Big Star

Big Star's debut album, #1 Record, flew in the face of 1972's abounding folk-rock and progressive-rock sounds. The album's greatness was not lost on rock critics of the day, but in the end it did not sell particularly well, attributed in part to the piecemeal distribution network of Ardent's distributor, Stax. Still, songs like "In the Street," "Don't Lie to Me, "Feel" and "The Ballad of El Goodo" became cult classics.

Tension began to mount within the band's ranks as Bell saw his role as leader eclipsed by Chilton's dominant personality. Bell preferred that Big Star remain a studio entity while Chilton was eager for the band to hit the live circuit. Around Christmas 1972, Bell quit his own band and Big Star soldiered onward as a trio.

In 1974, Ardent released Radio City, the second and (for the moment) final Big Star album. Its best-known song, "September Gurls," remains one of pop's classic songs with its mesmerizing chorus and Chilton's ringing guitar break sounding like the Byrds fused with the venom of the Kinks. "O My Soul," "Back of a Car" and "Mod Lang" are cut from a similar cloth while "Life Is White" and "Way Out West" show the band's slower side. And as liner note writer Brian Hogg observed, there are times on this album that the tension within the group is plainly audible: "The ever-present aura of something gradually becoming unhinged, combined with masterly songs, somehow jells to create a remarkable collection and makes Radio City one of rock's seminal albums," he writes.

After Radio City, Hummel quit the band and was replaced by John Lightman on what was to become Big Star 3, shelved for years until the myth surrounding the band grew to titanic proportions. Tragically, Chris Bell died in a car crash in Memphis in December, 1979. Chilton went on to record inspired if sporadic solo albums while producing records by the Cramps and Chris Stamey. Jody Stephens works at Ardent Studio to this day.