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A Man Called Destruction: The Life and Music of Alex Chilton, From Box Tops to Big Star to Backdoor Man by Holly George Warren (Viking Press)

16 March 2014

Alex Chilton’s musical career has always been a puzzling one. It seemed for every creative step forward, there was a deliberate stride away from what was expected. From the age of 16 forward, Chilton led a rich musical life filled with minor incidents and brushes with greatness. All of which continue to contribute to Chilton’s eternal cult hero status.

Chilton’s most acclaimed and arguably best work was with Big Star, a band he initially co-founded with fellow Memphian Chris Bell. Their legend continues to reach around the world, finding new audiences with every new generation. The band’s history is well documented in Rob Jovanovic’s book Big Star: The Story of Rock’s Forgotten Band, with further investigation in Bruce Eaton’s Big Star’s Radio City 33 1/3 Series, and Robert Gordon’s It Came from Memphis. The band has also received documentary treatment in Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me released by Magnolia Pictures in 2013. Fittingly, all of these works were made without the participation of Chilton, doubtlessly furthering the legend of independent music’s most lauded band.

While Big Star’s history is well told, the puzzle of Alex Chilton has never been assembled. Perhaps the pieces were too rigorous to fit together or too carelessly strewn about to make any sense. More likely, there wasn’t an author willing to trace Chilton’s uneven footsteps, until now.

Thankfully, those pieces of the Chilton puzzle have finally been thoughtfully (albeit painstakingly) assembled by Holly George Warren in A Man Called Destruction: The Life and Music of Alex Chilton, From Box Tops to Big Star to Backdoor Man. The long overdue bio reveals, for the very first time, Chilton’s early success and adventures in The Box Tops, exposes new and interesting details to the Big Star story, and gives a candid look into a somewhat arduous solo career.

Chilton’s eye opening childhood, reflections from Lesa Aldridge (Chilton’s long time girlfriend and muse), and his journeys to New York both before and after Big Star, all give fresh insight to the enigmatic icon. Figures regularly associated to Chilton all make their appearances as well. Chilton’s bandmate, Tav Falco (of Tav Falco’s Panther Burns) provides his particular recollections as well as topical excerpts from his own book about the cultural underground of The River City, Mondo Memphis. Jim Dickinson gives increased reverence to 3rd and adds to the lore of the flagrant, yet essential, Like Flies on Sherbert. Detailed accounts of Chilton’s meetings and production work with The Cramps and The Replacements are given further investigation. Even Brian Wilson and Charles Manson make cameos.

Despite the thin telling of Chilton’s life after 1981 (resulting in only 59 pages), Warren sympathetically accompanies Chilton on his journey from teen idol to folkie to genius to cynic to narcissist to sideman to working stiff to alternative rock godfather to elder statesman, with great effect. The author has created an encompassing tribute to a man who was always willing to reintroduce a buried song from the American songbook to an unknowing audience. Thanks to Warren, his legend can and will continue to grow as long as rock music exists.

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