When Box Tops and Big Star leader Alex Chilton died on Wednesday, there came, amidst the expected tributes from admiring musicians and writers, a most unexpected shout-out from, of all places, the floor of the House of Representatives. Congressman Steve Cohen, from Tennessee’s 9th district, which encompasses Chilton’s hometown of Memphis, took to the floor on Thursday and delivered a two-minute eulogy that was exceedingly knowledgeable and very obviously heartfelt. Despite his dentist-like appearance, the 60-year-old Cohen has a reputation as one of Washington’s more liberal, dare-we-say hip congressmen – in an appearance on the Colbert Report’s Better Know a District segment, he copped to seeking admission to the Black Congressional Caucus. But there’s cool for a congressman, and then there’s I-bro’d-down-with-Alex-Chilton-AND-Warren Zevon cool. Suck it, Orrin Hatch! We caught up with Cohen in Washington, D.C.

Billboard: Fans were so surprised and touched by your eulogy for Alex on the House floor yesterday. Why’d you decide to do that?
Cohen: Well, thank you for saying that. Alex was a dear friend and a great musician. We’ve occasionally recognized the passing of significant musicians in the House. I’ve done that with Isaac Hayes and Willie Mitchell, two great Memphians who have passed recently. Alex was representative of the Memphis music scene of my generation.

Read the rest at the Billboard website.