 Big Star was an American power pop band formed in Memphis , Tennessee , in 1971 by Alex Chilton , Chris Bell , Jody Stephens , and Andy Hummel . The group broke up in 1974 , and reorganized with a new line @-@ up nearly 20 years later . In its first era , the band 's musical style drew on the vocal harmonies of the Beatles , as well as the swaggering rhythms of the Rolling Stones and the jangling guitars of the Byrds . To the resulting power pop , Big Star added dark , existential themes , and produced a style that foreshadowed the alternative rock of the 1980s and 1990s . Before it broke up , Big Star created a " seminal body of work that never stopped inspiring succeeding generations " in the words of Rolling Stone , as the " quintessential American power pop band " and " one of the most mythic and influential cult acts in all of rock & roll " . 
