From:   "Dik de Heer" 
Date:  Fri May 10, 2002  2:01 am
Subject:  Born To Be With You : Arthur Alexander
 
ARTHUR ALEXANDER (By Phil Davies)

Born Arthur Alexander Junior, 10th May 1940, Florence,Alabama Died 9th June
1993, heart failure in Nashville, Tennessee

Grew up in nearby Sheffield listening to hillbilly, gospel and R & B. Known as "
June", from junior. His father was a local blues musician but didn't want Arthur
to be a musician. Met Tom Stafford owner of local studio Spar Music, in a room
above his family's drug store. Arthur penned She Wanna Rock with pal Henry Lee
Bennett. It was recorded by Decca artist Arnie Derksen in 1959 (it's on the MCA
Rare Rockabilly series of lps). The tasty self-penned R&B styled Sally Sue Brown
came out on Judd but flopped so Arthur carried on working as a bell hop at the
Muscle Shoals Hotel. Tom fell out with partner Rick Hall and Rick decided to
build his own studio, the famous FAME studio, i.e. Florence Alabama Musical
Enterprises.

The first record cut there was Arthur's classic You Better Move On, cut after
several months fine-tuning of the song. Cut by what became the classic 60s
southern soul formula, white band and black singer. Rick sold the tape to Dot
and Arthur was a chart star and finally hopped away from the bell. Like many
young stars of the day the only money he really made was from the cash gained
from the endless touring on the package shows with fellow stars like Etta J. and
Jackie W. Dot had smaller follow up hits with Anna and Where Have You Been. Go
Home Girl, Everyday I Have To Cry, Soldier Of Love and A Shot Of Rhythm & Blues
were outstanding songs also. These were covered by artists like Gene Vincent,
Beatles, Stones, Ry Cooder and Johnny Kidd but it's unlikely Arthur saw much of
the substantial royalties he was due.

The stress over business, life on the road and racial harassment meant Arthur
started to suffer from the nervous mental problems that affected him throughout
his brief life. After the Dot hits declined he joined Fred Foster's Monument
label who pushed him mainly as a country soul artist. Drug problems meant he
left the music world for menial jobs and suffered more serious health problems.
One deal with Warners in 72 led to some critically acclaimed work and a final
pop hit with a remake of Everyday I Have To Cry. Arthur tired of life on the
road and found much needed solace in religion.

In 1991 whilst working as a janitor he was invited to appear at a songwriters
showcase at the Bottom line club in NY and the creative juices were flowing
again, he got a deal to record what would be his final album Lonely Just Like Me
for Elektra's American Explorer Series, Charlie Feathers also recorded for this
series. This superb album turned out to be a most fitting epitaph to Arthur's
song-writing and interpretative skills. He even included a recut of his first
45. The album garnered him the greatest critical acclaim of his career but sadly
Arthur died 3 months after the album's release. He died of heart failure in
Nashville on June 9th 1993,obituaries concentrated on his influence on
Lennon/McCartney instead of focussing on his abilities.

His classic wistful southern country soul voice and song-writing makes him one
of my all time favourite artists and I have no hesitation in recommending the
following:

The Greatest - Ace cd 21 track compilation of Dot sides; there were 2 vinyl
albums on Ace which included Sally Sue Brown missing from the cd. Ace could
easily revamp this cd and add extra tracks and improve the cover.

The Monument Years - Ace, 28 tracks incl. unissued sides, featuring many fine
session players. Superb notes by Richard Younger (see below).

Lonely Just Like Me - Elektra cd, cut as a labour of love by Spooner Oldham, Dan
Penn, Donnie Fritts, Reggie Young, Mike Leech and Gene Chrisman

Book: Richard Younger, Get A Shot Of Rhythm & Blues: The Arthur Alexander Story.
Tuscaloosa : University of Alabama Press, 2000.

More info: http://www.fame2.com/fame/alexande.htm