- Hardcover: 248 pages
- Publisher: University of Alabama Press (31 May 2000)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0817310231
- ISBN-13: 978-0817310233
- Product Dimensions: 2.4 x 1.6 x 0.2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 3,383,430 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Synopsis
This biography chronicles the rise, fall and rebirth of Arthur Alexander, an African American singer-songwriter whose music influenced many of the rock and soul musicians of the 1960s. Although his name is not well known today, Alexander's musical legacy is vast. His 1962 song "You Better Move On" was the first hit to emerge from the fledgling Muscle Shoals FAME studio in Alabama, and his fusion of country and soul and his heartfelt vocals on such songs as "Anna (Go to Him)" and "Evey Day I Have to Cry" were revered by musicians including the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan, all of whom recorded his songs. Alexander's story is a tragic one, with a brief, redemptive finale. His meteoric rise after the release of "You Better Move On" gave way to lean years caused both by his drug and alcohol abuse and by the mishandling of his career by producers and managers. In 1977, he quit the music business, but his music lived on. In 1992, Alexander returned to the studio and recorded the critically praised album "Lonely Just Like Me".Just three months after the album's release in March 1993, he suffered a heart attack in the offices of his music publishers in Nashville and died three days later. In telling Alexander's story, Richard Younger captures the burgeoning music scenes in Muscle Shoals and Nashville during the 1960s and 1970s and recovers the life of a musician whose influence was international. Younger's account is enriched by his interviews with more than 200 artists, family members and friends - such as Rick Hall, Billy Sherrill, Charlie McCoy, Chuck Jackson, Gerry Marsden and Kris Kristofferson - and includes a variety of photographs.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Having been a fan of Arthur Alexander since the early sixties it was by pure chance that I came accross this book. It is well written, full of factual information that helps the reader to realise the torment that the singer suffered. It explained the missing years in his life between recordings and showed that Arthur had just overcome some of his fears and was back on the road to sucess when he was struck down with a heart attack. It also gives an insight into the opening of the Muscle Shoals recordiong studios and how it developed.All together a volume that should not be missed by any sixties music lover and especially by any follower of Artur Alexander.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Quite a good book.However, certain parts are not accurate such as things regarding the British music scene especially the mod era and the names of recording artists in relationship to various songs.The book,however,was interesting and entertaining and I must admire the author on choosing such a person as Arthur Alexander to write about.I hope others do the same instead of going for high profile and in vogue artists of the time.We need more books,like this,to make us aware of the importance that Arthur Alexander and others have been in the development and progress,of not just rhythm and blues,but music as a whole.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
6 reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Arthur Alexander's Rainbow Road
15 July 2000
Format:Paperback
It was in 1985 at a barbecue that author Richard Younger heard the record that literally changed his life and was the inspiration of his fine biography. That record was Arthur Alexander's "Get a Shot of Rhythm and Soul"...and now 15 years on arrives "Get a Shot of Rhythm of Blues" Richard Younger's fascinating in-depth saga of Arthur Alexander. Mr Younger's biography exhibits a real affection and understanding of Arthur's unique music..call it country soul if you wish. It's that and the readiness to investigate the darker and sadder aspects of Arthur's personal world that elevate this book above its peers. The exhaustive research that Mr Younger has undertaken combined with the many anecdotes from Arthur and the people who were close to him make "Get a Shot of Rhythm and Blues" the definitive account of this gifted but mysterious man. Also Mr Younger's book contains the most detailed explination of the genesis of the Muscle Shoals sound to date.
Lovers of Peter Guralnick's "Sweet Soul Music" need to read this book. A true classic of its kind.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Alexander The Great...The Facts At Last!
11 April 2001
Format:Paperback
Arthur Alexander was always a mystery man - till now! Richard Younger's biography of one of the most distinctive and influential black singers of the 60s sheds sympathetic illumination upon the life, the music - and the demons - of this woefully underrated singer/songwriter (the only writer to have songs cut by The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan). AA's hugely-satisfying vocals married to his distinctive soul-country arrangements (his reputation was founded on just four 1962 Dot-label singles) emerged moments before the UK beat boom swept the globe and was crucial in its influence on the Beatles and the Stones. Younger's book explains how it all came about, taking us on a roller-coaster ride through AA's life of musical and personal extremes. With a series of revealing interviews he transports us to the heart of the Alabama music scene and charts Arthur's role in the foundation of the Muscle Shoals/Fame recording empires. Whether you're a long-term Alexander devotee, a soul music buff, or simply a Sixties survivor, then you'll find this unputdown-able tome a tonic that'll have you listening with a fresh ear to those perennial Alexander classics.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Arthur Alexander - The Real Truth
16 Aug 2001
Format:Hardcover
After being a fan of Arthur Alexander in the early sixties he seemed to drop out of sight, occassional records but very little else seemed to appear, this book puts the record straight and fills in all those gaps. It also goes a long way to answering the reasons that he did not make it to the position in the music scene that his undoubted talent deserved. The book is very well written by Richard Younger who obviously felt very deeply about the subject, he deals with the problems that AA encountered in his music career and his private life. It was sad that at the very time that AA was begining to make a comeback and he was again showing the talent that was always there he was taken from us. He had become religious during the last few years and this seemed to have a calming effect on him and I am sure that he would have again had big selling records. Thank you Richard for an insight into the life of Arthur Alexander through the highs and lows.
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