Big Star

USA, 1971–1974

Memphis band of Alex Chilton and Chris Bell. #1 Record and Radio City sold poorly on release but became a founding reference for power pop and for American alternative rock in the 1980s.

MusicRoots documents 5 artists who influenced Big Star and 0 artists Big Star influenced in turn. Every connection cites a published source.

Who influenced Big Star?

• The Beatles — The Beatles were Big Star's model above all others — Chris Bell's blueprint was a superbly recorded, melodic, guitar-dominated group paying homage to them.
• The Byrds — The Byrds' chiming twelve-string jangle was the other half of Big Star's guitar sound — the driving, jangly guitars that define power pop.
• The Who — The Who were among the British Invasion groups that shaped Chris Bell — the muscular pop-rock energy beneath Big Star's melody.
• The Yardbirds — The Yardbirds were a formative British Invasion influence on Chris Bell, who played their style in his pre-Big Star group the Jynx.
• The Kinks — The Kinks' melodic British Invasion pop was a touchstone — Bell's pre-Big Star band the Jynx was named as a pun on the Kinks.