Big Star – When My Baby ‘s Beside Me —-Powerpop Friday

Great riff by Alex Chilton and full of the hooks that Big Star is known for. This song was the A-side to In The Street released in 1972. Both songs are on Big Star’s album #1 Record.

With the exception of some smart critics, at the time of their existence, Big Star was all but ignored. Big Star played a one-off promotional show for the Memphis Rock Writer’s Convention at Lafayette’s Music Room in Memphis in May of 1973. It cemented them into legendary status due to the writers who witnessed it and carried the message of Big Star out in their writing. Chris Bell had left the band by the time this live show was recorded.

The song is credited to Alex Chilton and Chris Bell.

When My Baby’s Beside Me

Don’t need to talk to my doctor
Don’t need to talk to my shrink
Don’t need to hide behind no locked door
I don’t need to think

‘Cause when my baby’s beside me, I don’t worry
When my baby’s beside me, all I know
When my baby’s beside me, I don’t worry
When my baby’s beside me, all I know

Read all my books and talked about
Listen to my radio
Been in school and dropped right out
Tryin’ to find out what I didn’t know

But when my baby’s beside me, I don’t worry
When my baby’s beside me, all I know
When my baby’s beside me, I don’t worry
When my baby’s beside me, all I know

Don’t need to talk to my doctor
Don’t need to talk to my shrink
Don’t need to hide behind no locked door
I don’t need to think

‘Cause when my baby’s beside me, I don’t worry
When my baby’s beside me, all I know
When my baby’s beside me, I don’t worry
When my baby’s beside me, all I know

When my baby’s beside me, I don’t worry
When my baby’s beside me, all I know
When my baby’s beside me, I don’t worry
When my baby’s beside me, all I know

Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player.

13 thoughts on “Big Star – When My Baby ‘s Beside Me —-Powerpop Friday”

  1. So I learned about Big Star from That 70s Show. I loved In the Street and I heard Big Star did it. I had heard of Big Star, knew that Alex Chilton (from The Box Tops) was the leader of the band, but I had never heard a song by them.
    For a long time, I thought That 70s Show theme song was Big Star–then I finally heard the Big Star (original) version. Lo and behold, Cheap Trick was doing the cover version. So, that jaded me, a bit. I love Cheap Trick. I know, intellectually, that Big Star is the definitive version. But, in truth, I like Cheap Trick’s version better. I need to delve into Big Star. I will.

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    1. I think you would like them quite a bit. The one song I would start people on is “The Ballad of El Goodo”… it’s just a perfect song to me.
      I like the Cheap Trick version also.

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    1. I like that a lot. I can’t believe I haven’t found them in my searches for Fridays. I like the low key attack they used in this one. It’s very catchy also.
      In this power pop quest I started…I have found so many catchy commercial songs…but unless you were Petty, The Knack, The Cars, Cheap Trick…you werent going make it in power pop too far.

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      1. I think you would have to put REM, INXS, U2 and The Police in there. Even 38 Special in the 80s…they were southern power pop. Loverboy and Def Leppard became hard rock power pop, Bon Jovi too. Too me, it’s all formula rock with tinges of genre thrown in. I’m not being dismissive of it in the least. I love a good hook. I’m passionate about it.

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      2. I’ve never seen so many different explanations for it… At one time I thought of a Rickenbacker 12 string…that was a must but now no.
        The hook is what it’s all about. I love it because it’s usually catchy but not saccharine catchy.

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    1. They are THE best band that didn’t get noticed. You know some of their songs. That 70’s Show theme is their song but Cheap Trick sings it on the show…. also they had a song covered by the Bangles…September Gurls

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  6. Great tune by a great band. I’ve probably mentioned it here before, but there’s a fantastic all-star tribute concert DVD from a couple years ago called Thank You Friends that every fan of Big Star needs to see. I’m attempting to link (below) to Jeff Tweedy performing When My Baby’s Beside Me – this is an obviously non-pro cel phone shoot from that same concert – (the DVD version is an HD pro shoot) You can get the idea. Anyway, I hope this link takes….

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    1. I’ve seen some on youtube and loved what I have seen…I need to get the dvd and be done with it. You can tell all of those guys are big fans of them and are really enjoying it.

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