@Jgeneraledger23 He passed away in 2010. This video was recorded in 1967, and Alex Chilton was born in December of 1950. I agree he looked like a middle-aged man at the age of 16.
I was born in 1965 and my dad played all the oldies and I still love them 59 years later. The 60s and 70s music will put you on another planet that no one will understand unless you have a love of the the oldies music. You don't need drugs or alcohol to appreciate the best music ever. God....take me back to the 60s /70s and leave me there....I'll be just fine.
My mind simply cannot comprehend the fact that a sixteen year old kid can produce such a voice and give a vocal performance like this! It is simply uncanny! Alex was really a rare breed. Unique, even.
He was 16 years old and what a voice! When this song first came out, I was convinced it was an older guy singing, so quite surprised when I learned years later he was only 16!!
WHAT!? You mean this gal at 72 years old is just finding out that information!? Okay, guess it's true, one learns something new everyday. Just looked up wiki..cool info on there too. peace light and love... ✌🏿
I was in vietnam 1969 I heard this song and lost it, lucky my new wife was there when I got home. Shit gets in your head when your in away for so long in a place you hate so much and there's nothing you can do about it.
Some asked who is still listening to this. Me, and I'm 74. This tune just happens to be a perfect combination of notes and chords and words.."Gimme a ticket for an aeroplane"...and they all just blend perfectly. In 1966 and 67, there was great music and great musicians, and somehow this tune found its way into the mix and was a mainstay for many of us. I loved being at Lynn Beach in Massachusetts with friends on a sunny week-end listening to this. Also, the era that it came out in helped its popularity. Most of us had never been on an airplane before. But we were about to start, with the first plane trips to basic training, the second for a quick trip home, and the third to Vietnam. And for some, that's all she wrote, end of story
I was 13 years old in 1967 and was literally on top of the world with all the great music that was being made and especially this particular song!! Still groovin' at 70❤️🇺🇸 fountains of youth in good music!!
I was 15. When this song came out!! AND IT Takes me back to those days Even Now Jan/2024!! That's what you call Music ! Absolutely Fantastic to hear This Again 🥳🥳 ❤ xxx
Me too! Good timing eh? And just when I thought it was all over, in 1997, I got dragged to a rave, by two young German punks! Last year I got into Bookmtown festival as an artist for free. All I had to do was wear my silver sequin frock, blue foam rubber mohican, fur coat, and basically have a laugh, like it was my duty! 😊
Growing up, this was me my sister and our dads special. In june 2009, my dad was on life support. My sister and I held his hands and sung this song to him. Right before he passed
wow tears in my old eyes reading your comment, god bless you girls, my time is close and i know i will be judged for my deeds, its all good though, they were all bad men who wanted to kill my friends, i couldnt allow that, god bless
One of the BEST songs EVER. I was a teenager in the San Francisco Bay Area during the HIPPIE DAYS of the late 60's....Grace Slick, Janis Joplin, Jimmy Hendrix, Sly and the Family Stone. Such an awesome time to experience music. So glad I didn't miss it.
Great song... Joined the Marine Corps in 67 and my girl wrote me 3 letters a day until one day they stopped. Found out while in Vietnam she had gotten pregnant and married to a shmuck... This song always reminds me of that period of my life. Song is excellent and still a hit in my soul....
In Vietnam, that song about it being possible to get a ticket for an airplane to get to go home and back to my "baby" in an expedited timeframe tore at my heartstrings every time I heard it. Especially the part where all I had to do was get past somebody I could address as "Mister." The Animal's "We Gotta Get Out of This Place" struck a chord, too. Thank you for our service, etc...
In hindsight..probably the BEST thing that happened for you..and I've had a few women in my life down the years..!!..Bless You and good luck always..from Plymouth UK..!!
My band The Left Banke played a few gigs with The Boxtops in 1967. We became friends with Alex. He snd our lead singer Steve Martin Caro really hit it off. Alex was a truly special person, he called when he came to NYC and invited Steve to join him in the green room on the. Johnny Carson show. He was a really funny, nice and generous person. What a cool cat.
i remember left bank. i think their big hit was WALK AWAY RENEE. different sound than most of the other popular music of that time in the 60's. good tune.
Still listening since 1967 I was 11 or 12 at the time. Still listening 👂 on 9/3/2024 I’m 68 years old and will continue to listen 👂 while I’m able to. I only listen to great 👍 music 🎶 because the 60’s was a time of great music 🎵.
I’m 28, just discovered right now because a random comment on fb said to check out the keyboard man’s face while faking to play. It was funny, yes, but what a song!! Gonna add it to my playlist right now
Siamo nel 2023 e ascolto questa canzone 20 volte al giorno ! Che epoca gli anni ‘60 , centinaia di capolavori musicali una cosa simile non sarà più possibile !
What a song. A classic and a quality song. The Letter was sung brilliantly by the late Alex Chilton. I cannot believe that he was just 16 years old at the time, great voice. NO.5 in the UK in October 1967, No.1 in the US during September & October 1967. The Letter was America's 2nd best seller of 1967 and the UK's 53rd. A real classic by The Box Tops which has stood the test of time. It still sounds great 55 years on.
The singer was only 16!? That I didn't know! The guitar player on In A Gadda Da Vida (Iron Butterfly) was 15 or 16 when they recorded that song. I think the guitar player for Santana at Woodstock was only 16. I wonder how many people under 18 made it in the 60s?
There is a early video of the beach boys doing the same thing. They rebelling against their dad, you tell no problem. Arms crossed. You'll see when you find it
Dick clark was a real piece of s--t. I asked him for his autograph, he said get lost kid, my mom was standing right by my side. never went back to american bandstand.
Alex Chilton by name only seventeen in this video, very respected by his peers,also sung about in a song by the replacements I highly recommend called "Alex Chilton"
Ha ha totally. That's Alex Chilton. He was 16 in this vid. Hard to believe I know but true. He went on to co-found Big Star. Give em a listen. Most influential band of the 70s that no one heard of...
The cut on their album is longer, which is on RU-vid. It's nice that the song & instrumental music is longer rendering more complexity, but Alex's voice is not as husky or deep as this version.
Watched this video a dozen times, and never fails to put a smile on my face. A good matured middle finger to the whole farce of music marketing and TV fakery. John Evans magically playing the keyboard without touching it is the best part.
I never knew this a fake music til you pointed it out. I am 13 years old, and still new to 80's music techniques. You would think if they are faking it, they would put a little effort into it. Drummer just barely taps his snare. Heard that one of these guys (Mike) also played with the Monkees.
james helm What happened is a lot of these 60s shows either didn't have proper setup for live playback or were too worried about safety (someone else in this thread mentiosn the producers were worried about the band tripping over their power cords!) Imagine if you showed to play live on national TV and were told you had to lip sync? This is why they're goofing it, just as a comment on how absurd things are.
David Wright Nail on the head! I love they keyboard player smiling as he displays his-self playing keyboard...hilarious! Now "artists" ehem lip sync and auto tune out of choice lol.
Check out some of Buffalo Springfield's t.v. appearances in the late '60's. They could never keep it together. Especially in the one where they lip sync to "For What It's Worth" and drummer Dewey Martin is out front with the baseball cap. Him and Neil Young start having a field day with the drumsticks. LOL.
Raw and sexy. He was a 'fox" as we said back in those days of fun and freedom. Alex literally rolled-out of bed from a long night of drinking the night before. His "bedroom" looks was authentic. There is something about his face and soulful brown eyes that I have fallen in love with. I hope is soul is at peace. At least he does not have to witness the Communist take over of country.
One of the best recorded and mixed songs of all time. I'm 64 and can literally imagine being at the Jersey shore hearing this. A tribute to the group, Alex Chilton and how uncompressed, analog recordings can still equal and surpass the best of modern stuff. In my top 10 of most listenable songs ever recorded...I wish there were more.
I was born in 1992 and I'm a big Big Star fan and showed this to my dad, who was born in 1948. He remembered this song and had a big smile on his face. He hadn't heard it in decades, and still remembered some of the lyrics.
None of them were. Bands back then were pretty much pissed off that they were required to pretend to sing "on air" for the backing track. These guys weren't happy about it....and they clearly weren't in any mood to cooperate.
Anyone else listen to this song as a kid and completely forget about it and then just wake up with it in your head? Yeah it's the greatest. It's like seeing a friend you haven't seen in forever. It just makes your heart sing😩💖
Oh my god this is so funny. The drummer slowly and woodenly tapping away, staring ahead blankly. The guitarist making strange faces at the camera and trying not to smile. The keyboardist- lifting his hands mid-song and shrugging at the camera, then gesturing at the keyboard as the part magically continues to play...! Oh my god. Alex Chilton repressing a grin and banging lightly on the tambourine. I'm dying of laughter here.
Mae MaeMae I think the video was done just for laugh, better times when the important regarding the music was the music itself and not the face of the singer
Ester Blanco I know, it's pretty obvious the band was having fun here. I'm just saying they did a great job and the result was hilarious... clearly they were making fun of the lip-syncing.
(G) Both Bill Cunningham and I are "playing" guitar because we're lip-synching. That means PRETENDING...Bill was the bass player, but decided not to "play" bass on that TV Show.(G1/2) It was not our first lip-synch and it wasn't in Germany. It was our millionth lip-synch (or so it seemed). It was in Cleveland. Nobody was surprised we had to lip-synch...bands ALWAYS lip-synched on TV, because the studios were not equipped for live sound. It would have been way to expensive. The Ed Sullivan Show and The Tonight Show were the only exceptions, because they had the space and the budget. We thought lip-synching was insulting to the audience because we knew that they knew we weren't playing. They didn't have amps or even guitar chords. There was NO ATTEMPT to make it look authentic on the Tv show's part.
Gimme a ticket for an aeroplane Ain't got time to take a fast train Lonely days are gone, I'm a-goin' home My baby, just-a wrote me a letter I don't care how much money I gotta spend Got to get back to baby again Lonely days are gone, I'm a-goin' home My baby, just-a wrote me a letter Well, she wrote me a letter Said she couldn't live without me no more Listen mister, can't you see I got to get back To my baby once-a more Anyway, yeah! Gimme a ticket for an aeroplane Ain't got time to take a fast train Lonely days are gone, I'm a-goin' home My baby, just-a wrote me a letter Well, she wrote me a letter Said she couldn't live without me no more Listen mister, can't you see I got to get back To my baby once-a more Anyway, yeah! Gimme a ticket for an aeroplane Ain't got time to take a fast train Lonely days are gone, I'm a-goin' home My baby, just-a wrote me a letter My baby, just-a wrote me a letter
I was 15 living at Newport Beach California. I was a little wild. I left home and was hitching north with a couple of friends when a flatbed semi picked us up. There was not room for all of us in the cab so I rode outside behind the cab, north toward San Francisco. This song was at it's height then and I loved it!
0:48 I love the cheesy fake smile on keyboardist face. It's like he was instructed to smile for the camera and a sarcastic smile is what we the viewers get.
Yeah and he was messing around taking his hands off the keyboard, pretty funny. The right after the singer smiles after watching the keyboardist on the screen. They were obviously not playing live and they didn't like it so made fun of it.
Fabulous song from those days..!!...1967 I was 18 then..!! ..You look around now and so many years and so many lovely people...are sadly gone..!!!..Does anybody know where those years went..??!!??
Whenever there are a whole lot of guys stuck halfway 'round the world fighting a bloody war, lyrics about their yearnings and hopes to be able to get back home aren't considered sappy.
I noticed a lot of the older generation enjoyed the late Mac Miller's last two albums. They definitely have a jazz element and are soulful, I recommend checking out his two last albums, Swimming, and Circles.
These boys are not happy to be lip syncing. - shocking that Alex Chilton didn't become a major star. Apparently he was only 16 or 17 here. When u listen to his solo stuff and his work with big star - truly amazing that he never really made it. Regardless of money issues he always found a way to perform and record. A true artist.
In 1989 I worked for a college radio station and interviewed these guys while they were on a reunion tour. They were still in "awe" over the lead singer, Alex, his "ad lib" "You left the water running" in the song "Cry Like A Baby".
+Daveson I know, right? It was so awesome. It was almost like he was thumbing his nose at the music industry's way of doing the miming for music videos and "live TV performances".
Not only the keyboard player.. they all (even Alex Chilton, the lead singer, cracks a smile about it a minute or two into the song) appear to be laughing about it inside and perfunctorily "going through the motions" (while not really playing).
Lyrics: Gimme a ticket for an aeroplane Ain't got time to take a fast train Lonely days are gone, I'm a-goin' home My baby, just a wrote me a letter I don't care how much money I gotta spend Got to get back to my baby again Lonely days are gone, I'm a-goin' home My baby, just-a wrote me a letter Well, she wrote me a letter Said she couldn't live without me no more Listen mister, can't you see I got to get back To my baby once-a more Anyway, yeah Gimme a ticket for an aeroplane Ain't got time to take a fast train Lonely days are gone, I'm a-goin' home My baby, just-a wrote me a letter Well, she wrote me a letter Said she couldn't live without me no more Listen mister, can't you see I got to get back To my baby once-a more Anyway, yeah Gimme a ticket for an aeroplane Ain't got time to take a fast train Lonely days are gone, I'm a-goin' home My baby, just-a wrote me a letter, my baby just-a wrote me a letter
14 years and I’m still Loving this masterpiece of A Song, Ty Alex Chilton, We Love You, I Love You and You will be missed! Look after for him us for God! Ty, R.I.P. Mr. Chilton this is for you, same name as me Ty, to me You’re A Sir Chilton, I Love You Man.🙌🏿🔥❤️
Yup. I was thinking the same thing. Their expressions. The electric guitar - not even a cable for show. Performed in protest. Saw that with the Beach Boys also. Their faces said - "should have read that contract closer."
I wanna go back to the 60s and 70s too!!! Well since that's not possible, I always go back my own way by playing my 45s and LPS. In my head, those fabulous days hold strong always and I love to sing along!!! All that fantastic music from those times will NEVER die!!!
At first, I did, too. Then, I recalled what it was like to be so disappointed that a band only cared about themselves, and not squat about the viewers who longed for, at least the fantasy, that the band was really singing and playing instruments. I'm glad I was blissfully unaware.
Back then we never saw the band, no satellite TV. I fell in love with Alex's voice. We all assumed it was a black soul band! Followed him through Big Star. Love him for ever. 💕
Yes, Alex Chilton was only 16, here. He went on to form one of the most tragically underrated bands in pop history...Big Star. They had some fantastic songs, and should have been much bigger than this. Check them out..
Same here. I was 12 years old in 1967. I loved "The Letter" the first time I heard it and I still love it 54 years later. I always liked how they used "aeroplane" instead of "airplane".
your smarter than I was at the same age 12...I was into the monkees.... 65 coming up in july... I would not go back would miss the internet to much...hehe
I was 12 5 years ago... But I love 50s and 60s rock, especially all the hard to find garage bands. I got my grandpa’s records and this was one of his 45s. It’s a little beat up but definitely a fun one to spin!
Our GI's during Vietnam requested this song a lot to their girl back home. To our vets that served. I want to thank you all for your service and also to our ladies nurses that served in Vietnam. You all deserve a big thank you for helping our men getting better from their wounds. God Bless you all. I would like to request please if we can see those letters and I can make a video. It's history that must not be forgotten. Thank you
@@MichaelSSmith-hs5pw but i guess the stupid ones are those youtubers that were in vietnam. didnt know semen could carry a rifle. i guess they werent even semen back then. the youtube fubar generation were not born until 2006.
