Song of the Day: "September Gurls" by Big Star

Musically, many people judge the 1970s on the in-your-face evidence of the two main genres that flourished during this decade: the bubblegum onslaught during the early years, which had been kicked into high gear with the release of the 1910 Fruitgum Company's "1-2-3 Red Light" in 1968, and disco's incessant beat and suggestive breathiness during the second half of the decade.

Dive below the top-40 surface, though, and you'll find the same kind of musical richness and diversity that has always been with us. It's just a matter of knowing where to look. And except for a short-lived, free-form FM era during the early 1970s, it wasn't found on the radio.

The award for the decade's greatest oversight probably goes to Alex Chilton and Big Star. The group's first two albums, #1 Record (1972) and Radio City (1974) are now considered power-pop classics. Earlier in his career, Chilton was the lead singer for the Box Tops, a Memphis-based, blue-eyed soul group responsible for a string of hits in the late 1960s: "The Letter", "Neon Rainbow", "Soul Deep", "Cry Like a Baby".

Today's song was supposed to be "O My Soul", but I was unable to locate a video version. "O My Soul" kicks off Big Star's second album, Radio City, with a vengeance. "September Gurls" is also found here.