First Doug Fieger (The Knack), now Alex Chilton (Big Star). Both were in their 50's. Seriously. Let's cut that out for a while.
These guys wrote pop songs about girls.
The Knack My Sharona.
Big Star December Girls, Thirteen
First Doug Fieger (The Knack), now Alex Chilton (Big Star). Both were in their 50's. Seriously. Let's cut that out for a while.
These guys wrote pop songs about girls.
The Knack My Sharona.
Big Star December Girls, Thirteen
Re My Sharona: Listen to it again. Seriously. I know you've heard the hook a billion times, but listen to the lyrics and revel in the fact that these guys got lines like 'runnin' down the length of my thigh' and 'I always get it up for the touch of the younger kind' to #1 on the pop charts in the '80s. And the guitar solo break is the stuff that power pop dreams are made of.
I've been listening to Big Star ever since I heard the news. RIP.
Fess Parker, who played Davy Crockett, Daniel Boone and was also the Father in Old Yeller died yesterday as well.
JFX001 wrote: Fess Parker, who played Davy Crockett, Daniel Boone and was also the Father in Old Yeller died yesterday as well.
What??? I must have watched that movie 1000 times. 
alex wrote: The Knack My Sharona.
Ooh, you make my motor run, gun it comin' off of the line, Sharona...
OMG -- check out his mike stand, um, technique @ 4:10-4:20 -- the man had a sense of humor, fer sure.
Great guitar solo in that song, too...
Pop Icons? Sorry, but more like one hit wonders. Now, Iggy Pop- that's an icon. Keith Richards= icon.Joey Ramone,icon. Doug Fieger? hardly.....
Fieger and The Knack were a bit more than one hit wonders, though I agree that calling him a pop icon is a bit of a stretch. Chilton, on the other hand, has had a more profound and significant impact on pop music, though he is known mostly to musicians (at least those who appreciate smart pop music) than to the general public. Unfortunately, Big Star became a bit of a touchstone for some in the hipper than thou crowd, which is unfortunate, because their music really is quite beautiful and moving.
-Chris R.
Today I heard about Alex Chilton's death somewhere else on the web. My first thought was of Paul Westerberg's tribute song to Alex Chilton. Classic late 80's
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTSJYZyouek
JFX001 wrote: Fess Parker... was also the Father in Old Yeller died yesterday as well.
I totally cried when they shot him too.
Dan'l Boone died?
I need a moment.
minimac wrote: Pop Icons? Sorry, but more like one hit wonders. Now, Iggy Pop- that's an icon. Keith Richards= icon.Joey Ramone,icon. Doug Fieger? hardly.....
Hence my 'cult' qualifier.
And certainly not one-hit wonders. The Knack had a pretty successful run in their day, and Big Star, despite their album titled '#1 Record,' hardly got within spitting distance of the pop charts. Hell CNN reported Chilton as the lead singer of the Box Tops, ferchrissakes. So, I'd call him a no-hit wonder.
There are plenty of folks who have been more significantly influenced by Feiger and Chilton than other mainstream 'icons.'
It's all in the perspective.
minimac wrote: Pop Icons? Sorry, but more like one hit wonders. Now, Iggy Pop- that's an icon. Keith Richards= icon.Joey Ramone,icon. Doug Fieger? hardly.....
Big Star was HUGELY influential. One of the pioneers of power pop. They may not have been big commercially, but they made a lot of people write songs and form bands. That's significant.
See the aforementioned Replacements clip.
I seem to recall a VH1 "Where Are They Now" interview with Doug Fieger where he was talking about his hobby of racing vintage sports cars.
alex wrote: Hell CNN reported Chilton as the lead singer of the Box Tops, ferchrissakes. So, I'd call him a no-hit wonder. It's all in the perspective.
Ummm, the Boxtops had the #1 song on the Billboard charts for four weeks, their second single reached #2 and their third was firmly in the Top 40.
But, like you said, it's all in the perspective.
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