Arthur Alexander is a bit of a sad story. He was a huge man with a soft and lovely voice and a talent for songwriting but he was ill suited to fame and performing for the public because he was a shy and somewhat timid man. More than once his shows were cancelled or severely abbreviated due to his anxieties and despite the success of "You Better Move On" his career never gains much traction and today he is largely forgotten.
"Arthur Alexander (May 10, 1940 – June 9, 1993) Alexander was born in Sheffield, Alabama. Working with Spar Music in Florence, Alabama, Alexander recorded his first single, "Sally Sue Brown", under the name of June Alexander (short for Junior), which was released in 1960 on Jud Phillips' Judd Records. (Phillips is the brother of music pioneer Sam Phillips).
A year later, Alexander cut
"You Better Move On" at a former tobacco warehouse-turned-recording studio in Muscle Shoals. Released on Nashville's Dot Records, the song became a soul/R&B chart hit, and laid the foundation for the modern recording studio FAME. "You Better Move On" is perhaps Alexander's best-known song, covered by the Rolling Stones, the Hollies, George Jones & Johnny Paycheck and Mink
DeVille. "Anna (Go to Him)", a U.S. R&B Top Ten Hit, was covered by the Beatles and Humble Pie. The Beatles also did live recordings of "Soldier of Love", which was also performed by Marshall Crenshaw and Pearl Jam, "A Shot of Rhythm and Blues", and "Where Have You Been" recorded live at the Star-Club, in Hamburg, 1962. "Set Me Free" (covered by Esther Phillips and Joe Tex) were also major hits and established Alexander as a pioneering arranger of others' tunes, as well as an established songwriter in his own right.
In the mid-1960s, Alexander switched to another label, Sound Stage 7, but failed to find commercial success. Although a 1972 album for Warner Brothers was promising, the singer's potential seemed to wither. He secured a pop hit with "Every Day I have to Cry Some" on Buddah
Records in 1975, but the success remained short-lived. The song was also covered by Ike and Tina Turner (produced by Phil Spector), The McCoys, Dusty Springfield, Joe Stampley, C.J. Chenier and others. The follow-up single "Sharing The Night Together" (written by Muscle Shoals songwriters Ava Aldridge and Eddie Struzick) reached No. 92 on the R&B charts, but earned Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show a Top 10 hit in 1978; the Dr. Hook version would be used in the 2012 Family Guy episode Mr. and Mrs. Stewie.
For many years, Alexander was out of the music
business; he was a bus driver for much of this time. In 1990, he was inducted into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame. He began to perform again in 1993 as renewed interest was shown in his small catalogue. His last album Lonely Just Like Me was his first in 21 years. He signed a new recording/publishing contract in May 1993 but suffered a fatal heart attack the following month, three days after performing in Nashville with his new band.
Alexander is the only songwriter whose songs have been covered by the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan (who recorded "Sally Sue Brown" on his 1988 LP Down in the Groove). "Go Home Girl" was also recorded by Ry Cooder on his 1979 album, Bop Till You Drop."
If you recall, our previous Arthur Alexander post ended with him retiring from music in the 70's, disillusioned and broke despite having written multiple songs that others (Dylan, Rolling Stones, Beatles, Joe Tex, Ike & Tina) had hits with. Arthur eventually became a school bus driver in Cleveland, OH and that would likely have been the end of it but in 1990 Alexander was inducted into the Alabama Music Hall Of Fame and subsequently coaxed out of retirement. He made this album in early 1993, he signed a new recording/publishing contract in May of 1993 and his band had begun making live appearances. Arthur even made an appearance on the syndicated radio show "Fresh Air". It appeared he was about to embark on a late life career resurgence but on June 9th of 1993 Alexander had a fatal heart attack.
