Very Recent History: Big Star's Influence On Katy Perry

MTV, announcing the passing of Big Star bassist Andy Hummel, provides some context for the kids:

Big Star influenced other areas of pop culture as well. “In the Street,” one of the songs from their 1972 debut album #1 Record was the theme song to “That ’70s Show,” re-recorded by fellow power-pop legends Cheap Trick. Plus, the title of Katy Perry’s hit “California Gurls” is a nod to Big Star’s “September Gurls.”

“My manager, Bradford, he’s from Mississippi, and he’s a huge Big Star fan,” Perry said. “And with the death of one of their members [Chilton], I had just written that song, and he’s like, ‘Katy, just for me, will you please title it ‘California Gurls,’ with a ‘u’? People won’t even know!’ “

Maybe now they will! Sigh. Sorry, Andy.