Died On This Date (July 19, 2010) Andy Hummel / Big Star

By themusicsover July 19, 2010 #Alex Chilton, #Andy Hummel, #Big Star, #Chris Bell, #Flaming Lips, #Jody Stephens, #R.E.M., #Teenage Fanclub, #The Replacements, #Whiskeytown, #Wilco

Andy Hummel
DOB Unknown – July 19, 2010

Andy Hummel was an American bassist who is best remembered as a founding member of Big Star. Formed with Alex Chilton, Jody Stephens, and Chris Bell in 1971, Memphis, Tennessee’s Big Star set out out to make music that took the best pop elements of the British Invasion but added a dash of Memphis soul. In 1972, Big Star released #1 Album which, although it was a commercial failure, was highly influential to the Replacements, R.E.M., Wilco, Whiskeytown the Flaming Lips, and Teenage Fanclub. After the release of the band’s Radio City, Hummel left the group to pursue his education and focus on a more “traditional” life. In March of 2010, Hummel reunited with the surviving member of Big Star and several others that they influenced at the South By Southwest music conference to pay tribute to Chilton who had recently passed away. On July 19, 2010, Andy Hummel died after a long bout with cancer.