Prix was an American

power pop Power pop (also typeset as powerpop) is a subgenre of rock music and form of pop rock based on the early music of bands such as the Who, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Byrds. It typically incorporates melodic hooks, vocal harmonies, ...

band formed in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

, in 1975 by Tommy Hoehn and Jon Tiven. The group ended up primarily as a studio project. Its recordings were produced by Tiven along with former

Big Star Big Star was an American rock band formed in Memphis, Tennessee in 1971 by Alex Chilton (vocals, guitar), Chris Bell (vocals, guitar), Jody Stephens (drums), and Andy Hummel (bass). They have been described as the "quintessential American ...

member Chris Bell, who also played guitar and sang backup vocals. Prix is also famous for its use of

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and in modern forms is usually made of plastic, where early membranes were made of animal skin. ...

Alex Chilton William Alexander Chilton (December 28, 1950March 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 ...

also participated in the recordings, along with session drummer Hilly Michaels. Although the group generated some major record label interest—notably from

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. Mercury Records released ...

and Columbia/CBS Records—it ultimately only released a double A-side single on Ork Records in 1977 and a single on Miracle Records in 1978. Its only live performance came at a CBS Records showcase in 1976. In 1977, just as Ork Records released the first single and booked the group at

CBGB CBGB was a New York City music club opened in 1973 by Hilly Kristal in the East Village, Manhattan, East Village in Manhattan, New York City. The club was previously a biker bar and before that was a dive bar. The letters ''CBGB'' were for ''Cou ...

, Prix broke up due both to Hoehn's unwillingness to remain in New York and to creative differences. In 1978, two of the songs recorded during the Prix sessions were included on ''Losing You to Sleep'', Hoehn's major label solo debut on

London Records London Recordings (or London Records and London Music Stream) is a British record label that marketed records in the United States, Canada, and Latin America for Decca Records from 1947 to 1980 before becoming semi-independent. The London nam ...

. In 2002, the Japanese label Air Mail Music released ''Historix'', a CD-only collection of all eleven songs recorded by Prix, plus four alternate versions.

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and former senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of multiple artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance ...

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

described the songs as "11 sparkling, diamond-hard pop gems that will prove to be irresistible to power pop fanatics." In 2015, six of the songs were released on the compilation Ork Records: New York, New York. In 2016, HoZac Records re-released ''Historix'' on vinyl and CD.

Discography

Singles *''Girl / Everytime I Close My Eyes / Zero'' ( Ork Records, 1977) *''Love You Tonight'' (Miracle Records, 1978) Compilations *''Historix'' (Air Mail Records, 2002; re-released, HoZac Records, 2016) *'' Ork Records: New York, New York'' (Numero Records, 2015)

References

{{reflist American power pop groups Musical groups established in 1975 Musical groups disestablished in 1977 Musical groups from Memphis, Tennessee Rock music groups from Tennessee