The Box Tops : The Letter/Neon Rainbow../Cry Like a Baby

William Alexander Chilton

 (December 28, 1950 – March 17, 2010) 

was an American musician, 

best known as

 the lead singer 

of the rock bands

the Box Tops

and

 Big Star

 Chilton's early 

commercial success

 in the 1960s 

as a teen vocalist

 for

 the Box Tops 

was never repeated

 in later years with 

Big Star 

and in his subsequent

 indie music

 solo career 

on small labels,

 but he drew an

 intense following

 among indie 

and

 alternative musicians. 

He is frequently cited as

 a seminal influence

 by influential rock artists 

and bands, 

some of whose testimonials 

appeared in the

 2012 documentary 

Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me.

GIMME A TICKET

TO AN AEROPLANE

AIN'T GOT TIME TO

TAKE A FAST TRAIN..

 The Letter/Neon Rainbow

 is the debut album

 by American rock band

 The Box Tops

 released in 1967.

 Following

 "The Letter" 

reaching number one 

on the singles charts,

 The Letter/Neon Rainbow 

was quickly assembled

 for a follow-up. 

The album peaked at

 number 87 

on

 the Billboard

 Pop Albums chart

 in 1968.

History

Most of the

 backing tracks

 were performed by

 session musicians;

 however the original group

 played the hit 

"The Letter".

 The session musicians

 likely consisted of

 Reggie Young 

and 

Bobby Womack 

(guitars), 

Tommy Cogbill

 (bass),

 Bobby Emmons

 (piano, organ), 

and 

Gene Chrisman

 (drums).

Although lead singer

 Alex Chilton 

(16 at the time)

 had already written

 a number of songs, 

none were

 included on

 the Box Tops' 

debut LP,

 perhaps due to

 his relative inexperience 

with songwriting. 

Chilton later had a 

significant 

songwriting role

 in the cult 

power pop band 

Big Star, 

and after the 

dissolution of 

the group continued to

 develop his career

 as a solo artist

Cry Like a Baby

 is a 1968 album by

 The Box Tops 

The title song 

was released as

 a single

 and reached #2

 in April 1968 

on

 the Billboard

 Hot 100 chart, 

a position which

 it held for

 two weeks. 

It was kept out

 of the top spot by

 Bobby Goldsboro's

 "Honey".

Background

Cry Like a Baby 

was the second

 Box Tops album

 to be recorded, 

and its April, 

1968 release

 followed the group's

 debut by

 just five months. 

The group would

 continue working

 at this fast pace, 

and released its

 third album,

 Non Stop,

 later in the year.

Songwriter

 Dan Penn 

was once again 

the group's

 producer for

Cry Like a Baby, 

and he was writer

 or co-writer

 for half of the 

album's songs,

 including

 the title track. 

TRACK LIST

The Letter

She Knows How

Trains & Boats & Planes

Break My Mind

Whiter Shade of Pale

Everything I Am

Neon Rainbow

People Make the World

I'm Your Puppet

Happy Times

Gonna Find Somebody

I Pray for Rain

Turn on a Dream

Georgia Farm Boy

Cry Like a Baby

Deep in Kentucky

I'm the One for You

Weeping Analeah

Everytime

Fields of Clover

Trouble with Sam

Lost

Good Morning Dear

727

You Keep Me Hanging On

BONUS TRACKS

The Door You Closed To Me

You Keep Tightening Up On Me

Take Me To Your Heart

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