Alex Chilton the singer/guitarist from the Box Tops, and Big Star is
missing in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.

Chilton, a Memphis native, has lived in New Orleans for about twenty
years now.

He survived the initial hurricane on Sunday, and spoke to his sister,
and also to a friend by phone on Monday. But then, the levee broke,
and his neighborhood flooded, and the telephone system in New Orleans
went down, and he hasn't been heard from since. His whereabouts are
currently unknown. It is not known if he died in the flooding, or
escaped to one of the refugee shelters.

Chilton first burst onto the Rock scene in 1967 with the Box Tops and
their number one hit "The Letter" - "Get me a ticket for an air-o-
plane. I ain't got time to take a fast train. Lonely days are gone,
and I'm a coming home. My baby wrote me a letter." The Box Tops
followed up this hit with two other Top Ten U.S. hits: "Cry Like A
Baby" and "Soul Deep".

In the early 1970s, Alex Chilton formed the cult Power-Pop Band, Big
Star along with singer/songwriter/guitarist Chris Bell. Big Star was
not popular during the 1970s, but has gained in popularity since, as
a cult act, being sited as an influence by R.E.M., the Replacements,
and Teenage Fanclub among others.

Big Star broke up in 1974, and Alex Chilton has pursued a sporadic
solo career since then, releasing several solo albums. He also began
performing now and then, on the oldies circuit, with the Box Tops
from the mid-1990s onward. Chilton and original drummer Jody
Stephens, also resurrected Big Star, in the early 1990s, with two
members of the band the Posies filling in for the late Chris Bell,
and bass player Andy Hummel who chose not to participate in the
reunion.

If you want to keep track of the search for Alex Chilton's
whereabouts, you can do so on this Geocities Alex Chilton/Box
Tops/Big Star site. They are posting the latest information as
relayed by Alex's family, and close friends.

http://www.geocities.com/soho/8994/bigstar.html

Here's to hoping that he's found, alive and well, soon.