Error report
The Box Tops (Bastien) (Alex Chilton)
Submitted by
On March 24, 2010
artist
United States
Error description
History
Alex Chilton was 16 years old when he recorded in 1967 The Letter with the Box Tops. It was recorded at Chips Moman's American Sound Studios in Memphis. The record producer was Dan Penn. The original demo tape of The Letter was put down by the author Wayne Carson. The Box Tops only played on The Letter and Break My Mind; all other Box Tops recordings were by the American Sound Studios house band playing behind Alex Chilton.
Source:'It Came From Memphis-The Unturned Roots Of Rock and Roll' by Robert Gordon 1995 Secker & Warburg
ROCK - Movers & Shakers (US, CDN, UK, 1991) say :
April 1968: Cry like a baby, feat. a distinctive electric sitar sound, hits US #2 and UK #15, and is their 2nd million-seller. John Evans and Danny Smythe leave the group to go back to college and are replaced by Rick Allen (...) and Tom Boggs (...)
June: Choo choo train reaches US #26.
Oct.: Gospel-flavored, I met her in church, makes US #37.
(...)
May 1969: Bob Dylan-inked I shall be released peaks at US #67. Jerry Riley joins on guitar, replacing Gary Talley.
(...)
Mar. 1970: they move to Bell label for final chart hit You keep Tightening up on me (US #92). Bill Cunningham leaves, and Swain Scharfer (piano) and Harold Cloud (bs gtr) join.
1972: group having lost impetus, Alex Chilton leaves to form Big Star. he and songwriting partner, guitarist Chris Bell (...) recruit bassist Andy Hummel and drummer Jody Stephens and work on combining Beatles-stytle harmonies and punch guitars, later termed "power pop".
April 1972: they sign to Terry Manning's Memphis-based Ardent label, associated with Stax, and make #1 Record. Stax, oriented to R&B music, finds the album hard to promote.
1973: after seriuous studio disagreements with Chilton, Chris Bell leaves to continue songwriting in Memphis (then to pursue a minor solo acoustic career that will take him to UK in 1975).
Feb.1974: Radio City is released to critical approval. Meanwhile, Tommy Cogbill, who produced later Box Tops' Mala hits, revives the group one last time with "Willobee and Dale" on Stax. However, its name now means little commercially and the single and The Box Tops disappear.
1975: after recording 3rd album with the aid of guitarist Steve Cropper and other session men, Big Star splits with the disk unreleased, and Chilton goes to NY for a solo career which will regularly find critical interest and a cult following, but no chart success...
Alex Chilton, vocals played the guitar also.