Editing Big Star (section)

==Legacy and influence==
Although Big Star's first era came to an end in 1974, the band acquired a cult following in the 1980s when new acts began to acknowledge the early material's significance.<ref name="Shuker2005" /> [[R.E.M.]]'s [[Peter Buck]] admitted, "We've sort of flirted with greatness, but we've yet to make a record as good as ''[[Revolver (Beatles album)|Revolver]]'' or ''[[Highway 61 Revisited]]'' or ''[[Exile on Main Street]]'' or Big Star's ''Third''. I don't know what it'll take to push us on to that level, but I think we've got it in us."<ref name="Jovanovic" />{{rp|247}} Chilton, however, told an interviewer in 1992, "I'm constantly surprised that people fall for Big Star the way they do... People say Big Star made some of the best rock 'n roll albums ever.  And I say they're wrong."<ref name="Mojo2009" />

In 2014, [[Paul Stanley]] cited Big Star as an influence to early [[Kiss (band)|Kiss]] moments: "We've always been about verses, choruses, bridges (...) It's called a hook for a reason, because it grabs you. And that's my mentality. Give me the [[Raspberries (band)|Raspberries]]. Give me [[Small Faces]]. Give me Big Star."<ref name="RS-Stanley" />

The band was also an inspiration for [[The Replacements (band)|the Replacements]], who recorded the song "Alex Chilton" on their ''[[Pleased to Meet Me]]'' album.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Luhrssen |first1=David |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=phsIDgAAQBAJ |title=Encyclopedia of Classic Rock |last2=Larson |first2=Michael |date=2017-02-24 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-4408-3514-8 |language=en}}</ref>

"While the band no longer exists, the music that Alex, Chris, Andy and I originally made together under the auspices of John Fry still calls a community of those of us with like minds to come together and have fun with it," Stephens wrote in 2017 in a note published in the liner notes of ''The Best of Big Star''.<ref>{{Citation |title=Big Star - The Best Of Big Star |date=2017 |url=https://www.discogs.com/release/10461719-Big-Star-The-Best-Of-Big-Star |access-date=2023-09-22 |language=en}}</ref>

Critics have continued to cite Big Star's first three albums as a profound influence on subsequent musicians. ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' notes that Big Star "created a seminal body of work that never stopped inspiring succeeding generations of rockers, from the power-pop revivalists of the late 1970s to alternative rockers at the end of the century to the indie rock nation in the new millennium".<ref name="BigStarBio" /> Jason Ankeny, music critic for [[AllMusic]], identifies Big Star as "one of the most mythic and influential [[cult following|cult acts]] in all of rock & roll", whose "impact on subsequent generations of indie bands on both sides of the Atlantic is surpassed only by that of the [[The Velvet Underground|Velvet Underground]]".<ref name="Ankeny" /> Ankeny describes Big Star's second album, ''Radio City'', as "their masterpiece—ragged and raw guitar-pop infused with remarkable intensity and spontaneity".<ref name="Ankeny" />

In 1992, [[Rykodisc]] generated further interest in the band when it [[reissue]]d ''Third/Sister Lovers'' and released a posthumous compilation of Bell's solo material, ''I Am the Cosmos''.<ref name="Borack" />{{rp|13}} In his 2007 book ''Shake Some Action: The Ultimate Power Pop Guide'', John Borack ranks the ''#1&nbsp;Record''/''Radio City'' double album at No.&nbsp;2 in his chart "The 200 Greatest Power Pop Albums".<ref name="Borack" />{{rp|38}} ''Rolling Stone'' includes ''#1 Record'', ''Radio City'' and ''Third/Sister Lovers'' in ''[[Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time|The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time]]''<ref name="RS500-RC" /><ref name="RS500-1R" /><ref name="RS500-3rd" /> and "[[September Gurls]]" and "[[Thirteen (song)|Thirteen]]" in ''[[The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time]]''.<ref name="RS500-SG" /><ref name="RS500-13" /> In addition to R.E.M.,<ref name="Influence_R.E.M." /> artists including [[Teenage Fanclub]],<ref name="BigStarBio" /><ref name="Ritchie1996" /><ref name="Ritchie1998" /> [[The Replacements (band)|The Replacements]],<ref name="Jovanovic" />{{rp|240}} [[Primal Scream]],<ref name="Buckley" /> [[the Posies]],<ref name="Jovanovic" />{{rp|253–260}} and [[Bill Lloyd (rock musician)|Bill Lloyd]] and [[the dB's]]<ref name="Jovanovic" />{{rp|240, 248}} cite Big Star as an inspiration, and the band's influence on [[Game Theory (band)|Game Theory]], [[Matthew Sweet]], and [[Velvet Crush]] is also acknowledged.<ref name="Harrington2002" />

On their 2022 album ''[[Tremblers and Goggles by Rank]]'', [[Guided By Voices]] paid tribute to Big Star with the song "Alex Bell". The lyrics include the refrain "Walking down Alex Bell, thinking of Alex...I see you around every time there's a ghost in town."{{cn|date=March 2025}}

* A cover version of "[[September Gurls]]" appeared on [[the Bangles]]' 1986 [[Music recording sales certification|triple platinum]] album ''[[Different Light]]''. "September Gurls", Borack wrote, "was and is the ''[[sine qua non]]'' of power pop, a glorious, glittering jewel with every facet cut and shined to absolute perfection.... a peerless, aching distillation of love and longing. 'September Gurls' may not actually be the greatest song ever recorded, but for the duration of its 2:47 running time, you can be forgiven for believing it is."<ref name="Borack" />{{rp|13}}
* The 1987 tribute song "[[Alex Chilton (song)|Alex Chilton]]", co-written by three members of [[The Replacements (band)|the Replacements]], was released as a single from the album ''[[Pleased to Meet Me]]'' and contains the lyric "I never travel far without a little Big Star."<ref name="Rhapsody" />
* "I'm in Love with a Girl" from ''Radio City'' features in the soundtrack of the 2009 film ''[[Adventureland (film)|Adventureland]]''.<ref name="Advland" />
* In 1998, an ''ad hoc'', shortened version of ''#1 Record''{{'}}s "[[In the Street (song)|In the Street]]" (recorded by [[Todd Griffin]]) was used as the theme song for the sitcom ''[[That '70s Show]]'', and in 1999, a new version titled "That '70s Song (In the Street)" was recorded by [[Cheap Trick]] also specifically for the show.<ref name="Jovanovic" />{{rp|92}}<ref name="Rosen1999" /> "That '70s Song" and Big Star's own "September Gurls" are included on the 1999 album ''[[That '70s Album (Rockin')]]'' released by the television program's producers.<ref name="Boldman" />
* The 2006 tribute album ''[[Big Star, Small World ]]'' includes Big Star covers by [[the Posies]], [[Teenage Fanclub]], [[Gin Blossoms]], [[Wilco]], [[the Afghan Whigs]], and [[Whiskeytown]], among others.<ref name="World" />
* [[Lucero (band)|Lucero]], a Memphis, Tennessee-based [[alternative country]] band, covered "I'm in Love with a Girl" on their 2015 release ''[[All a Man Should Do]]'', an album which takes its title from a lyric in the song.<ref name="HearYa" /> Founding member Jody Stephens, and later additions to Big Star, provide backup on the track.<ref name="WSJ2015" />
* "Thirteen" from ''Big Star'' is featured in the 2020 Disney+ film ''[[Stargirl (film)|Stargirl]]''. The song is then sung by the two leads, [[Grace VanderWaal]] as Susan "Stargirl" Caraway and [[Graham Verchere]] as Leo Borlock.{{cn|date=March 2025}}