Renowned singer and guitarist Alex Chilton, who played with bands like the Box Tops and Big Star, has died at the age of 59.
Chilton is said to have suffered heart problems in New Orleans yesterday and was admitted to a local hospital, where he later died unexpectedly.
Chilton was born in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1950. He joined his first band, the Box Tops, while he was still a teenager and landed a number one hit, “The Letter”, when he was just 16 years old. The band broke up in 1970, when Chilton took up a solo career.
By 1971, however, he had formed a power-pop group called Big Star with Chris Bell, Andy Hummel, and Jody Stephens. The band quickly won critics over and their third album, “Third/Sister Lovers”, is now considered to be a cult classic. They never really enjoyed commercial success, however, and broke up in 1974.
Big Star reformed in ’90s and had reportedly been scheduled to perform at SXSW in Austin, Texas, in the coming week.
Chilton is survived by his wife, Laura, and his son, Timothy.
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