[UPDATE, 3:56 pm: Preston Jones of DFW.com reports: “Just got off the phone with Ardent Studios founder John Fry, who confirmed that former Big Star bassist Andy Hummel has died after a two-year battle with cancer. He was 59. Services are scheduled for Wednesday.”]

Only months after the unexpected death of Big Star's frontman Alex Chilton, rumors are spreading of the passing of the band's early bassist/songwriter Andy Hummel.

Hummel, a key Big Star figure, particularly during the recording of second album Radio City, appears to have died today after a long illness.

We are awaiting official confirmation of this sad piece of news. The closest confirmation right now comes from Posies' frontman Ken Stringfellow, who was close to the surviving members of the pioneering Memphis power-pop band. Stringfellow's Twitter account just posted: “Another sad loss for Big Star fans as Andy Hummel passes away after long illness.”

Here's Hummel at the recent Alex Chilton tribute, playing “September Gurls” with the Watson Twins and Susan Cowsill:

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