Born September 12th
1900 in Jewett
Texas, Alger "Texas" Alexander is considered one of the more influential vocalists in the history of
Texas music. The
blues singer began performing in the early 1920s. He recorded off and on through the early half of the twentieth century. When he couldn't get steady paying gigs, he and cousin
Lightnin' Hopkins would perform as
street musicians to help make ends meet, particularly during
The Great Depression. Alexander also performed with big bands like the Mississippi Sheiks, Sax Black Tams, and individual musicians like
Joe "King" Oliver,
Lonnie Johnson,
Howlin' Wolf, and many others.
Before he found any money in music, Alexander worked mostly in cotton fields and farms. He moved to
Dallas, Texas for a start and found moderate but sporadic success. There he performed along with many other blues and soul artists in what is now referred to as
Deep Ellum. He was considered very popular, and was compared to
Blind Lemon Jefferson at the height of their respective careers.
In November of
1928, Alexander recorded what is believed to be the earliest version of "The
House of the Rising Sun." Other songs he recorded include "Mama's Bad Luck Child," "Sittin' On A Log," "Texas Special," "Broken Yo Yo," "Don't You Wish Your Baby Was Built Up Like Mine?" and scores of songs ending in the word blues, including "West Texas Blues," "Penitentiary Moan Blues," "No More Women Blues," "Frisco Train Blues," "Evil Woman Blues," "Death Bed Blues," "Deep Blue Sea Blues," and "Texas Got The Blues Blues." He never played an instrument himself, as the only instrument he needed were his
vocal cords, but he often carried the guitar of the man who promised to accompany him on a given evening. So arguably, Alexander was one of the first known
roadies of historical record.
In 1939 Alexander is believed to have
murdered his wife. He was sentenced to
prison, but only served five years of time, from
1940 to
1945. Once released from prison, Alexander returned to street performances with Lightnin' Hopkins and the pair also recorded in
1947 on the
Aladdin label. Alexander made his last recording in
1950 with Benton's Busy Bees and died of
syphilis on April 16th
1954 in Richard, Texas. Alexander's body is buried in Longstreet Cemetery, Grimes County,
Texas.