singer of the famed but recently disbanded Box Tops, who was living in New York City at the time. “Alex came to Memphis to see us playing just a three-piece gig at the VFW Hall downtown,” says Stephens. “I guess he liked what he saw, because that was the beginning of Big Star.” The band was now a four-piece consisting of Stephens on drums, Bell on guitar and cowriting, Hummel on bass and Chilton singing, writing and playing guitar. Stephens recalls that across the street from the Ardent Studios’ former location was a Big Star grocery, which is where the band got its name. The group now had the lineup, the sound and an identity. All it needed was an album. And that’s exactly what happened a few months later. The band cut #1 Record in April ’72, which, as did their subsequent two albums, received rave reviews from Rolling Stone, Billboard and other national publications. Many of the reviews focused on Chilton, known for his time with the Box Tops and his chart-topping hit “The Letter,” recorded in 1967 when he was only 16. 34
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Two years later in 1974, the band recorded Radio City but lost Bell and Hummel for various reasons. “The press would focus on Alex, which was understandable,” says Stephens. “They would say, ‘Well you don’t know who Big Star is, but you know who Alex Chilton is.’ I guess Chris thought he would have to live in that shadow, so he left the band. “Andy quit the band because he figured he couldn’t make a living playing music. It’s really hard to make a career of writing music.” Radio City followed in the path that #1 Record had set, receiving glowing national reviews. Stephens and Chilton, though, split up eight months later after recording a third album, Third/Sister Lovers. But the legend of Big Star was just beginning to grow. As the documentary (released nationally July 3) details, the group never achieved great commercial success, but critics and future musicians recognized their talent — Rolling Stone writer John Luerssen recently called their music “brilliant.” All three of Big Star’s releases are featured in Rolling Stone’s “500 Greatest Albums of All Time,” alongside many of the legends of
the music industry including The Beatles, Elvis and AC/DC. And many bands of today such as The Posies, R.E.M. and The Replacements have cited Big Star as a major influence. One of the bands biggest hits, “In the Street,” re-recorded by Cheap Trick, is the theme song for That ’70s Show. “A lot of people don’t connect Big Star with being the initial writers of that song. Even in the credits, it only mentions Alex and Chris,” says Stephens. “Wilco played at The Orpheum a few years ago and I sat in with them playing drums on ‘In the Street.’ After the show my wife said to me, ‘While you were playing that song, someone in the crowd said, ‘Wow! Why is Wilco playing That ’70s Show’s theme song?” After Big Star broke up, Stephens returned to the University. “I waited tables and played with different bands on and off,” he says. “I graduated in ’84 and got kind of a straight gig in sales.” Stephens found himself back in the music industry in 1986 when Big Star mentor and Ardent owner John Fry hired him to coordinate a Memphis-based production company THE UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS