Alger "Texas" Alexander

A primal, stirring blues voice, Alexander was well known in the Brazos River bottomlands when he started recording in 1927. From bluesmen like Lightnin' Hopkins and Lowell Fulson comes a verbal image of this big-voiced master of blues song craft standing on a wagon bed at a country fair or picnic. His vibrant tenor, one step away from a field holler, rang out over the revelry as he improvised verse after verse.His early records for Okeh are notable not only for the personal originality of his songs, but for the musical motifs against which they are set. Unable to play himself, Alexander used a variety of accompanists. On disc these range from the brilliant guitar work of Little Hat Jones, Lonnie Johnson and Eddie Lang to the string band blues of the Mississipi Sheiks and the full on jazz of King Oliver's New Orleans band.Alexander's performing and recording career continued into the '30s with sessions for Vocalion. In 1940, he was sent to the state pen at Paris, TX, for killing his wife. After his release in 1945 he spent time in Houston, joining his cousin Lightnin' Hopkins for live shows and recording for the Freedom label with pianist Buster Pickens. By 1954 he was back in the bottomlands where he died a debilitated victim of the ravages of syphillis. His recordings -- titles like "Corn Bread Blues" or "Frisco Train" -- are an express ticket back to days before records and radio, when the blues were young and lived way up country. ~ Steve James, All Music Guide