Entertainment Tonight: Alex Chilton of The Box Tops talks "The Letter" (1987)

1987: Alex Chilton, later of Big Star, talks to "Entertainment Tonight" about his #1 hit song with the Box Tops, "The Letter." Alex was just a teenager when the song was recorded in Memphis. Producer Dan Penn also recalls working on the track on this segment.

[@dspf68]

RIP Alex. Never gets the credit he deserves!

[@radiomindchatter7994]

He never seemed to want it!

[@kookoothebirdgirl1]

@@radiomindchatter7994well? I’m sure he didn’t want to have to bow down to others’ perceptions of what he “should”sound like, and that desire for creative independence overcame the desire for fame and fortune. That’s called “integrity”…something way too many musicians lack these days. Alex was a humble guy…he probably would’ve been really uncomfortable with all the trappings that comes along with huge success. Just my 2cents

[@jmua8450]

Alex Chilton one of the greatest vocalists of all time. A true genius.

[@Staylogical]

Alex and Stevie Winwood are at the top of any list of 16 year olds who made a splash and just kept doing it,again and again.And now they're legends.

[@marcusthompson313]

Dan Penn. Worth searching out some of his 60s demos. When Chilton says “the producer came out and said, ‘no sing it like this,’” he’s talking about Dan Penn. This tune is Alex Chilton doing a Dan Penn impression.

[@lindastjohn5007]

Alex was a great singer. He had a very sweet manner about him also.

[@RedArrow73]

The Bangles (Vicki & Mikey) say otherwise.

[@56cadd]

@@RedArrow73 0oh, the Bangles declared ! 😆

[@RedArrow73]

@@56cadd Emojis are totally lost on me; plain English please.

[@56cadd]

@@RedArrow73 bangles...hahahahaha

[@kookoothebirdgirl1]

@@RedArrow73well, what did they say, then?

[@65Wildkat]

This Guy blew me away the first time I heard!

[@gazookerman1328]

Brilliant song. Love it to this day. First heard it as a youngster in the early 1970's

[@keithplunk6611]

Don't forget the McCoy's with 16 year old Rick Derringer Derringer singing Hang on Sloopy! Rick actually is still rocking today and nicer than ever...thankyou Rick, Alex and all the young dudes who sang on those records! Fantastic!

[@bubu345]

The girl dancing was a little queen ❤

[@dmann1115]

Oh yeah, that was a good one!

[@keiths.8110]

This was the first song I ever sang at karaoke and they loved it. That was about 25 years ago. God bless, Alex Chilton. May he Rest In Peace 🙏🏽

[@suzanneprock7286]

Alex was awesome at 16 years old, that's hard to do.

[@jamalwilburn228]

Yeah I thought he was in his 20s.

[@googlechicken]

Children by the millions wait for Alex Chilton we he comes round

[@kookoothebirdgirl1]

Which ‘Mats record did he produce? Maybe I should Google…

[@zarahlucree7628]

SIXTEEN !!!!?!?! Well, lordy lordy.. yah do learn something new everyday!! Im a 60 yr old (7-in '67) who's older sibs played that 45 24/7... its embedded deep into my psyche ...great song!!

[@melodymakermark]

I also turned 7 in ‘67. 63 is right around the corner now. Wth did the years go?

[@kookoothebirdgirl1]

Yep! Me, too!

[@VIDSTORAGE]

Nobody ever mentions Alex Chitlon Big Star band ...They had a sound like a 90s alternative band in the early mid 70s ..Very influential sound

[@Kate1Chopin]

I have all Big Stars cds. Great. 💕

[@Kate1Chopin]

I have loved and respected Alex for years. He was a talented, special soul. 💕💕

[@LeadBeatPink]

Not really true ive known Big Star ages due to that 70s show

[@jeffmurdock8321]

Big Star wrote the blueprints for 90's pop, and how.

[@KOSMICKEN09]

Big Star 🌟 Is amazing so is the documentary about them

[@jimmybuckets5863]

This aired right before a revived interest in Big Star really began. This same year the Replacements released their song “Alex Chilton” and REM (who cite Big Star as an influence) reached a new level of success with Document. But Big Star was still mostly considered this obscure band from a bygone era, “the Box Tops singer’s other band.” People weren’t talking much about Big Star yet, but that would change in the 90s as the prevailing styles of power pop, Brit pop, indie rock and alt-country could all track some of their stylistic origins to Big Star.

[@terenceorourke546]

I can't believe this was on TV. Alex Chilton was an amazing musician, and I agree with one of the other commenters that it is fascinating they did not mention Big Star, one of the seminal bands of the 70s and originators of alternative rock.

[@darrowlinn7407]

The Box Tops played in Forrest City,Arkansas in July 1967 at a “Rush Dance “ for the Delta Sigma fraternity. I was there, I was a “Rushee” they were awesome. With the close proximity to Memphis our fraternity had many dances and formals with name bands but nun like the dance with the Box Tops. And just think about it, they were only teenagers.

[@drischord]

So crazy that they do a 5 minute segment and don't even utter the words "Big Star."

[@scott7521]

What a shame. The U.S. didn't deserve Big Star.

[@daisyglaze1817]

Cause it was about the 20th anniversary of 'The Letter', not Alex's career. I'm just glad I got to see Alex doing an interview on camera 😁 Love Big Star though 👌

[@chipgaasche4933]

Why do you think that's crazy?

[@dylanris6209]

Because that was the band that he committed most of his career to, and they were so influential to so many musicians. The year this interview was recorded, The Replacements had a song out that was literally called "Alex Chilton." And it was about Big Star, not the Box Tops. Don't get me wrong: I love "The Letter." But it's less than 2 minutes long. There was so much more to the man's career, and it was worth at least one single mention.

[@chipgaasche4933]

@@dylanris6209 the Box Tops made much more of an impact than big star. Sorry.

[@MrEthanlevy100]

Short ,simple and the best song ever

[@jimst.george669]

I remember "Soul Deep", Neon Rainbow", "Sweet Cream Ladies", "Choo choo Train" and others

[@GoldTop57]

My dad’s best friend, Wayne Carson, wrote The Letter, Soul Deep, and Neon Rainbow among others. His biggest hit besides The Letter was Always on My Mind (Willie Nelson, Elvis, etc). One hell of a writer and great guy. We miss him.

[@ShadowWizard123]

Sweet Cream Ladies is such a great song

[@jerryfuhr1656]

@@GoldTop57 Wayne Carson was from Springfield MO my hometown. Memphis sound and Wayne's lyrics. The Letter and Soul Deep are still favorites !!!

[@GoldTop57]

@@jerryfuhr1656 That’s great! I remember him saying he was born in Denver, but pretty much raised in Springfield. It was a privilege to know him so well. Great talent, and quite the personality. Had a lot of fun with him when I was a kid. Dad was visiting him in the hospital every day those last couple weeks. He will be missed.

[@charlesaguilar1708]

I used to sing that song at karaoke and I got many compliments. People said it sounded great.

[@xennial80sxberner]

Alex looked late 20s when he was 16, but it's interesting in this interview when he was 36, he looked about his real age and not that much different except for shorter hair

[@queenneurotica4591]

I’m not sure, I think he looks much older than 36 in this video. It seems he was destined to look older than his age.

[@xennial80sxberner]

@@queenneurotica4591 True on second thought I'd say 45. But I expected him to look 60 at this time, lol

[@jamalwilburn228]

He reminds me of Hayden Christianson's Anakin because of the hair

[@JuneLynn]

Hard to believe that Alex Chilton was only 16 at the time this was recorded...

[@dantemusic2]

How about some love for the writer of the song! Wayne Carson from Springfield, Missouri wrote this gem among others.

[@Johnny_Dregs]

Hard to believe the 80's were thirty / forty years ago.

[@Jabberstax]

The 60s and the 80s were the two greatest decades of the 20th century.

[@RockandRollWoman]

Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me Now. An excellent documentary made in 2013. Chilton was part of Big Star after leaving the Box Tops. Available free on Kanopy, a service some libraries provide. I get Kanopy from the Los Angeles County Library. Enjoy if you can get it!

[@RedArrow73]

Chilton in the Eighties wasn't quite so famous or wealthy. He was singlehandedly rescued from abject poverty by the red-headed babe in The Bangles, Michael Steele, who brought "September Gurlz" to The Bangles' attention and started singing that song.

[@judithcatherinenolasco2648]

I like the song

[@angelaalbury9985]

RIP Alex❤

[@love-lp9pu]

happy 71th birthday ❤️

[@channelfogg6629]

Nice Story. One of the greatest pop records of all time I'd day.

[@user-td4gd5zz6p]

I had to sing this in front of my school pupils in 1975 & i done well (as my wee mother told me) Alex Chilton another of T.D.Y.Brigage

[@Kate1Chopin]

When I first heard it in the 60’s I assumed it was a black middle aged singer. Loved it. No satellite tv then. Didn’t see the band until the 80’s. 💕 Alex Chilton. Xxxxxxxxxx

[@suzanneprock7286]

Heard this all through my grade school years, probably one of the most popular songs at the time, as well as "Time of the Season."

[@bubu345]

The Door you closed to me 😢

[@RockandRollWoman]

The Zombies are still making new music and touring. Well worth seeing. I have uploaded many videos on my channel, including Time of the Season from 2023 and a few years earlier.

[@houdini1972]

I remember watching this when I was a teen.

[@upat65]

I remember this song when I was a kid and yeah I thought he was and older black singer. Hard to believe that voice came out of a 16 year old.

[@katze2181]

Das dachte ich auch…

[@muzikdude1188]

Songs under 2 minutes in length were rather common in the '60s. Odd that they would make such a big deal about it.

[@scott7521]

Alex Chilton loved to do unexpected things. Giving an interview to ET seems very unexpected but that was Chilton.

[@melodymakermark]

If they had asked him to talk about Big Star, he’d have told them to piss off, but that would be expected.

[@gamemaniac22]

Who’s watching in 2021?

[@jamalwilburn228]

One of the best Vietnam War songs. Way better than Fortunate Son

[@chrisarmstrong411]

Since 1967

[@angelaalbury9985]

@@chrisarmstrong411 Indeed

[@putzengiler]

I saw a Box Tops show from the reunion tour in around 2005 , even asked Alex Chilton to autograph the Box Tops LP "Cry like a baby" for me ...shortly after that I heard he was MIA during the Katrina storm in New Orleans for a couple weeks, RIP Alex ..

[@stevendimmock4791]

Brilliant posting, thank you. I'm British so this television snippet would normally have not been seen by me. Thank you again.

[@valarienewsham785]

How disgusting that this former rock star was unable to seek help for chest pains occuring over the previous week due to a lack of medical insurance. Health care in the U.S. is a disgusting abismal effing MESS. When will they learn???

[@therazband3007]

Did he go to any clinics for the pain, or anywhere? That does suck. My friend passed away a year ago from a heart attack. Went to a local hospital and they told him they couldn’t put a stent in because he had 100% blockage of an artery . So instead of rushing him in for bypass, they send him home to die. Yeah it does suck.

[@suraya1224]

Yet healthcare in the U.S. is good, if you're here illegally. And we, the taxpaying suckers, foot the bill. As an American born here, after working my whole life, I was refused a little assistance (food stamps) at age 68, bcs I make $200.00 per year over the limit. Yet if you're illegal, you get welfare, food stamps, free cell phone, etc. What a sick joke. But I digress...I'm here to listen to my favorite, "Soul Deep". R.I.P., Alex. ❤

[@brotherwolf3588]

That makes me so angry

[@valarienewsham785]

@@suraya1224 in other countries everyone (immigrants and citizens of the counrty) all receive medical care in order of severity of illness...... We don't have to worry about whether we have a job which provides healthcare. And frankly our taxes are just not that much higher than yours. I wish Americans could get the point. We are healthier than you... We are better cared for medically as a country... We have a better standard of living and are ranked far above the U.S. for quality of life. We absolutely have our share of problems too but given the alternatives.........

[@frankny4947]

God if he didn't sound like an old black blues singer at 16..One of the greatest...

[@JBmusicart]

No, he didn't. That is your imagination putting that on him.

[@dnmcfall]

Back is killing me. This was out a year before I was born.

[@chrishickey7502]

Another good song was Soul Deep.

[@catherinetesoro6714]

Yes great song

[@PaulSmith-pz9eq]

Absolutely, A favorite.. Soul Deep

[@StratBurst92]

I did like The Letter but my favorite is Neon Rainbow.

[@stevefaure415]

There's a genuine eccentricity to the American South that's sweet and childlike and not always very nice and Chilton had all of that. Miss the guy.

[@taimeuppe6174]

Memphis soul boy

[@miciboo9993]

20 years later people remembered

[@xprophet9]

The documentary on Big Star indicated he was 14 when he recorded with The Box Tops!

[@gregorydean2292]

Soul Love was another HIT

[@pacificovw9522]

Worrying that you could be sent to war in a couple of years aster your 16th bday will give you soul.

[@Khultan]

Leeza Gibbons was a ten year old in 1967.

[@Karen-dk1ec]

I wish Chilton would have spoken with his head-up to really what he looked like in 1987. His nose seemed longer, and face much thinner. He looked like a different person, although he seemed very nice. Classic and great rock n' roll song.

[@hopeburton82]

They actually had 3 hits ; the letter, cry like a baby and soul deep , anyway they had a great sound and I often wondered why they didn't go farther in popularity and success than they should have. Come to think of it, there were several bands of that era that suffered similar fates and that's a real shame because their music was so much better than pretty much anything I'm hearing today.

[@billsouthard128]

And Neon Rainbow

[@gypsydavy708]

Sweet Cream Ladies was a hit too.

[@fransmith8992]

the letter and cry like a baby were the only 'hits' . their other songs were not 'hits'

[@ijeff2005]

7 top 40 hits. I hate it when they shortchange groups by only giving credit to top 10 hits or even worse, #1 hits. Its an amazing feat to be able to reach the top 40 and to do it 7 times means their success was far more substantial.

[@willer3399]

@@ijeff2005 💯

[@Jabberstax]

Alex Chilton went on to be part of Big Star, the band that pretty much invented alternative rock.

[@cornellwaters9089]

📫 Thank You!

[@errorsofmodernism9715]

agree aeroplane sounds better than airplane

[@Khultan]

Were these folks under ten years old in the late 1960s?

[@russell3380]

I bought one of those records.

[@ELECTR0HERMIT]

How do you have a number one song at 16?? I was essentially a crustacean at that age.

[@fabriziozanotti9793]

Grande gruppo

[@christinescarff4920]

That’s weird Dan Penn, cos I’m a Knibb ! 🤷‍♀️😂

[@icooper5236]

Stevie winwood was 14 when he started

[@factenter6787]

If it looked like the boys were grimacing, smirking, or otherwise acting weird on the video, it's because they were. They were forced to lip synch and, like Keith Moon, Michelle Phillips and many other performers, they absolutely hated it

[@garethcarr4345]

Holy crap, these guys aren't English!? Based on their look alone the possibility that they weren't English never occurred to me.

[@mwatts-riley2688]

Is that Mike Nelson, about half way through? M. Elgin. Illinois.

[@josullivan8729]

See where Joe Cocker got his version from…..

[@j.c7719]

This is the guy who wrote ‘Thirteen’ ffs!

[@simmons1969]

Dan Penn can sing his ass off also

[@GoldTop57]

No mention of the songwriter

[@misfit2022]

Is this the geezer from punk band Replacements song Alex Chilton?

[@conorkennedy3304]

yes

[@iftime.natynatyiftime6728]

Interesant. Etc.....

[@CARLWISE2008]

The BOX TOPS before the crazy .

[@JBmusicart]

Vanna, she picked me a letter

[@tripjet999]

MUCH better than Tailor Swuft, Justin Beaver, Milee Cypus and the rest of the current "pop" artists.

[@conniebauer4128]

They only had two hits?? What about Soul Deep?

[@chipgaasche4933]

Or Sweet Cream Ladies?

[@VIDSTORAGE]

Nobody ever mentions Alex Chitlon / Big Star band ...They had a sound like a 90s alternative band in the early mid 70s ..Very influential sound and this is Alex on vocals also but you would have had no idea that it was him if I had not have told you first kzbin.info/www/bejne/iomogZqghMmNqpY

[@petediamond2721]

For me, Soul Deep is right up there with The Letter, they're 1 and 1A to me...

[@GoldTop57]

@@petediamond2721 Both written by the great Wayne Carson.

[@petediamond2721]

@@GoldTop57 Thanks for the 411👍

[@vh1529]

"Wow, now he looks different!" "VERY different now!" "He probably freaked out to see this video." I noticed he got a haircut....

[@alangeorgebarstow]

If you had not changed the silly "airplane" for the correct word, aeroplane, then the record would not have sold. Good job you did. Maybe, also, The Monkees would have had a bigger hit with a proper Alternative Title than they did have with the risible "Alternate" Title.

[@macferadaig3092]

The lyric is: "my baby, mister, wrote me a letter". Not: "my baby, she wrote me a letter".

[@randythompson5154]

Mac Feradaig WRONG.

[@WorldCupWillie]

He doesn't say mister in the 1st verse but he does in the 2nd

[@markkevorkian]

Im sure the " producer " made all the money off the sales and the band in sure got pennies. Just like all the other artists back then. Its sickens me. producers still take a percentage of sales. Unless your a hip hop producer, electronic or other genres of that vein then really all you are is an engineer with an ego.

[@OneEyedLion]

I thought he was black for a long time. Lol