"Thirteen" is a song by the American rock band

Big Star Big Star was an American rock band formed in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1971 by Alex Chilton (vocals, guiar), Chris Bell (vocals, guitar), Jody Stephens (drums), and Andy Hummel (bass). The group broke up in early 1975, and reorganized with a ne ...

. ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' describes it "one of rock's most beautiful celebrations of adolescence", and rated it #396 on their list of the 500 greatest songs of all time. It was written by

Alex Chilton William Alexander Chilton (December 28, 1950 – March 17, 2010) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer best known as the lead singer of the Box Tops and Big Star. Chilton's early commercial success in the 1960s ...

and Chris Bell. Bill Janovitz of Buffalo Tom writes in his

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 Music ...

review of the song, "There are few songs that capture the aching innocence of adolescence as well" and calls it a "perfect melancholy ballad". The song encompasses folk and

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' ( ...

characteristics with its use of simple lyrics and the acoustic guitar. The song was originally featured on the 1972 album '' #1 Record''. It was released as a single by Big Star with “Watch the Sunrise” as the B-Side, on Ardent Records, but was mislabeled as “Don’t Lie to Me”. "Thirteen" was featured in the season 6 and season 8 finale of ''

That '70s Show ''That '70s Show'' is an American television period teen sitcom that aired on Fox from August 23, 1998, to May 18, 2006. The series focuses on the lives of a group of six teenage friends living in the fictional town of Point Place, Wisconsin, ...

''. The song was covered by

Grace VanderWaal Grace Avery VanderWaal (born January 15, 2004) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. She is known for her distinctive vocals and has often accompanied herself on the ukulele. VanderWaal began her musical career by posting videos of her ...

and

Graham Verchere Graham Marc Verchere (born 4 February 2002) is a Canadian actor, known for roles in '' Stargirl,'' '' Fargo'', '' The Good Doctor'', and ''Summer of 84''. Early life Verchere was born in Vancouver to Cynthia, a pediatric plastic surgeon at BC C ...

in the 2020 movie '' Stargirl'' on

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with a Grace Vanderwaal only performance appearing as a bonus on the soundtrack.

Covers

"Thirteen" has been covered by several notable musicians. They include: When asked if there was a Big Star cover he was especially fond of, lead singer Alex Chilton mentioned Garbage's version of this song.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thirteen Songs about teenagers 1972 songs American rock songs Magnapop songs Garbage (band) songs Elliott Smith songs Songs written by Alex Chilton Rock ballads Big Star songs