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he performed for might have sung, which posed a challenge for those accompanying him. The rhythm of his singing is often difficult to follow, and on his records his accompanists can often be heard resetting their watches to "Alexander time". Lonnie
Johnson devised free-form guitar melodies in
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revealed that the often-printed story of his prison term may be a myth. There are no records that
Alexander ever served a sentence in a Texas prison, and there was never a prison in Paris. Prather believed Alexander may have served time on a county work farm for playing lewd music in public.
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His early records for Okeh are notable not only for the originality of his songs but also for the musical motifs against which they are set. On April 9, 1934, Alexander recorded with backing by the
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Songs he recorded include "Mama's Bad Luck Child," "Sittin' on a Log," "Texas
Special," "Broken Yo Yo" and "Don't You Wish Your Baby Was Built Up Like Mine?"
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on guitar. The eight tracks recorded included "Seen Better Days" and "Frost Texas
Tornado Blues", the latter of which told of the tornado which destroyed
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After 1945, Alexander returned to performing and recording. His last recording was made in 1950 with Benton's Busy Bees, with Leon Benton on guitar and
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A short man with a big, deep voice, Alexander started his career performing on the streets and at parties and picnics in the
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Alexander did not play a musical instrument, and over the years he worked with a number of other artists, including
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Alexander allegedly murdered his wife in 1939 and was imprisoned in the state penitentiary in
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Herzhaft, Gérard; Harris, Paul; Haussler, Jerry; Mikofsky, Anton J. (1997).
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in 1954, at the age of 53. He was buried in
Longstreet Cemetery, in
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243:. He sang in the free rhythm of work songs, such as the migrant
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142:(September 12, 1900 – April 18, 1954) was an American
297:1934 recording of "Easy Rider Blues" (Yazoo, 1968)
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564:"Mississippi Mud Steppers | Big Road Blues"
372:"Weekend Maintenance | Library of Congress"
150:. Some sources claim that he was the cousin of
613:The Blues: From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray
513:The Blues: From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray
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170:bottomlands, where he sometimes worked with
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313:Complete Recordings in Chronological Order
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661:Illustrated "Texas" Alexander discography
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423:Lightnin' Hopkins: His Life and Blues
615:. Dubai: Carlton Books. p. 88.
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515:. Dubai: Carlton Books. p. 12.
426:. Chicago Review Press. p. 38.
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216:, on May 6, 1930, leaving 41 dead.
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736:20th-century American male singers
726:Infectious disease deaths in Texas
540:"Texas Alexander | Biography"
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364:
14:
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315:, vols. 1–3 (Document, 1993–1994)
309:, vols. 1–4 (Matchbox, 1982–1990)
706:Musicians from Fort Worth, Texas
347:List of electric blues musicians
342:List of country blues musicians
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413:
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208:on violin and Sam Chatman and
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741:20th-century American singers
402:. Everything2.com. 2004-05-31
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352:List of Texas blues musicians
461:University of Arkansas Press
252:to Alexander's vocal lines.
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701:Musicians from San Antonio
696:Singers from New York City
235:, the Mississippi Sheiks,
686:People from Jewett, Texas
456:Encyclopedia of the Blues
400:"Alger "Texas" Alexander"
204:. Their line-up featured
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280:Montgomery County, Texas
711:Country blues musicians
585:"J.T. Funny Papa Smith"
337:List of blues musicians
301:Texas Troublesome Blues
140:Alger "Texas" Alexander
691:American blues singers
611:Russell, Tony (1997).
511:Russell, Tony (1997).
420:Govenar, Alan (2010).
41:Background information
716:Texas blues musicians
172:Blind Lemon Jefferson
16:American blues singer
731:Deaths from syphilis
721:Okeh Records artists
463:. pp. 187–188.
261:Texas Music Magazine
639:. Thebluestrail.com
307:Complete Recordings
274:Alexander died of
202:Mississippi Sheiks
66:September 12, 1900
637:"Texas Alexander"
589:Thebluestrail.com
566:. Sundayblues.org
491:"Texas Alexander"
433:978-1-55652-962-7
293:Buddy Boy Hawkins
241:Lightnin' Hopkins
152:Lightnin' Hopkins
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35:Alexander in 1925
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229:Lonnie Johnson
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257:Paris, Texas
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250:counterpoint
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214:Frost, Texas
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176:Okeh Records
168:Brazos River
165:
146:singer from
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126:Years active
81:(1954-04-18)
681:1954 deaths
676:1900 births
286:Discography
237:J. T. Smith
221:King Oliver
188:San Antonio
101:Texas blues
670:Categories
643:2015-08-30
594:2016-11-30
570:2015-08-30
549:2015-08-30
497:2020-04-03
476:2010-10-19
439:2011-01-28
406:2015-08-30
378:2015-08-30
358:References
271:on piano.
225:Eddie Lang
192:Fort Worth
62:1900-09-12
47:Birth name
206:Bo Carter
130:1927–1950
544:AllMusic
326:See also
276:syphilis
184:New York
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239:, and
190:, and
162:Career
119:guitar
115:Vocals
93:Genres
88:, U.S.
71:, U.S.
144:blues
105:blues
617:ISBN
517:ISBN
465:ISBN
428:ISBN
178:and
76:Died
56:Born
182:in
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
