In Memoriam: Alex Chilton

I’m deeply sadden by the death of power-pop icon, songwriter and producer Alex Chilton, who died this week at the age of 59 from a heart attack.

Like many people my age, I first found out about Chilton from The Replacements and their loving tribute “Alex Chilton” off Pleased To Meet Me. It wasn’t until later that I started to discover the music that inspired one of my favorite bands.

There are songs like “September Gurls,” “Thirteen,” “The Ballad of El Goodo” – all youthful but wise pop treasures. Cheap Trick (who covered Big Star’s “On The Street” for That ’70s Show‘s opening credits), R.E.M., Yo La Tengo, Wilco and Teenage Fanclub are just some of the many bands that have cited the band as an influence.

As I grow older, I’ve grown to appreciate the band more and more. #1 Record and Radio City are absolutely essential albums in my mind. The band had the power to give you goosebumps one minute, make you miss a girl the next, then bring you up from the floor with a fist-pumping anthem.

RIP Alex. You will be missed.