Alex Chilton & The Box Tops- Guilford CT Fair, 19Sept2003

...so I was at the Guilford, CT Fair with my 3-year old daughter on a Friday night in September of 2003, and we stopped by the band tent because the music was sounding pretty good. At first glance, I thought it was a local CT band of some sort, but during one of the breaks the lead singer introduced them as "The Box Tops" and it suddenly dawned on me that the reason the lead singer looked (and sounded) so familiar was because he was ALEX CHILTON! I wish I had taped the whole set, but I had more pressing responsibilities...it was still one of the more surreal moments of my life. Check out the way Alex handled the Big Star request at the 5:25 timepoint.

[@AndrewDunnesq]

he looks like a cool substitute teacher. what a great guy.

[@desert3347]

Rest in Peace Alex...........I was Always in Love with You.

[@MyRobertallen]

Thank you, thank you, thank you. BTs rock; Soul Deep great, great song. God bless America.

[@drkrumatters5759]

THE BOX TOPS WERE A VERY IMPORTANT PIECE OF MUSIC HISTORY. IT IS SO GREAT TO SEE ALEX AND THE GUYS ONCE AGAIN!

[@christarpley6861]

He was the same age as my dad and he died about a year after my dad as well I miss this kind of music

[@Kate1Chopin]

Always loved Alex...thanks for posting, great to see him having fun.💕

[@CarlyWaarly]

Cry like a baby is still one my all time favourites, came across a vinyl in charity shop couple of weeks ago, terrific song with many memories, school days!

[@gregbutcher_musicplacecheck12]

So glad that you got to film this piece of magic. Lucky you.

[@DeanG55]

Born and raised in Memphis, TN in the 70's. Loved the Box Tops.

[@barbs3134]

Fantastic, including your daughter!! Perfect

[@souldeep69]

Changed my mind. Now I love this performance! :)

[@garyengle4565]

One of my favorite videos on KZbin, thanks for posting. Another side of Alex Chilton...

[@andyh109]

What an amazing video. Man, you have a piece of wonderful history there, my friend. Alex Chilton/Box Tops/Big Star forever!

[@pearlfisher2813]

Wow man, nice one. What a fucking buzz that must've been. Thanks for uploading and sharing man. 👍👍♥️

[@landlinesandpercolators8822]

I think the cutaways to your daughter are a wonderful part of the video! It helps me feel the "surreal" aspect of stumbling upon Alex and the Boxtops. This was treat.

[@holden190]

Nope. Annoying as all hell.

[@lilliebailey8988]

I totally agree.

[@stipey23]

I'll delete the video then. Just say the word.

[@doodahman101]

That you stumbled across this show and recorded parts of it is great, Thank You for posting it! Alex was a great talent and influence in rock/soul music! This kind of reminds me of when I was at the Indio (CA) Date Festival one year and heard some music playing. I went over to an outdoor stage and there was Eddie Money, singing and playing in a drizzly kind of rain to maybe 50-60 people. He looked miserable, like "WTH am I doing here?" Dinosaurs of rock.

[@HappySunshineDay]

stipey23 - I absolutely LOVE this! Thanks so much for sharing. Your little girl is beautiful - and she is about the same age as my kids :)

[@jettrink7510]

Chilton is too cool... he don't need no sensation to perform.

[@bornjaded]

Despite its limitations, amazing video. Nice contextualization.

[@zsabbath73]

so adorable, love the position of his hands - what a find for you huh? x

[@brwneyesaz]

Nice. Thanks for sharing.

[@wurlitzer1955]

stipey 23, you were so lucky to see them in person before Alex died. I absolutely adored this man so much, would of loved to been there.

[@jamesmurphy186]

When the video cuts away just before they went into "Fields of Clover" I was like "NO!"

[@stipey23]

Sorry about that. I had my hands full at the time and literally had no idea I was going to see Alex Chilton that evening at the fair.

[@valerieehrlich1500]

That little girl is precious

[@valhalla7408]

stipey23 Thank you for posting this! I can only imagine your amazement when you realized you were listening to and watching none other than Alex Chilton!! At what looks like a nearly empty tent at a local county fair!! Your daughter is probably 15 years old now, only a year younger than when Alex sang "The Letter" with the Box Tops. Did you tell her she was in the presence of a musical legend when she was an adorable three year old?

[@stipey23]

+Val Halla Thank you for your comments- my daughter is very aware of Alex Chilton, and loves this video. I feel fortunate to have filmed what little I did, because we were already out way past her bedtime. There are priorities, and then there are PRIORITIES.

[@valhalla7408]

stipey23 I understand "PRIORITIES", from one parent to another. That's awesome that she now knows and appreciates Alex, who also had a great sense of humor, as evidenced in the title of his solo album, "Loose Shoes and Tight Pussy." I love this video too, because I can find performance clips of Alex anywhere, but something this spontaneous is delightful. What if you hadn't decided to record this? We would have missed out on the part where Alex tells someone that they don't know "September Gurls" because it's "not a Box Tops tune." All the best to you and your daughter. VH

[@neilh3009]

The band probably literally did not know September Gurls. Though Alex probably also didn't want to sing it :)

[@dejordyball]

He always looked happier at the Box Tops shows than Big Star gigs

[@luisalonsoecheverria]

Cause he was singing songs he didn't write.

[@neilstavern]

i think he liked playing the big star songs really, he was just doing a decades long bit pretending he didnt

[@tracymears8230]

Even a cute three-year old knows good music when she hears it.

[@AngieOwlglass]

magic

[@fingletoad]

Wow, thanks for posting this. I loved the Box Tops when I was a kid and am now just reading up on Alex Chilton. What a voice, what a band, thanks again! Your little girl is adorable :)

[@harpar1028]

better dan mick JOKER

[@souldeep69]

Thanks deeply for this. My screen name is after my favorite single of all time. Most important for me to learn is that, unlike my impression, Alex did not turn up his nose at and his back on his most successful and popular music. I can't quite get this with the higher voice. I think it's the record I'm in love with, which has much more to do with Chips Moman and Tommy Cogbill than it does with either Alex Chilton or writer Wayne Carson Thompson.

[@Hannahorse715]

hey I live in Guilford North Guilford anyways I love Alex's song Jesus Christ when Mike Mills from R E M sings it

[@detomsiga4051]

Thanks for recording and posting this. Need to see the clear version of this, if anyone has the video plz share the link🙏

[@xreddragonx]

The woman requesting "September Gurls" cracks me up (as well as Chilton's cool response). How drunk must she have been. I can't help but wonder between a Big Star request or a request for "Freebird", which one would be more annoying for him.

[@dominicflats7692]

ha there is also Chilton.. damn. times of changed.

[@valhalla7408]

If "September Gurls" was an annoying request 5:25, I can only imagine how he would have reacted if someone asked them to play "Alex Chilton" (by the Replacements)!! What's really funny is that he says "That's not a Box Tops tune, my dear, we do not know that", right after they have performed "A Whiter Shade of Pale", which is also "not a Box Tops tune" but by Procol Harum.

[@mjanovec]

+Val Halla I suspect Alex had no real desire to play "September Gurls" ... it's not the right type of song for a Box Tops show, plus the band likely never rehearsed it.. He regularly played the song for his solo shows and the Big Star reunion shows, so it's understandable if he wanted to give it a rest during his Box Tops shows. While "Whiter Shade of Pale" was technically not written by the Box Tops, neither were the majority of the songs they recorded in the 1960s. However, "Pale" was recorded by the Box Tops and released on their debut album (The Letter/Neon Rainbow) in 1967, so in that respect it's a song that is part of their history.

[@stevefuji1548]

The Box Tops did record "A Whiter Shade of Pale" as an album cut.

[@s0ld4u]

Wow, there was hardly anyone there!

[@Staylogical]

Love Alex,but you've got to give Wayne Carson some love.He wrote Soul Deep and The Letter.

[@tomsenick2033]

How many people were in the box tops every video I see their are different members except Alex Chilton

[@SecsSells]

Pretty sure I saw them open for the Beach Boys at MWP

[@johnspaulding1681]

no smoking...except Alex Chilton ::)

[@garypmarquis]

i cannot badmouth music of "my-day." All tries are good.

[@stipey23]

That's my daughter you're talking about, and you seriously need to chill out. Would you rather I didn't share this at all?

[@0patience4flz]

Aww she was swaying...cute..thanks for sharing

[@lilliebailey8988]

It will be a while.

[@amherstguitar]

Wow. Smoking on stage in 2003 was really unpopular.

[@thxcuz]

imagine that little girls street cred in college when the hipsters are discovering Big Star and not only can she say she knows who Alex chilton is, she can say she saw him...and can prove it!

[@keithninesling6057]

barf me, pal...

[@MrsRichardDalloway]

Daddy, why do you have the camera out? Why do you have the camera out? Why do you have the camera?

[@raymondbonington9355]

There last hit in the u.k .

[@valerieehrlich1500]

Folks whiter shade of pale was originally recorded by the moody blues but dang Alex does a great job on it and so does Johnny rivers too

[@SydneyGreenstreet1227]

Procol Harum

[@TheDavey222]

did u ever tell your daughter what u said ??

[@stipey23]

Of course. I just whispered and you can't hear it on camera. 3 year olds don't know how to whisper. That's an enormous part of their charm.

[@robin2012ism]

cocaine is a hellova drug.

[@rolandoaponte214]

He could have sung September Gurls...why he didn't is a mystery to me since he sang a Whiter Shade of Pale which is not a Box Tops songs neither. At least September Gurls is an Alex Chilton song!

[@daisyglaze1817]

The Box Tops covered 'Whiter Shade of Pale' on one of their albums in the 60s so the band knew how to play it. They probably didn't know how to play the Big Star stuff even though Alex did.

[@chipgaasche4933]

Soul Deep doesn't need a guitar solo! Padding out the show??

[@frankod100]

Great performer but I'll tell you his voice is totally different from the original ... people get lower he got higher and weaker

[@chipgaasche4933]

Great voice..not much of a front man.

[@gordenscottfan3107]

to bad he gave up singing with the voice that made the Box Tops Famous......

[@ciarraibuzz]

This is painful to listen to. He should have hung it up. Not the voice of '69, to be sure.

[@mjanovec]

+Brian O'Neill His voice from 1967-1969 was not his natural singing voice. He purposely sang in what he was the right voice for a soul singer, with that gravelly growl. Once the Box Tops split, he learned to sing in a more natural voice. That voice comes through on the Big Star albums. He once said that he tried to go back and replicate his earlier singing style, but it just didn't work anymore. Personally, I think his voice sounds great here.

[@PerryCuda]

Chilton actually disliked the '69 period in his life and probably sang Boxtop songs as part of an ironic tribute band.

[@stipey23]

Ignatius (how's your pyloric, by the way): my understanding is that Alex did this to reunite with his buddies from Memphis and perhaps bring some cash and additional royalties their way. He was a pretty eccentric artist, so it's really hard to know what he was thinking, but I take your point.

[@neilh3009]

Actually he did the Box Tops gigs to bring some cash and royalties his own way as much as for his bandmates. His Box Tops and Big Star gigs paid better than his own club gigs, so he had to do fewer of them, and after touring a lot from late 1984 to the mid-to-late 1990s, he was ready to slow down. I've read that he actually enjoyed the Box Tops gigs more than the Big Star gigs, because of the material being closer to the soul, jazz, and blues near to his heart, and the lower expectations. The 2014 biography by Holly George-Warren is worth a read (though it doesn't cover his later years in that much detail).

[@mjanovec]

I saw him play both Box Tops and Big Star shows. He clearly was having a lot more fun at the Box Tops show... probably because audience expectations were a little lower and he didn't have to live up to the "legend" that is Big Star. He could also loosen up a bit for the Box Tops gig and not have to worry about playing guitar.