BIG STAR 50
Crosstown Theater, Memphis, December 2
Jody Stephens and friends joyfully recreate #1 Record – and more!
IT’S a momentous evening in Memphis, but the five men on stage at the Crosstown Theater never let it feel that way. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Big Star’s legendary debut, the band’s drummer and only surviving member Jody Stephens is touring with a small crew of famous fans, playing 1972’s #1 Record in its entirety along with a second set of songs from throughout the group’s abbreviated career. Tonight they’re in the city where it all came together five decades ago. “Some of these people heard about Big Star back then, and some of them heard about us two weeks ago,” Stephens tells Uncut. “It blows my mind that it’s been 50 years, but we had a slow build. I’m just glad I started young!”
Stephens really shines as a singer. His voice is delicate and tender
Instead of a eulogy for all the band members who aren’t up there on stage – Chris Bell died in 1978, Alex Chilton and Andy Hummel in 2010 – the performance is more of a celebration of the enduring nature of the songs they left behind. Recorded at the legendary Ardent Studio, #1 Record remains a pivotal album in Memphis history, introducing Anglophile powerpop to a city defined by rock and soul. A resounding flop at the time, it has grown in stature over the years to become a canonical classic, a feat that offers reassurance to struggling artists: great music will find its audience, even if it takes decades.