“The CBGB scene”: HGW interview with Stamey.
“[Alex] was really friendly”: HGW interview with David Godlis.
“He liked being part”: HGW interview with Stamey.
“The Ramones, Blondie”: Koda, “My Dinner with Alex.”
“His main concern”: HGW interview with Charles Ball.
“He was so sweet”: HGW interview with Stephanie Chernikowski.
“The new outfit plays”: Mitchell Cohen, “Alex Chilton: The Big Star of New York’s Underground,” Phonograph Record.
“‘Summer Sun’ got some attention”: HGW interview with Stamey.
“I went to Alex’s apartment”: HGW interview Fran Kowalski.
“‘I Don’t Believe in Miracles’ . . . had to do with the way”: HGW interview with Stamey.
“I never liked the four-piece”: HGW interview with Parke Puterbaugh.
“He said that Alex”: HGW interview with Kowalski.
“There were some nights”: ibid.
“Sometimes we have a difference”: Bernard Kugel interview with AC.
“Alex asked me”: HGW interview with Kowalski.
“Hilly would just let us”: HGW interview with Sims.
“She just used Alex”: HGW interview with Ball.
“I think Karin was concerned”: HGW interview with Sims.
“We were announced”: HGW interview with Tiven.
“Alex wouldn’t go”: HGW interview with Chernikowski.
“Alex turned around to me”: HGW interview with Stamey.
“The Lloyd-Chilton”: HGW interview with Kugel.
“He was like a film director”: HGW interview with Stamey.
“That ex-girlfriend of his”: HGW interview with Sims.
“We were playing pretty grungy”: HGW interview with Kowalski.
“Alex was definitely doing”: HGW interview with Sims.
“I think Alex’s drinking”: HGW interview with Kowalski.
“Alex wasn’t in the best shape”: HGW interview with Puterbaugh.
“Alex became really tough”: HGW interview with Ball.
“It was a basement”: Nick Knox written remembrance of AC.
Chapter 20: Like Flies on Shit
“One day Alex wanted to make”: Drew DeNicola interview with John Hampton.
“There were guys with guns”: Nick Kent, “The Cramps: Tales of American Gothick (sic),” NME, June 23, 1979.
“To this day I will swear”: HGW interview with Charles Ball.
“wandering around with no shoes”: Sandy Robertson, “Alex Chilton: Getting the Cramps Between the Box Tops and Big Stardom,” Sounds.
“Terry [Ork] and I”: HGW interview with Ball.
“Terry ‘Orkus’ is a big fat queer”: Gordon Alexander, “So You Want to Be a Rock and Roll Star,” Dixie Flyer.
“We’d had a drink”: HGW interview with David Godlis.
“We always had problems”: HGW interview with Ball.
“I’ve stayed in the music business”: HGW interview with Fran Kowalski.
“We never rehearsed”: ibid.
“That was the end”: ibid.
“entirely life changing”: Dickinson online interview.
“turned into a discussion”: HGW e-mail interview with Sid Selvidge.
“classic jeans”: HGW interview with Gail Elise Clifton.
“‘Stroke It Noel’ is brilliant”: Jonathan Valania interview with Jim Dickinson.
“When I conceived”: Epic Soundtracks, “Alex Chilton,” What a Nice Way to Turn Seventeen.
“Jim has a remarkable sense”: Barney Hoskyns interview with Richard Rosebrough.
“We used to do the song”: HGW interview with Chris Stamey.
“Sherbert was pretty crazy”: Hoskyns interview with Rosebrough.
“So much of it was recorded at Phillips”: Valania interview with Dickinson.
“Alex was morally”: Hoskyns interview with Rosebrough.
“She blew Alex”: HGW interview with Jim Lancaster.
“The sessions were about five days”: Hoskyns interview with Peter Holsapple.
“I remember Alex coming over”: HGW interview with Stamey.
“Alex was really nice”: HGW interview with Will Rigby.
“crystal clear to me”: ibid.
“their impromptu set”: Robert Gordon, It Came from Memphis.
“booed him”: HGW interview with Clifton.
“My favorite era of Alex”: ibid.
“He was playing something by the Seekers”: Hoskyns interview with Holsapple.
“It wouldn’t be a bad idea”: Robertson, “Alex Chilton.”
“the same old trip”: AC at University of Texas American Studies class, Jerry Dean, professor, 1978.
“My friendship with Alex”: Hoskyns interview with Rosebrough.
“He was fucked up”: Valania interview with Elizabeth Hoehn (Lesa Aldridge).
“I walked into Trader Dick’s”: HGW interview with Ross Johnson.
“We only listened to two records”: HGW interview with Paul Williams.
Chapter 21: Bourgeois Blues
“With Chris is where Alex”: Rob Jovanovic, Big Star.
“I feel like there’s a lot of character growth”: Walter Dawson, “As Usual, Alex Chilton Has Reached Out to the Unusual,” Memphis Commercial Appeal.
“The audience went completely berserk”: Tav Falco, Mondo Memphis.
“He played effortlessly”: ibid.
“the Oscar Wilde of Memphis”: ibid.
“I was interested in looking”: Jonathan Valania interview with AC.
“When the Sex Pistols hit”: HGW interview with Tav Falco.
“When I got with Alex”: ibid.
“a bit bewildered”: Falco, Mondo Memphis.
“Alex helped get the Klitz”: HGW interview with Elizabeth Hoehn (Lesa Aldridge).
“Alex and I would sit”: HGW interview with Gail Elise Clifton.
“Like its creator”: Nick Kent, “No Star,” NME.
“I got down to Austin”: HGW interview with Chris Stamey.
“Donna told me”: HGW interview with Randy Reeves.
“I hadn’t planned on backing”: HGW interview with Stamey
“It made Alex mad”: ibid.
“I did the organization”: HGW interview with Falco.
“Falco’s crew noticed”: Ross Johnson, “’Til the Well Ran Dry.”
“I saw the Cramps”: Ian Johnston, The Wild World of the Cramps.
“The Cramps have been in the studio”: Joe Sasfy, “The Cramps,” Unicorn Times.
“any particular production style”: HGW interview with Jim Lancaster.
“We drive down burnt-out”: Andy Schwartz, “The Cramps’ Big Break,” New York Rocker.
“Since Alex lived with his parents”: HGW interview Amy Gassner Starks.
“dating underage girls”: HGW interview with Kent Benjamin.
“I picked Alex up”: ibid.
“it was originally another song”: Epic Soundtracks,“Alex Chilton.” What a Nice Way to Turn Seventeen.
“Big Star’s first was slick”: ibid.
“A very bright music nut”: Robert Christgau, “Robert Christgau: Dean of American Rock Critics.”
“Flies got away”: Barney Hoskyns interview with Jim Dickinson.
“Unbelievable record!”: HGW interview with Ben Vaughn.
“intentional spontaneity”: HGW interview with Ross Johnson.
“My life was on the skids”: Gina Arnold, “Ex Box Top Bounces Back as Rock Legend,” San Francisco Chronicle.
Chapter 22: Behind the Magnolia Curtain
“I don’t try to make the transition”: Walter Dawson, “As Usual, Alex Chilton Has
Reached Out to the Unusual,” Memphis Commercial Appeal.
“I have been on the verge”: ibid.
“I went in with my best rockabilly”: Barney Hoskyns interview with Peter Holsapple.
“During the set”: HGW interview with Will Rigby.
“Panther Burns sawed through”: Tav Falco, Mondo Memphis.
“We played every night”: HGW interview with Rigby.
“I’d go see the Randy Band”: HGW interview with Candace Mache.
“It was sex, drugs and rock & roll”: Drew DeNicola interview with Elizabeth Hoehn (Lesa Aldridge).
“was very amiable”: Rob Jovanovic, Big Star.
“was in something of a daze”: “Like Blood on Mixing Desks,” New Music News.
“He got off the plane”: HGW interview with Bruce Eaton.
“These 1975 tracks”: Robert Christgau, “Robert Christgau: Dean of American Rock Critics.”
“From the minute I saw”: HGW interview with George Reinecke.
“Alex delighted in wearing pajamas”: HGW interview with Ross Johnson.
“Alex always had this knack”: HGW interview with Gordon Alexander.
“[T]his girl comes up to the stage”: HGW interview with Jim Duckworth.
“Steve McGehee had just come on board”: HGW interview with Johnson.
“The club had a really long bar”: HGW interview with Ron Easley.
“recorded in one and two takes within about six hours”: Falco, Mondo Memphis.
“pure sick noise”: Barney Hoskyns, “Panther Burns: Behind the Magnolia Curtain,” NME.
“happy to talk about anything”: HGW interview with Steve Wynn.
“Also, he didn’t want to play guitar”: Bruce Eaton, Radio City.
“unconstructed rocker kind of guy”: HGW interview with Duckworth.
“Bruce had been doing this whole buildup”: HGW interview with Jim Sclavunos.
“Alex was at the low point”: HGW interview with Eaton.
“Sometimes you have to respect”: Greg McLean, “Alex Chilton, Maxwell’s, Hoboken, NJ,” New York Rocker.
“He seemed to be drunk”: HGW interview with Sclavunos.
“The boys in the band”: ibid.
“We had a really sweet night”: HGW interview with Hoehn/Aldridge.
“We were all lined up”: HGW interview with Sclavunos.
“He sort of sheepishly”: ibid.
“pointing his thumb”: HGW interview with Duckworth.
“Alex was driving a cab”: HGW interview with Hoehn/Aldridge.
“Alex’s mother loved him”: HGW interview with Vernon Richards.
“I wanted to quit drinking”: Jonathan Valania interview with AC.
“I’m not too ambitious”: David D. Duncan, “Alex Chilton: Then and Now,” Music and Sound Output.
Chapter 23: Lost My Job
“I went back to Memphis”: AC at New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, 1997.
“My mother said that Alex”: David Fricke, “Alex Chilton 1950–2010,” Rolling Stone.
“working on a political campaign”: HGW interview with George Reinecke
“It wasn’t really a funeral”: HGW interview with Adele Brown Tyler.
“scrubbing the big pots”: HGW interview with Vernon Richards.
“We were walking around”: HGW interview with Adele Brown Tyler.
“kind of personality crisis”: HGW interview with Rene Coman.
“I remember Tav”: ibid.
“shocking to approach music”: ibid.
“She was really nice”: ibid.
“Our tour manager”: HGW interview with Steve Wynn.
“the ground man”: HGW interview with Coman.
“We’d hang around”: ibid.
“Alex was re-evaluating”: ibid.
“For the second night”: ibid.
“I can’t go out”: ibid.
“the hustler vibe”: ibid.
“It was the saddest, lowest joint”: AC at New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, 1997.
“Do the twist”: HGW interview with Coman.
“Peter [Holsapple] and I went to see Alex”: HGW interview with Will Rigby.
“Frank called me”: HGW interview with Peter Jesperson.
“We rehearsed with him”: HGW interview with Coman.
“the three of us just locked”: HGW interview with Doug Garrison.
“I loved it”: HGW interview with Paul Williams.
“We drove up to New York”: HGW interview with Coman.
“I suddenly realized”: HGW interview with Jesperson.
“When Alex Chilton arrived”: David Fricke, “Catch a Fallen Star,” Melody Maker.
“We had a couple of rooms”: HGW interview with Jesperson.
“Chilton responds to sensitive questions”: Fricke, “Catch a Fallen Star.”
Chapter 24: High Priest
“Minneapolis was a great refuge”: Jim Walsh, The Replacements: All Over But the Shouting.
“someone who’s gladly said goodbye”: David Fricke, “Catch a Fallen Star,” Melody Maker.
“For five or six days”: HGW interview with Peter Jesperson.
“rusty derelict”: Tav Falco, Mondo Memphis.
“song about a pimp”: Ralph Traitor, “Wildman on the Edge.”
“We knew the project”: HGW interview with Rene Coman.
“When we recorded ‘Stuff’”: ibid.
“It’s the oldest crowd”: J. R. Taylor, “Rock Hard or Die Trying.”
“what year I was born”: HGW interview with Doug Garrison.
“There wasn’t a big crowd”: HGW interview with Joe Sasfy.
“Big Time was a cool label”: HGW interview with Steve Wynn.
“I plan to continue playing”: Don Snowden, “Feudalist Star: Alex Chilton,” Los Angeles Times.
“a soul album”: Martin Aston, “Alex Chilton: Feudalist Tarts,” Melody Maker.
“tightly astringent brand”: Robert Palmer, “Pop Life,” New York Times.
“rarely sounded so relaxed”: Parke Puterbaugh, “Feudalist Tarts,” Rolling Stone.
“long periods of silence”: HGW interview with Coman.
“the not fun part”: ibid.
“playing forever”: ibid.
“He turned thirty-six”: HGW interview with Lisa McGaughran.
“Carole King’s piano style”: HGW interview with George Reinecke.
“embarrassed about that stuff”: HGW interview with Garrison.
“We did our first gig”: HGW interview with Ben Vaughn.
“met his match in Annabelle”: HGW interview with Ron Easley.
“Timothee looked like”: HGW interview with Randy Reeves.
“Especially in Europe”: HGW interview with Garrison.
Chapter 25: Let’s Get Lost
“I looked at a lot of books”: HGW interview with AC.
“Just kind of living around”: ibid.
“Now I listen to his new compilation”: Holly George-Warren, “Go Ask Alex,”Option.
“I don’t have any feelings”: HGW interview with AC.
“five or six minutes”: ibid.
“Howard had been sick”: HGW interview with Adele Brown Tyler.
“We didn’t drastically reinterpret”: Parke Puterbaugh interview with Jon Auer.
“We met Alex for the first time”: HGW interview with Ken Stringfellow.
“From doing the Micros”: HGW interview with Richard Dworkin.
“We booked an Amsterdam venue”: HGW interview with Stringfellow.
“that’s when I found out”: HGW interview with Richard Dworkin.
“this gigantic production”: ibid.
“The fans in Japan”: Futsal1958. “Alex
Chilton Interview—part 1.”
“Suicide came up”: HGW interview with Ben Vaughn.
“I’m not searching to appeal”: Puterbaugh interview with AC.
“Alex asked me to play”: HGW interview with Dworkin.
“Alex was really excited”: HGW interview with Stringfellow.
“I couldn’t imagine”: HGW interview with Gary Talley.
“I didn’t like the way”: ibid.
“Alex was not a disciplined person”: ibid.
“I’m more settled now”: Jonathan Valania interview with AC.
“It seemed I had all the things”: ibid.
“Alex was much more interested”: HGW interview with Stringfellow.
“A dony is a reference”: HGW interview with Jody Stephens.
“We all worked”: HGW interview with Jon Auer.
“He was very polite”: HGW interview with Ray Davies.
“It was very impromptu”: ibid.
“Being fifty is a very different thing”: Valania interview with AC.
“Big Star was one thing”: Bruce Eaton interview with AC.
“Playing songs is ageless”: Ray Davies, Americana.
SOURCES
Interviews
Conducted by Holly George-Warren
Agnelli, Lauren, 2010
Aldridge, Lesa (see Hoehn, Elizabeth)
Alexander, Gordon, 2010, 2012; via e-mail 2011, 2012, 2013
Auer, Jon, 2005
Ball, Charles, 2011
Benjamin, Kent, 2013
Benno, Marc, 2011
Blake, Norman, 1992
Blavat, Jerry (the Geator), 2012
Buffett, Bill, 2012
Burns, Stephen, 2010
Caccamisi, Russ, 2012; via e-mail 2012
Carson, Wayne (see Wayne Carson Thompson)
Chernikowski, Stephanie, 2011, 2012, 2013
Chilton, Alex, 1992; additional conversations 1982, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1991, 1992, 1997, 1998, 2004
Chilton, Cecelia, 2010
Clark, Rick, 2011; via e-mail 2013
Clifton, Gail Elise, 2013
Cobb, Pat Day, 2011
Coman, Rene, 2010; via e-mail 2013
Cowsill, Susan, 2012
Davies, Ray, 2011
DeNicola, Drew 2012
Densmore, John, 2011
Dickinson, Jim, 2002
Dickinson, Mary Lindsay, 2012
DiMartino, Dave, conversation and via e-mail 2013
A Man Called Destruction: The Life and Music of Alex Chilton, From Box Tops to Big Star to Backdoor Man Page 47