Lesa & Ross – Lesa & Ross LP

Here are Ross Johnson’s thoughts on Lesa and the collaboration.

“I first saw Lesa Aldridge sitting next to Alex Chilton at an outdoor concert in Memphis when she was 19 years old. I was rather excited to see Chilton in public, being a Box Tops and Big Star fan, but that excitement was quickly overshadowed when I spied the shy looking nymph sitting closely to him. I had never seen the likes of her before in real life. She was simply a stunning beauty and I fell in love with her then and there. I was 21 at the time and cursed my luck at falling so quickly for a woman I did not even know and likely never would. Time has since taught me that there is indeed such a thing as ‘love at first sight.’ I should have trusted my instincts about her.

I did get to meet her two years later, being introduced to Alex who befriended me for still unknown reasons. I came to know them as couple who were mostly inseparable until 1980 when Lesa left Memphis. I thought of them as Lesa and Alex more than as separate identities. They taught me much about what the struggle of love really looks like. Of course, most fans know that Lesa was the ‘muse’ for many of the songs Alex wrote and recorded for what became Big Star Third/Sister Lovers. What isn’t commonly known is that the Ardent Studio sessions for that record began as a Lesa and Alex project. She was not only his muse but also his musical partner on that and several other musical ventures.

Unfortunately, most of her contributions to that record were erased by Alex for personal reasons. A shame, that.

With most of the selections on this LP being hers, I view this as a Lesa Aldridge solo recording. A bit overdue, I would say.”

Front sleeve pic: Lesa and Alex 1974