Watch The Lyric Video For Big Star’s ‘The Ballad Of El Goodo’

Big Star have released their first-ever lyric video for their classic song ‘The Ballad of El Goodo.’ The track comes from the band’s 1972 debut album, #1 Record and you can check out the lyric video below.

The video for ‘The Ballad of El Goodo’ coincides with the recent release of the band’s first two albums – #1 Record was followed by Radio City in 1974 – on 180-g vinyl.

Big Star were formed in 1971 by Alex Chilton, the Memphis-based singer-songwriter who had a No. 1 hit in 1967 with ‘The Letter’ with his band the Box Tops. He was just 16 years old when that track was released.

After the Box Tops’ 1970 split, Chilton he teamed up with fellow singer-songwriter Chris Bell, drummer Jody Stephens and bassist Andy Hummel in Big Star. Though now regarded as influential guitar pop records, the band’s first two records initially sold poorly, and Bell, who died in a 1978 car accident, left before the band recorded Radio City.

In 1974, Chilton and Stephens began work on a third album that sat on the shelf for four years. Third, which was later retitled Sister Lovers, became Big Star’s final full-length album before a 2005 reunion record with members of the ’90s power-pop band the Posies.

Over the years Big Star’s records have grown in stature, and are now considered classic records from the era. The first two albums have influenced power-pop bands through the decades, while Sister Lovers’ late-night dark and brooding vibe has inspired countless indie rockers over the years. Minneapolis rockers The Replacements even named a song after Chilton on their acclaimed 1987 album Pleased to Meet Me, which they recorded in Memphis.

Chilton launched a solo career at the end of the ’70s that lasted until his death of a heart attack in 2010 at the age of 59. Hummel also died in 2010 at 59 of a heart attack.

Listen to the Best of Big Star on Apple Music and Spotify.

Format: UK English