Radio City (album)

Radio City is the second studio album by the American rock band Big Star. The album was recorded in late 1973 at Memphis' Ardent Studios and released on February 20, 1974, by Ardent Records. Though not a commercial success at the time, it is now recognized as a milestone album in the history of power pop music. Critically acclaimed upon its release, the record sold poorly, partly due to a lack of promotion and the distribution problems of the band's struggling record label. The album includes the songs "September Gurls" and "Back of a Car", which remain among the band's most recognizable. "O My Soul" and "September Gurls" were released as singles.

Radio City's reputation has grown since its release, with many critics and listeners considering it not only the definitive power pop album but one of the finest rock albums. As writer Richard Meltzer told an interviewer, "Big Star ... is the means through which most bands today who are influenced by the Beatles get their dose of the British Invasion." It was voted number 319 in the third edition of Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums (2000). In 2003 and 2012, the album was ranked number 405 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time", moved up to number 359 in the 2020 edition. Sound & Vision ranked it number 43 on its "Top 50 Albums of All Time" list.

The original Ardent Records LP featured record-jacket photographs by noted photographer William Eggleston, including The Red Ceiling on the cover. Eggleston was a close friend of band member Alex Chilton. Some of the outtakes from the album include "I Got Kinda Lost", "Gone with the Light", "Motel Blues", and "There Was a Life" (an early version of "There Was a Light" from Chris Bell's I Am the Cosmos solo album).