BIOGRAPHY
Alex Chilton was born December 28, 1950, in Memphis, Tennessee, and died March 17, 2010, in New Orleans. He began performing at 15, joining the group that became the Box Tops, and sang lead on their 1966 smash 'The Letter,' the biggest hit single ever recorded in Memphis. In the 1970s he formed Big Star, whose British-influenced power pop went commercially unnoticed but became hugely influential. He later released idiosyncratic solo work, including 1979's Like Flies on Sherbert and 1987's High Priest, produced the Cramps' debut single, battled alcoholism, and settled in New Orleans, working odd jobs before returning to music and eventually reforming Big Star in 1993.