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Written by: Wayne Carson Thompson
Produced by: Dan Penn
Released: July '67 on Mala
Charts: 16 weeks
Top spot: No. 1

On "The Letter," Alex Chilton moans like a gruff soul man, despite the fact that he was just sixteen. He credited the performance to his producer, the Memphis legend Penn. "[He] coached me pretty heavily on singing anything we ever did," Chilton said. "In a lot of cases, it sounds more like him singing than it sounds like me." Chilton later fronted Big Star but still tours with the reunited Box Tops.

Appears on: The Letter (Sundazed)

Next: Highway 61 Revisited

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