Project 1001: #1 Record by Big Star

Wondering what are you doing? / You're driving me to ruin / The love that you've been stealing / Has given me a feeling /

Have you heard of this record before today? I hadn’t. Probably because this album didn’t sell well.¹ And that probably didn’t help with radio airplay. The blame for the album’s commercial failure likely lies with their record company the soul label Stax Record and their unfamiliarity with the rock market and distribution channel.²

Big Star were influenced by big ‘60s acts like the Beatles, the Byrds, the Kinks, and the Stones.³ Like everybody else, right? Subsequently Big Star influenced those that followed. #1 Record is a vitally important album because of its influence on later artists including R.E.M., the Replacements, and Elliott Smith⁴ as well as the Posies.⁵ I can hear their influence on bands like Franz Ferdinand and Scissor Sisters too. Some even credit Big Star for coining the power-pop genre.⁶ Careful listeners will recognize “In the Street” as the theme song for That 70’s Show (Cheap Trick’s cover being the most notable version).

I found it difficult to fully appreciate the uniqueness of this album because I’ve heard all the later artists first. But that didn’t stop me from thoroughly enjoying the album. It’s a lot of fun and there are many excellent songs that I think many readers will find make for pleasurable listening. And there is value in understand what shaped some of our favorite artists. I hope you’ll listen and give your thoughts!

My rating:

AllMusic review:

“The problem with coming in late on an artwork lauded as "influential" is that you've probably encountered the work it influenced first, so its truly innovative qualities are lost. Thus, if you are hearing Big Star's debut album for the first time decades after its release (as, inevitably, most people must), you may be reminded of Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers or R.E.M., who came after -- that is, if you don't think of the Byrds and the Beatles circa 1965. What was remarkable about #1 Record in 1972 was that nobody except Big Star (and maybe Badfinger and the Raspberries) wanted to sound like this -- simple, light pop with sweet harmonies and jangly guitars. Since then, dozens of bands have rediscovered those pleasures. But in a way, that's an advantage because, whatever freshness is lost across the years, Big Star's craft is only confirmed. These are sturdy songs, feelingly performed, and once you get beyond the style to the content, you'll still be impressed.”⁷

A 5-star review appearing at AnalogPlanet’s website asserts, “#1 Record is an album that belongs in your collection, it’s as simple as that.”⁸

Rolling Stone wrote in 1973, “No. 1 Record isn’t revolutionary — the group works within the well-defined forms — it’s just exceptionally good.”⁹

In 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, Stevie Chick wrote:

The album contains “pristine pop…sunshine harmonies…and a most unvarnished and affecting sense of heartbreak and longing, pervading most of the second side…”

“Big Star’s eerie and idiosyncratic recreation of a more innocent age of pop was out of time and out of place; Ardent (Studios), a subsidiary of Stax, had no idea of how to market these harmonious white boys and the album stalled. This jolt of failure critically wounded the band…”¹⁰

Enjoy and listen without prejudice. Cheers!

Prime Playlist: 232. #1 Record by Big Star

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For details about this project, read this: Project 1001 Albums

 Charts

• Peak on Billboard 200 album chart: n/a
• Singles on Billboard Hot 100 chart: n/a
• RIAA certification: n/a

Released on April 24, 1972. Here’s what else was happening:

Pop Culture

• Number one song: “First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” by Roberta Flack¹¹
• Number one album: America by America¹²
• Number one movie: The Godfather by Francis Ford Coppola¹³
• Most watched TV programs: Elvis - Aloha from Hawaii, All in the Family, Ann-Margaret - When You’re Smiling, Sanford & Son, Wizard of Oz, NBC Sunday Mystery Movie (McCloud), The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Winnie the Pooh and The Honey Tree, Hawaii Five-O, Maude¹⁴
• NYT bestseller, fiction: The Winds of War by Herman Wouk¹⁵
• NYT bestseller, non-fiction: The Game of the Foxes by Ladislas Farago¹⁶

Some other albums released that month

• Rio Grande Mud by ZZ Top
• Graham Nash David Crosby by Crosby & Nash
• Raspberries by Raspberries
• Mardi Gras by Creedence Clearwater Revival
• Manassas by Stephen Stills and Manassas
• Dr. John's Gumbo by Dr. John
• Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway by Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway
• Annie by Anne Murray
• He Touched Me by Elvis Presley
• Hobo's Lullaby by Arlo Guthrie
• The Island of Real by The Rascals
• A Lonely Man by The Chi-Lites
• A Thing Called Love by Johnny Cash
• You Don't Mess Around with Jim by Jim Croce¹⁷

Sport

• Apr 9 Jack Nicklaus leads wire-to-wire to win the 4th of his 6 Masters titles.
• Apr 13 1st baseball players' strike ends after 13 days.
• Apr 17 76th Boston Marathon: Olavi Suomalainen of Finland wins men's race in 2:15:39; American Nina Kuscsik takes inaugural women's title in 3:10:26; first year women's race officially sanctioned.¹⁸

Notable Births

• Apr 1 Darren McCarty, Canadian NHL right wing (Stanley Cup 1997, 98, 2002, 08; Detroit Red Wings), born in Burnaby, British Columbia.
• Apr 4 Jill Scott, American soul singer and songwriter (Who Is Jill Scott? Words and Sounds Vol. 1), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
• Apr 17 Jennifer Garner, American actress (Sydney Bristow-Alias), born in Houston, Texas.¹⁹

Historical Events

• Apr 10 7.0 earthquake kills 1/5 of population of Iranian province of Fars.
• Apr 16 Apollo 16 launched; 5th manned lunar landing (Decartes Highlands).
• Apr 16 Two giant pandas arrive in US from China.²⁰

Notable Deaths

• Apr 2 American Baseball HOF 1st baseman (8 x MLB All Star; Brooklyn/LA Dodgers; NY Mets; World Series 1955, 59, 69; Gold Glove Award 1957–59) and manager (Washington Senators, NY Mets), dies of a heart attack at 47.
• Apr 25 George Sanders, Russian actor (All About Eve-Academy Award 1950), commits suicide at 65.
• Apr 27 Kwame Nkrumah, socialist authoritarian, 1st Prime Minister of Ghana (1957-60) and 1st President of Ghana (1960-66), dies of prostate cancer at 62.²¹

1. https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-albums-of-all-time-1062063/big-star-1-record-2-1062759/

2. https://www.analogplanet.com/content/big-stars-1-record%C2%A0-gets-five-stars-our-newest-contributor

3. https://www.analogplanet.com/content/big-stars-1-record%C2%A0-gets-five-stars-our-newest-contributor

4. https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-albums-of-all-time-1062063/big-star-1-record-2-1062759/

5. Chick, Stevie, 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, Fifth printing, ed. by Robert Dimmery p. 256.

6. Chick.

7. https://www.allmusic.com/album/tim-mw0000191462

8. https://www.analogplanet.com/content/big-stars-1-record%C2%A0-gets-five-stars-our-newest-contributor

9. https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/no-1-record-radio-city-2-250720/

10. Chick.

11. https://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100/1972-04-22/

12. https://www.billboard.com/charts/billboard-200/1972-04-22/

13. https://archive.org/details/sim_variety_1972-04-26_266_11/page/14/mode/2up

14. https://www.tvobscurities.com/2010/09/nielsen-top-ten-april-2nd-april-8th-1973/

15. https://www.hawes.com/1972/1972-04-23.pdf

16. Ibid.

17. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1972_in_music#April

18. https://www.onthisday.com/sport/events/date/1972/april

19. https://www.onthisday.com/birthdays/date/1972/april

20. https://www.onthisday.com/date/1972/april

21. https://www.onthisday.com/people/kwame-nkrumah