Song · Big Star
“Thirteen” by Big Star
From the album #1 Record (1972)
“Thirteen” by Big Star appears on 8 radio countdowns from 6 stations between 2001 and 2023. It was first released in 1972 on the album #1 Record. Its best result is #47 on the 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '70s. In the combined RockLists rankings it is #641 indie & aaa song of all time and #47 of the '70s.
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"Thirteen" is the quiet heart of #1 Record, Big Star's 1972 album, a hushed acoustic ballad Alex Chilton and Chris Bell wrote together about being young and unsure. The two of them play guitar and share the vocals with bassist Andy Hummel, Jody Stephens stays light on the drums, and guest Terry Manning adds electric piano and backing voices. It's folk and pop reduced to almost nothing, and the harmonies do the rest.
Ardent issued it as a single, with "Watch the Sunrise" on the B-side, only to mislabel it as "Don't Lie to Me". Rolling Stone later called it one of rock's loveliest songs about adolescence and put it at number 396 among the 500 greatest songs of all time, and That '70s Show leaned on it for several season finales.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 654 | WFPK | WFPK 2001 Greatest Songs of All Time | 2000 |
| 2014 | 584 | WXPN | WXPN 885 All-Time Greatest Songs (2014) | 885 |
| 2018 | 516 | The Current | The Current's 893 Essential Songs | 892 |
| 2020 | 301 | WXPN | WXPN 2020 Greatest Songs of All Time | 2020 |
| 2022 | 47 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '70s | 908 |
| 2022 | 564 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Colorado Sound Songs of All Time | 1055 |
| 2022 | 134 | KEXP | KEXP Top Songs of the Last 50 Years (1972-2022) | 491 |
| 2023 | 263 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of All Time | 909 |
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