Big Star – Don’t Lie To Me ….Power Pop Friday

This will wrap up Power Pop Friday for this year…it will return in 2023. 

I never travel far, without a little Big Star
The Replacements

I hold Big Star’s music up along with The Who, Beatles, Stones, and Kinks…they never had the sales but they did have a giant influence. Big Star released their debut album #1 Record in August of 1972. 

Alex Chilton and Chris Bell wrote most of the songs and wanted to emulate Lennon/McCartney and they did a great job but with an obvious American slant to make it their own. After the commercial failure of this album, Chris Bell quit but the other three continued for one more album and then bass player Andy Hummel quit after the second album, and Chilton and drummer Jody Stephens recorded the third.

When their albums were finally discovered by eighties bands, they influenced many artists such as REM, The Replacements, Cars, Cheap Trick, Sloan, Matthew Sweet, KISS, Wilco, Gin Blossoms, and many more. They influenced alternative rock of the 80s and 90s and continue to this day. Billboard went as far as to say, “Every cut could be a single” on their debut album.

Big Star returned in 1993 with a new lineup when guitarist Jon Auer and bassist Ken Stringfellow joined Chilton and Stephens. Auer and Stringfellow remained members of the Posies. In 2005 the reformed band released their last album called In Space. 

Jody Stephens: “All of a sudden I’m playing with these guys that can write songs that are as engaging to me as the people I’d grown up listening to, so I felt incredibly lucky.” 

Here is the reformed Big Star with original members Alex Chilton and Jody Stephens in 1994. Filling out the rest was two Posies members Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow. 

I did find a date that I will go to when I get a time machine..March 31, 1974. Big Star opened for Badfinger. 

Below is Big Star on that date. 

Don’t Lie To Me

Don’t lie to me
Don’t lie to me
Don’t lie to me
Don’t lie to me

I know where you been
And I know what you been doing
Don’t lie to me

Don’t push me ’round
Don’t push me ’round
Don’t push me ’round
Don’t push me ’round

I don’t like that
Now, I’m telling you
Don’t push me ’round

Don’t cross me babe
Don’t cross me babe
Don’t cross me babe
Don’t cross me babe

You said you wouldn’t
And I’m just making sure
Don’t cross me babe

Advertisement

Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball fan, old movie and tv show fan... and a songwriter, bass and guitar player.

17 thoughts on “Big Star – Don’t Lie To Me ….Power Pop Friday”

      1. I hear elements of Lynyrd Skynyrd, Allman Brothers & some Heartbreakers in this. It’s good southern rock, musically. All of them shouting the lyrics in unison, I am not fond of. It needs some harmony.

        Liked by 1 person

  5. I found Big Star because I liked Chiltons voice in the Box Tops ‘the Letter’ ‘Sweet Cream Ladies’ ‘Neon Rainbow’ all that Alex dismissed. Big Star is far away from the BTs but it sure does sparkle. On a personal note, after being let down/shafted by a supposed ‘superior’ at work I found ‘Don’t Lie To Me’ a fitting goodbye/flip off song on leaving my now ex-workplace. It never sounded better than on the way home; it felt like freedom.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. This song would be a perfect back drop to that! I knew the Box Tops before Big Star and I couldn’t believe this was the same singer. The Box Tops song that I hold on to dearly is Soul Deep. A wonderful song but I like a lot of them.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      1. Oh yeah, the growl he put on for the BTs was what I liked about them, but he was different in Big Star, and he was moving on from the old 60s two minute hit formula. Still, I also like ‘727’ ‘Cry Like A Baby’ I met Her In Church,’most of what was singles releases.

        Liked by 1 person

    1. Thank you Deke! I appreciate that. I got so far ahead when I took that month off…that I’m just now starting to write posts again lol.

      Like

      Reply

Leave a Reply

Please log in using one of these methods to post your comment:

Gravatar
WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Cancel

Connecting to %s

%d bloggers like this: