Alex Chilton, the singer and guitarist who had a No. 1 hit as a gravel-voiced teen with “The Letter” and went on to influence a generation of musicians through his work with Big Star, died Wednesday in New Orleans. He was 59.
The Memphis, Tenn., native died at a hospital after experiencing what appeared to be heart problems, said his longtime friend John Fry.
Chilton had his first taste of fame with the Box Tops, the band he and his friends started in Memphis. He was 16 but sounded much older when “The Letter,” which opens with the lines “Gimme a ticket for an aeroplane. Ain’t got time to take a fast train …” hit the top of the charts in 1967. Their other hits were “Soul Deep” and “Cry Like a Baby.”
But Chilton soon realized he didn’t enjoy playing it straight, said his then-producer, Chips Moman.
“He wanted to do his own thing,” Moman said in an interview Thursday. “He didn’t want to do those kinds of songs we were doing. Sometimes that’s more powerful than the money you receive for a hit record.”
It was Chilton’s work with a second Memphis band, Big Star, in the early 1970s that cemented his legacy as a pioneering voice for a generation of kids looking for something real in the glossy world of pop music. The band was never a commercial success, but R.E.M. counted Chilton as an influence, the Replacements name-checked him with their 1987 song “Alex Chilton,” and his band still provides a template for musicians today.
“In my opinion, Alex was the most talented triple threat musician out of Memphis — and that’s saying a ton,” Paul Westerberg, the former Replacements frontman, said in an e-mail to The Associated Press. “His versatility at soulful singing, pop rock songwriting, master of the folk idiom, and his delving into the avant garde, goes without equal. He was also a hell of a guitar player and a great guy.”
Chilton’s influence was widely felt in the 1980s and 1990s, when a generation of listeners looked to songs like “Thirteen,” “I’m in Love With a Girl” and “In the Street” (widely known as the theme song for “That ’70s Show”) because they perfectly captured teen angst and relayed sometimes-dark emotions that were universal.
“There was this feeling of yearning,” said Lou Barlow, a member of the bands Dinosaur Jr. and Sebadoh. “The songs were beautiful and the melodies were just almost like intuitive.”
Big Star’s three 1970s albums all earned spots on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 500 greatest. In addition to sporadic solo work, Chilton reformed Big Star with members of The Posies in the 1990s to tour and released “In Space” under the Big Star name in 2005. A box set of the group’s work was released last fall.
“Alex was an amazingly talented person, not just as a musician and vocalist and a songwriter, but he was intelligent and well-read and interested in a wide number of music genres,” said his friend Fry, the owner of Memphis-based Ardent Studios.
Chilton said in a 1987 interview with The Associated Press that he didn’t mind flying under the radar with Big Star and later as a solo artist.
“What would be ideal would be to make a ton of money and have nobody know about you,” he said. “Fame has a lot of baggage to carry around. I wouldn’t want to be like Bruce Springsteen. I don’t need that much money and wouldn’t want to have 20 bodyguards following me.”
Chilton had been scheduled to perform with Big Star on Saturday at the South by Southwest music festival in Austin, Texas.
“Alex Chilton always messed with your head, charming and amazing you while doing so. His gift for melody was second to none, yet he frequently seemed in disdain of that gift,” the festival’s creative director, Brent Gulke, said in an e-mail.
Original Big Star member Jody Stephens and Ken Stringfellow and Jon Auer of The Posies, who joined Chilton in the reformed group, all plan to play Saturday’s show as scheduled. Stringfellow said the band will likely invite special guests to join in, but that details were just starting to be worked out.
“That Alex died two days before we were going to play, it has dropped the bomb on South by Southwest in a lot of ways,” Stringfellow said in a phone interview from Paris. “We have a lot of fans there. I hope this show will be a good release and a kind of way to memorialize Alex. He deserves that and a lot more.”
Sadness over Chilton’s passing was felt all the way to Capitol Hill, where U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen of Memphis said in the House: “He did it his own way, independent, iconoclastic, innovative … He is the embodiment of Memphis music. Hard, different, independent, brilliant, beautiful. We’re lucky he came our way.”
Barlow said he was unexpectedly “blindsided” by emotions when he heard of Chilton’s death and that many of his musician friends felt the same way and used Facebook to share their favorite songs.
“People had no idea how much emotion would hit them,” he said in a phone interview from Austin, where he is attending South by Southwest. “It was like a tidal wave.”
Barlow said the emotional honesty of Chilton’s songs attracted a wide range of fans in the music world. Covers by bands as diverse as sunshine popsters The Bangles (”September Gurls”) and the alt-country outfit Son Volt (”Holocaust”) show the breadth of his influence.
Barlow’s favorite was a rendition of “Thirteen” by the late Elliott Smith, whose musical style leaned heavily on Big Star.
“There were just these moments in Alex Chilton songs that were so beautiful and so lonely, a real authentic feeling that sometimes when other people have in their songs feel self-indulgent or not real,” Barlow said. “But when Alex Chilton did it, it was like, ‘Whoa, this is so real.’”
A songwriter and music producer who claims he helped launch pop star Lady Gaga says she squeezed him out of her lucrative career after he co-wrote some of her songs, came up with her stage name and helped get her record deal.
Rob Fusari filed a $30.5 million lawsuit against the Grammy Award-winning performer, saying his protege and former girlfriend ditched him as her career soared.
“All business is personal,” said the lawsuit, filed Wednesday in a Manhattan state court.
Lady Gaga’s spokesman, Dave Tomberlin, didn’t immediately respond to an e-mail sent Thursday by The Associated Press.
Fusari had credits on such hits as Will Smith’s “Wild, Wild West” and Destiny’s Child’s “Bootylicious” when a friend steered the piano-playing singer — then known by her real name, Stefani Germanotta — to him in March 2006, according to his lawsuit.
Though he initially dismissed her, he realized she had star potential after hearing her play in his Parsippany, N.J., studio, the suit said. He spent the next several months working with her every day and “radically reshaping her approach,” persuading her to drop rock riffs for dance beats, it said.
As they co-wrote songs such as “Paparazzi” and “Beautiful, Dirty, Rich,” which would appear on her debut album, “The Fame,” he transformed Germanotta into Lady Gaga, a name adapted from Queen’s “Radio Ga Ga,” the lawsuit said.
In a 2009 interview with the AP, Lady Gaga said her “realization of Gaga was five years ago, but Gaga’s always been who I am.”
“I was Gaga from the time that I was 19 through my first record deal,” the 23-year-old said of her over-the-top, avant-garde style, which has captured the imaginations of millions of fans. “I always dressed like that before people knew me as Lady Gaga. I was always that way … I stuck out like a sore thumb.”
According to the lawsuit, Lady Gaga and Fusari’s relationship turned romantic and then became a business partnership in May 2006, when they created a joint venture called Team Love Child LLC to promote her career. Fusari’s share was 20 percent, it said.
Fusari — whose account of his role in the multiplatinum-selling artist’s early career has been told in interviews — says he introduced Lady Gaga to a record executive who ultimately shepherded her to Universal Music Group’s Interscope Records, which released “The Fame” in 2008. The album has sold more than 3 million copies in the United States; Fusari has a producing credit.
But the lawsuit says their personal and business relationship had soured by then and he has been denied a 20 percent share of song royalties, 15 percent of merchandising revenue and other money he’s owed. He acknowledges getting checks for about $611,000 but says that isn’t his full share.
Lady Gaga won two Grammys in January: best dance recording, for “Poker Face,” and best electronic/dance album, for “The Fame.”
Dixie Chicks Announce First Tour In Four Years - As A Support Act
The Dixie Chicks–all three of them–will be touring this summer, opening up for the Eagles on a month-long North American sweep.
This is the first time the trio has hit the road since 2006, when they were promoting their Grammy-winning release Taking The Long Way. Only a handful of dates have been announced, with the first being June 8 in Toronto.
There’s no apparent conflict with Martie Maguire and Emily Robison’s new project, Court Yard Hounds, which will be touring with the Lilith Fair this summer. In fact, the Court Yard Hounds’ site is prominently announcing the Dixie Chicks’ new tour dates.
Also joining the bill for most of the dates is Keith Urban–all in all, quite an interesting lineup. Tickets go on sale March 29.
Well, well, well. I’m most struck by the fact that these girls will be operating as an opening act for their debut back to live-rockin’ society. It’s no secret that the Dixie Chicks draw very divided opinions among music fans–just check this particular blog entry I wrote a while back if you don’t believe me. And opening for the legendary Eagles isn’t exactly small potatoes. However, it goes without saying that the group is superstar material in its own right, and certainly could have organized and headlined a tour of their own (I’m sure they’d have no problem finding spectacular opening acts to join them, either).
There is the matter of Martie and Emily’s new project to consider, but I never got the vibe that the sisters intended it to compete in any way, shape, or form with their original band. The Court Yard Hounds are one thing–the Chicks a much bigger other thing–and they seem to be okay with that.
So, in a nutshell: Egos don’t come small when you’ve won multiple Grammys and told off the President of the United States. Yet, a visit to the Dixie Chicks’ official site delivers a splash page with the Eagles’ logo–an enormous one–you have to scroll down to see “special guests the Dixie Chicks.” It’s all rather surreal to me. I can’t decide if it’s cooler than hell to be so humble, or kind of…Chick-en.
So–leaving it to you guys to tell me your thoughts. Why do you think the Dixie Chicks decided to tag along with the Eagles rather than hop on the road as headliners? Let me know what you think.
Rolling Stones tunes supply ‘American Idol’ surprises
Tim Urban couldn’t get any satisfaction on “American Idol.”
The judges dismissed Urban’s reggae rendition of “Under My Thumb” during a night of Rolling Stones tunes in the Fox singing competition’s first round of finals Tuesday. “Idol” judge Randy Jackson dubbed the 20-year-old college student’s take on the 1966 classic “weird,” and Simon Cowell affirmed it was a “crazy decision.” Urban shrugged off their criticism.
“I tried to make it my own,” he attested over howls from the audience.
The panel was most impressed with Siobhan Magnus’ theatrical interpretation of “Paint It Black,” which concluded with the 20-year-old glass blower wailing into the microphone.
Jackson called Magnus’ approach “hot,” while Cowell proclaimed it was the “standout performance of the night.” Kara DioGuardi said it reminded her of Adam Lambert, last season’s runner-up.
“You rise above,” Ellen DeGeneres told Magnus.
Singers who were bashed by the judges during semifinals seemingly surprised the panel with their respectable renditions of Stones songs. Among them: 17-year-old high school student Katie Stevens with “Wild Horses,” 23-year-old waitress Didi Benami with “Play With Fire,” and 16-year-old high school student Aaron Kelly with “Angie.”
“I beat you up good last week, but you showed me tonight,” DioGuardi told Kelly.
Paige Miles overcame laryngitis to croon “Honky Tonk Woman,” which earned the judges’ praise. Jackson and Cowell were shocked to learn the 24-year-old preschool teacher was ill, while DeGeneres and DioGuardi lauded the struggling Miles for commanding the stage. Miles told host Ryan Seacrest it was the first time she sang the song “full out.”
“I haven’t really rehearsed,” she said.
Casey James and Lee Dewyze accompanied themselves with their respective guitars on bluesy editions of “It’s All Over Now” and “Beast Of Burden.” DioGuardi called James, 27, a “rock star.” But Dewyze wasn’t as lucky. Cowell said the shy 23-year-old paint-sales clerk needs to “come on this stage and have a moment.”
The evening wasn’t without some drama. Cowell, who is leaving “Idol” at the end of ninth season to executive produce and judge an American version of his British talent contest “The X Factor,” snapped at Seacrest after 26-year-old personal trainer Michael Lynche opened the show with “Miss You.” Seacrest stepped off the stage and stared down the acerbic judge.
That prompted Cowell to acknowledge: “This is getting very uncomfortable.”
The man who spearheaded the record-breaking deal in which Michael Jackson’s estate will get up to $250 million in the next seven years said Tuesday that Sony Music Entertainment bought a treasure trove of new Jackson music, some of it recorded “quite recently,” some in collaboration with other artists.
John Branca, who negotiated the deal along with co-executor John McClain and team of attorneys, was clearly elated about the deal. He said in an interview with The Associated Press that this is only the first of more deals that will bring Jackson’s music to his fans and introduce it to a world of potential new fans.
“The remarkable thing is to make the biggest deal in history in a market with declining record sales. It’s a pretty big thing,” Branca said. “It’s a testament to Michael’s incredible talent and his music. It’s really an honor to be part of this.”
He added that “there’s more to come” but declined to elaborate. He also would not discuss the finances or specific details of the deal.
Branca is the lawyer who met the superstar singer when both were young men and is seen as the architect of Jackson’s financial empire. They worked together for 30 years.
He and John McClain, a lifelong Jackson friend and music producer, are co-administrators of the Jackson estate. The estate has benefited from their deal to release the movie, “This is It,” compiled from footage of rehearsals for a series of concerts that was in preparation when Jackson died last June at age 50.
Branca said he is convinced that Jackson would be delighted with the results of their negotiations.
“John McClain said it best,” Branca said. “He said that Michael probably wouldn’t have wanted ‘This is It’ released because he was such a perfectionist and it was rehearsal footage. But if he had seen that we could get $60 million for his mother and children and it became the biggest concert movie of all time, he would have said, ‘Thank you very much.’”
He said he has not heard all of the 60 plus songs discovered by McClain but he said what he has heard is “classic Michael Jackson.” Among the songs are two recordings that were never released that he made for charity with other stars. There are also songs he recorded for his famous albums that were never included in the final product.
“Michael had a tendency to over-record,” Branca said. “He would record 20, 30, 40 songs for one album. These are the vintage songs.”
The recent material was recorded within the last three years. The old and the new are likely to be combined on some of the albums to come, he said.
Among the songs in Jackson’s vault is a collaboration with Paul Anka on a song called, “Love Never Felt So Good,” which Branca described as “quite good.”
Beyond the recorded material, he said Jackson left more songs that he composed but that don’t have his voice on them. They would not have the same value, he said.
When he died, Jackson left recorded music including studio sessions from some of his most-popular albums and recently recorded songs made with the likes of Black Eyed Peas frontman will.i.am.
Branca noted that Jackson did not release a huge number of albums in his lifetime and his last one was nine years ago. He said the legacy of unreleased material is far more than what was left by Elvis Presley. He said Jackson’s fan base is also larger, stretching around the globe.
“He is one of the most recognized figures in the world, along with Muhammad Ali,” said Branca. He noted that two-thirds of record and movie ticket sales for “This is It” were outside the United States.
Under the deal officially announced Tuesday, Sony has guaranteed Jackson’s estate $200 million for 10 projects over the next seven years. If certain conditions are met, the payment could rise to $250 million.
Since Jackson’s death, McClain has combed through boxes of tapes and recordings Jackson left behind. McClain and Branca each stand to make 5 cents on every new dollar of revenue brought into the estate.
Even if only half of the 60 songs discovered by McClain are commercially viable, that would be enough for two or three albums. And some songs could also be packaged with already-heard material. That likely wouldn’t detract from a new album’s value. It might even add to it, because fans have been flocking to known commodities in music.
For example, 14 remastered albums from The Beatles catalog sold 13 million copies worldwide in the four months after they were released last September. Bob Seger’s “Greatest Hits,” an album that came out in 1994, was the best-selling catalog album of the last decade, with 9 million albums sold to date.
Jackson’s own two-disc set that accompanied the concert rehearsal footage in “This Is It” has sold 5 million copies, and it had only one new song. That was the title song, which Jackson wrote with Anka around the time the “Thriller” album was becoming a smash hit.
With the album selling for $10 to $14, the revenue generated from sales is already well beyond the tens of millions of dollars needed to cover the per-project guarantees Sony is promising.
“He always said his children would never have anything to worry about because he had volumes of songs to release,” said Raymone Bain, who began representing Jackson during his child molestation trial in 2005, in an interview Tuesday.
Bain, who is also suing the estate for fees, said Jackson told her he had “thousands of recordings” that he wanted to aim at a youthful audience, and spent nights during the trial writing new tunes as therapy.
“He wanted to prove to a new demographic group that he was still a major player in the industry,” she said. “That’s why he added Akon and Fergie and will.i.am to the 25th anniversary recording of `Thriller.’”
Releases from well-established artists have other advantages. An older fan base is more accustomed to buying whole albums than are younger fans familiar with free song-swapping online. A long sales history also makes it easier to evaluate what catalogs are worth.
“It’s unusual for a deal like that not to make money for a distributor,” said Lawrence Kenswil, an entertainment attorney at Loeb & Loeb in Los Angeles and former executive with Universal Music Group. “It’s a safer bet than betting on the future of unknown artists.”
Speculation on exactly what unreleased songs exist (and how good they are) has been rampant since the King of Pop’s death. Many who collaborated with Jackson in his later years have discussed their work with him, including will.i.am and Akon, who is a Senegalese R&B singer.
Whatever the unreleased material comprises, the Sony deal suggested that repurposing Jackson material across several formats — from DVDs to video games — will be of particular importance.
Jackson estate in record deal worth up to $250 mln
Even in death, Michael Jackson is breaking new records.
The King of Pop’s estate has signed the biggest recording deal in history: a $200 million guaranteed contract with Sony Music Entertainment for 10 projects over seven years, according to a person familiar with the deal.
The record-breaking contract through 2017 could be worth up to $250 million if certain conditions are met. One of the albums will be of never-before-released Jackson recordings that will come out in November, the person said.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the official announcement is expected later Tuesday.
Future projects may also include a video game, a DVD compilation of videos and a rerelease of “Off the Wall,” Jackson’s fifth studio album, which first came out in 1979, accompanied by some unreleased material. Before his sudden death in June at age 50, the pop star had wanted to reissue the album, people familiar with the deal said.
One of the projects already counted in the contract was the two-disc album that accompanied “This Is It,” the film based on footage of concert rehearsals for what was to have been Jackson’s comeback at London’s O2 arena.
Including the more than 5 million copies of that special release, Jackson has sold some 31 million albums since his death, about two-thirds of them outside the United States.
“During his life, Michael’s contracts set the standard for the industry,” said John Branca, the co-administrator of the Jackson estate, in a statement prepared for release Tuesday. “By all objective criteria, this agreement with Sony Music demonstrates the lasting power of Michael’s music by exceeding all previous industry benchmarks.”
Rob Stringer, chairman of Sony Music’s Columbia Epic Label Group, said in prepared remarks, “We’re dedicated to protecting this icon’s legacy and we’re thrilled that we can continue to bring his music to the world for the foreseeable future.”
The landmark deal is worth more than all other benchmarks, such as the all-encompassing rights deals that concert promoter and ticket-seller Live Nation Entertainment Inc. had previously signed with Madonna at $120 million and Jay-Z for $150 million.
Jackson’s deal is even more remarkable because it does not include royalties from merchandise.
The contract shows the value of legacy artists. It also comes at a time of decline for the music industry, with sales down about half from their peak in 2000 mainly due to free file-swapping.
The money will go a long way to settling Jackson’s debts, estimated at around $400 million when he died. But the singer whose life was plagued with scandal has had a resurgence in popularity in death.
Distribution rights for “This Is It” were sold to Sony Pictures, another unit of Sony Corp., for $60 million and the movie went on to gross $252 million worldwide, the most of any concert film ever.
Revenue from that, song sales and merchandising agreements brought into the estate revenues of about $100 million, lawyers for the estate’s administrators told a Los Angeles Superior Court judge in December, when they sought a percentage as an administration fee.
The Walt Disney Co. even brought back the 17-minute Jackson movie “Captain EO” to its Disneyland theme park in Anaheim last month. The original began running at the park in 1986 but was pulled in 1997.
Jackson’s most lasting and valuable asset is the 50 percent stake in Sony/ATV Music Publishing, a company that owns publishing rights to music by The Beatles and numerous other artists, including Elvis Presley and Bob Dylan. Split with Sony Music, the copyright catalog itself is estimated to be worth $2 billion.
The new financial windfall comes even as circumstances around his death remain in legal limbo.
Dr. Conrad Murray faces an involuntary manslaughter charge for allegedly giving Jackson a lethal combination of sedatives. He is due back in a Los Angeles court April 5.
Sony in $250 million deal with Michael Jackson’s estate
Sony Corp has reached a deal with Michael Jackson’s estate that could be worth as much as $250 million, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the situation.
The report said the deal, coming months after Jackson’s death, is the most lucrative recording contract ever signed. It guarantees the estate at least $200 million, according to the newspaper’s web site, and involves 10 albums over seven years.
The deal will combine a mix of previously unreleased songs and new packages of familiar ones, according to the report.
Sony has sold about 31 million of Jackson’s albums worldwide since his death on June 25, the report said. It added that the advances Sony will pay are to be offset by sales of albums as well as revenue generated by licensing Jackson’s music.
Sony’s deal with the estate retroactively covers the soundtrack album to “This Is It.” It also covers a number of other releases, some of which have been planned and others that still must be determined, according to the Wall Street Journal.
One album of previously unreleased songs is likely to hit stores before the end of this year, and another collection is due out later, it said.
Warner Music Group executives are talking with KKR/Bertelsmann, a private equity-backed music joint venture, about a potential joint bid for beleaguered music company EMI Group, according to two people familiar with the talks.
The talks, which have taken place in the past few weeks, were described as being in an “early stage” by one person who asked not to named as the discussions were confidential.
It was not immediately clear if such a bid would be for parts or all of EMI, or whether it would be before or after any bankruptcy.
Private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co and German media group Bertelsmann last year created a joint venture to own and manage music publishing rights.
It has long been expected that the KKR joint venture would be interested in making a bid for EMI’s song publishing unit.
EMI is owned by London-based private equity firm Terra Firma , which has warned of a “likely significant” shortfall when the covenants on its 2.6 billion pound ($3.88 billion) debt are tested at the end of this month. The world’s fourth largest music company is home to artists like Kate Perry, Coldplay, Pink Floyd and the Beatles.
In recent years EMI has lost market share to rivals as they struggle in the midst of an upheaval of the music business.
EMI Music, which is seeking new funds to avoid breaching debt covenants, said Chief Executive Elio Leoni-Sceti would step down on Mar 31, just a month after he was expected to come up with a new business plan.
Non-executive Chairman and former ITV boss Charles Allen is to become executive chairman after Leoni-Sceti leaves.
Terra Firma is also embroiled in an increasingly bitter legal dispute with Citigroup relating to the advice and financing it gave to enable the private equity group’s acquisition of EMI in 2007.
One of the people familiar with the Warner/KKR talks said the music company will wait for the outcome of the legal dispute before making a move for EMI.
Judge grants Evans temporary injunction against ex
A judge has ordered a temporary injunction against the ex-husband of country singer Sara Evans.
Monday’s ruling prevents Craig Schelske (SHEL-skee) from making any more public statements about his ex-wife or the reasons behind their 2007 divorce.
Evans received a temporary restraining order last month after Schelske made comments about their divorce while testifying about a possible new law in front of the Tennessee Legislature and on Nashville talk radio.
Williamson County Judge James G. Martin III also ordered Schelske to pay damages as determined by an arbitrator.
Evans filed for divorce in 2006 after abruptly dropping out of “Dancing With the Stars.” The couple’s 2007 divorce agreement included a confidentiality agreement.
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