Singer Alex Chilton dies
Category Entertainment, Featured | Thursday, March 18th, 2010
Alex Chilton
NEW ORLEANS — Singer and guitarist Alex Chilton, known for his influential work with bands the Box Tops and Big Star, died Wednesday. He was 59.
Chilton died at a hospital in New Orleans after experiencing what appeared to be heart problems, said his long time friend John Fry.
Fry, the owner of Memphis-based Ardent Studios, said the death was unexpected and that Chilton’s wife, Laura, was very distressed.
“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,” Fry said.
As the teenage singer for the pop-soul outfit the Box Tops, Chilton topped the charts with the band’s song “The Letter” in 1967. Their other hits were “Soul Deep” and “Cry Like a Baby.”