Arthur Alexander was born on 10th May 1940 in Sheffield, one of the quad cities. He joined a Gospel group, the Heartstrings, whilst still at high school and recorded his first single in 1960. It was a song that he had co-written with Tom Stafford, called “Sally Sue Brown”, which was released by Judd Records under the name June Alexander (June was short for Junior). It is a Blues tune, probably inspired by Alexander’s father, who played bottleneck style blues guitar. It is a good song, but not original enough to make any impact.
Arthur Alexander
Photo: Elektra Entertainment 1993 (Wikipedia)
The song that turned FAME’s fortunes in 1961 was very different, a slow Country-influenced Soul song. “You Better Move On” is a classic. Alexander was inspired to write the song when he met a girl who already had a boyfriend. The young lady later became Alexander’s wife! The song was recorded by producer Rick Hall at the first FAME Studio, with backing from David Briggs (piano), Forest Riley (guitar), Jerry Carrigan (drums), Norbert Putnam (bass), and Terry Thompson (guitar).
Hall now needed to find a record company interested in leasing the recording. Later, he would set up a FAME record label, but at this early stage of his career in the music industry, he was focussed on establishing a studio from which he could sell his recordings to established companies. Hall took the tape to Nashville, where he had numerous contacts, and went from company to company, looking to sell the song. After a number of rejections, Noel Ball signed a deal at Dot Records. Ball took not just the recording but Alexander too! He offered Alexander a contract, which the young man accepted, and another of Alexander’s songs, “A Shot of Rhythm and Blues”, was chosen for the B-side. Hall watched as the single went on to achieve gold record status. Hall had signed a contract that gave him just 2% of sales income from the song, but it sold well enough to subsidise the building of a new recording studio in Avalon Road, for which Hall retained the FAME name.
As the single climbed the charts in the United States, young bands in the UK took notice. The song was soon covered by the Rolling Stones and the Hollies, and the Beatles took notice too. They covered Alexander’s 1962 release “Anna (Go To Him)” and also included two of his songs in their early live performances: “Soldier of Love” and “A Shot of Rhythm & Blues”. In 1963, Steve Alaimo recorded another of Alexander’s songs, “Every Day I Have To Cry”, which entered the top fifty on both the Billboard and Cash Box charts. In the UK the song was recorded by Dusty Springfield and released in 1964.
Arthur Alexander is remembered largely for the songs that he wrote, which other artists took into the charts. It is noteworthy that his compositions have been recorded by singers across a wide range of genres, including Pop, Blues, Soul and Country, probably because they are simple in construction but evoke a strong response in the listener.
Alexander himself released a string of singles on various labels, but never hit the top of the charts again. In 1972, he abandoned his career in music, following the failure of his 1972 album “Rainbow Road”. Ten years later, he was working as a bus driver. In 1993, he was still driving that bus, but he was tempted back to a recording studio, to make a new album after twenty-one years away. He had just completed the come-back album, entitled “Lonely Just Like Me” (Elektra/Nonesuch), when he suffered a fatal heart attack. “Lonely Just Like Me” is a quiet, understated set of songs, that is a fitting tribute to him as a performer.
Jason Ankeny (music critic for AllMusic) has called Alexander a “country-soul pioneer”, describing his music as “the stuff of genius, a poignant and deeply intimate body of work”. It is possible that, without him, much of what Rick Hall achieved at Muscle Shoals might never have happened. Hall certainly owes Alexander an enormous debt of gratitude, and the reverse is true too.
There are several good compilations of his songs, including four issued by Ace Records.
