed Memphis studios, including disturbing scenes of a lover's blood on the mixing board and others of Chilton's own blood in bathtubs during suicide attempts."^[2] Roberts stated, "It's a credit to Warren's unflinching tone that the Chilton of Destruction is a charismatic, oft-frustrating man unwilling to kowtow to anything or anyone... You'll never hear his music the same way again."^[2]

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Radio City is the second album by the American rock group Big Star. Released in 1974, Radio City was recorded during 1973 at Memphis' Ardent Studios. Though not a commercial success at the time, it is now recognized as a milestone album in the history of power pop music. Critically acclaimed upon its release, the record sold poorly, partly due to a lack of promotion and the distribution problems of the band's struggling record label, Ardent Records. The album included "September Gurls" and "Back of a Car", which remain among the most famous Big Star songs; both the Searchers and the Bangles have covered "September Gurls".

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Christopher Branford Bell was an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. Along with Alex Chilton, he led the power pop band Big Star through its first album #1 Record (1972). He also pursued a solo career throughout the mid-1970s, resulting in the posthumous I Am the Cosmos LP.

Helen Mary "Jenny" Boyd is a former English model. She quit her modelling career in the 1960s after discovering Transcendental Meditation, and she soon considered modelling a "waste of her time." She later became a clinical consultant and author. She is the younger sister of 1960s model and photographer, Pattie Boyd and the older sister of Paula Boyd.

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<i>Number 1 Record</i> 1972 studio album by Big Star

#1 Record is the debut album by the American rock band Big Star. It was released in August 1972 by Memphis-based Ardent Records.

<i>A Man Called Destruction</i> 1995 studio album by Alex Chilton

A Man Called Destruction is a studio album by American pop rock musician Alex Chilton, released in 1995.

<i>Loose Shoes and Tight Pussy</i> 1999 studio album by Alex Chilton

Loose Shoes and Tight Pussy is an album by American pop-rock musician Alex Chilton, released in 1999. It was released in the USA in 2000 under the title Set. It was subsequently released on a double CD with one of Chilton's previous albums, Clichés.

<i>Like Flies on Sherbert</i> 1979 studio album by Alex Chilton

Like Flies on Sherbert is the first solo album released by American pop rock musician Alex Chilton. He had previously recorded a collection of songs in 1969 and 1970, ultimately titled 1970, but this was not released until 1996. Released in 1979, Like Flies on Sherbert was recorded at two Memphis studios, Phillips Recording and Ardent Studios, in 1978 and 1979. Chilton had previously been a member of the Box Tops and Big Star.

Mrs. Lennon 1971 song performed by Yoko Ono

"Mrs. Lennon" is Yoko Ono's first single from her second studio album Fly (1971). It includes the B-side "Midsummer New York". The song was also featured in the film Imagine.

Cristina Black is an American musician and writer. She regularly contributes to a number of publications in New York and Los Angeles. Her first album, The Ditty Sessions, was released in 2010 and her music has been featured on the TV series Parenthood. She collaborated with Big Star and Box Tops lead singer Alex Chilton, who made his last appearance on Black's EP The Ditty Sessions before his death.

<i>Cry Like a Baby</i> (album) 1968 studio album by The Box Tops

Cry Like a Baby is a 1968 album by the Box Tops. The title song was released as a single and reached #2 in April 1968 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, a position which it held for two weeks. It was kept out of the top spot by Bobby Goldsboro's "Honey".

<i>Clichés</i> (album) 1993 studio album by Alex Chilton

Clichés is the fourth solo album released by American pop rock musician Alex Chilton. It was recorded and released in 1993. Chilton recorded the album in New Orleans at Chez Flames, the studio of producer and recording engineer Keith Keller, who also wrote the song "Lies", featured on Chilton's album A Man Called Destruction.

References

1 2 Maslin, Janet (March 23, 2014). "A Rocker Never Sure of His Step: A Man Called Destruction, About Alex Chilton". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2018-02-05.
1 2 Roberts, Randall (April 17, 2014). "Alex Chilton's reckless abandon in life and music". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 2018-01-21.

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[NYTimes-1] 1 2 Maslin, Janet (March 23, 2014). "A Rocker Never Sure of His Step: A Man Called Destruction, About Alex Chilton". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2018-02-05.

[LATimes-2] 1 2 Roberts, Randall (April 17, 2014). "Alex Chilton's reckless abandon in life and music". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 2018-01-21.