Inside Alex Chilton: A Review of Holly George-Warren’s “A Man Called Destruction”

A Man Called Destruction: The Life and Music of Alex Chilton from Box Tops to Big Star to Backdoor Man by Holly George-Warren Viking; 384 p. Though they’re often referred to as the definitive cult band, Big Star left the ranks of the obscure some time ago. The band’s story has been well told: A former ‘60s teen idol, Alex Chilton, hooked up with an old acquaintance from back home in Memphis, Chris Bell, to give the music business another […]

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Westerberg on Chilton

It was some years back, the last time I saw Alex Chilton. We miraculously bumped into each other one autumn evening in New York, he in a Memphis Minnie T-shirt, with take-out Thai, en route to his hotel. He invited me along to watch the World Series on TV, and I immediately discarded whatever flimsy obligation I may have had. We watched baseball, talked and laughed, especially about his current residence — he was living in, get this, a tent […]

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