James Woodie Alexander II (January 21, 1916 – July 8, 1996), was an American singer, musician, songwriter, record producer and entrepreneur who was a key figure in the development of

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...

and

soul music Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in African-American culture, African-American African-American neighborhood, communities throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Catchy rhythms, stressed by handclaps ...

, most notably through his close association with

Sam Cooke Samuel Cooke (; January 22, 1931 – December 11, 1964) was an American singer and songwriter. Considered one of the most influential soul music, soul artists of all time, Cooke is commonly referred to as the "King of Soul" for his distin ...

Biography

Alexander was born in

Hamilton, Mississippi Hamilton is a census-designated place and unincorporated community in Monroe County, Mississippi, United States. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 404. History Hamilton was the first county seat of Monroe County. In 1830, Monroe Cou ...

, but by his early teens was living in

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa ( ) is the List of municipalities in Oklahoma, second-most-populous city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the List of United States cities by population, 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The po ...

, and started singing with local gospel groups. At the age of 18 he joined and began managing the Silver Moon Quartet, from

Independence, Kansas Independence is a city in and the county seat of Montgomery County, Kansas, Montgomery County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 8,548. It was named in commemoration of the ...

, who toured around

the Midwest The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

. He also played professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

for a time, for the Ethiopian Clowns who became the

Indianapolis Clowns The Indianapolis Clowns were a professional baseball team in the Negro American League. Tracing their origins back to the 1930s, the Clowns were the last of the Negro league teams to disband, continuing to play exhibition games into the 1980s. Th ...

, and worked as an

extra Extra, Xtra, or The Extra may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Film * The Extra (1962 film), ''The Extra'' (1962 film), a Mexican film * The Extra (2005 film), ''The Extra'' (2005 film), an Australian film Literature * Extra (newspaper), ...

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

.Peter Guralnick, ''The Triumph of Icarus: Sam Cooke and the Creative Spirit'', in Charlotte Pence (ed.), ''The Poetics of American Song Lyrics'', Univ. Press of Mississippi, 2012, pp.146-155
/ref> In 1942 he joined the Southern Gospel Singers, and in 1945 began singing as first

tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...

in, and managing, another gospel group, the

Pilgrim Travelers The Pilgrim Travelers were an American gospel group, popular in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Musical career Formed in 1936 in Houston, Texas, United States, They achieved popularity after moving to Los Angeles in 1942, where their new manage ...

.Roy Simonds, ''J.W. Alexander'', Earshot, Nov.1969
reprinted at SoulMusicHQ.com. Retrieved 21 February 2013
Retrieved 21 February 2013 The group began recording for

Specialty Records Specialty Records was an American record label founded in Los Angeles in 1945 by Art Rupe. It was known for rhythm and blues, gospel, and early rock and roll, and recorded artists such as Little Richard, Guitar Slim, Percy Mayfield, and Lloyd P ...

in Los Angeles in 1947, and established a national reputation for their innovative and rhythmic musical style. Alexander also carried out A&R functions for Specialty, identifying new recording acts. In 1949 he heard the teenage Sam Cooke sing with the Highway Q.C.'s, and the following year, after Cooke had joined

the Soul Stirrers The Soul Stirrers were an American gospel music group, whose career spans over eighty years. The group was a pioneer in the development of the quartet style of gospel, and a major influence on Soul, R&B, Doo-wop, and Southern soul, some of th ...

, he signed the group to a recording contract. Alexander also brought several other gospel groups to the label, but devoted much of his attention to the Soul Stirrers, increasingly seeing Cooke as someone who could become a commercially successful

teen idol A teen idol is a celebrity with a large teenage fan base. Teen idols are generally young but are not necessarily teenagers themselves. An idol's popularity may be limited to teens, or may extend to all age groups. By region Asia Ea ...

by performing secular rather than spiritual music.Peter Guralnick, ''Sweet Soul Music: Rhythm And Blues And The Southern Dream Of Freedom'', Canongate Books, 2002
/ref> The Soul Stirrers, with Cooke, and the Pilgrim Travelers, with Alexander, toured extensively together in the early and mid 1950s. With Alexander's encouragement and guidance, Cooke began recording as a solo singer in 1957. He achieved great commercial success both before and after leaving Specialty and joining first

Keen Keen, Keen's, or Keens may refer to: People * Keen (surname) * Thomas Keens (1870-1953), British politician Music and song * "Keen" (song), a single by That Petrol Emotion * Keen Records, American record label * Keening, traditional Irish la ...

and then, in 1960,

RCA RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded in 1919 as the Radio Corporation of America. It was initially a patent pool, patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Westinghou ...

. Alexander established the Kags Music firm in 1958, and in 1960 he and Cooke joined together as business partners to establish SAR Productions, with the aim of recording and marketing both gospel and

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a genre of popular music that originated within African American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predomina ...

recordings. They later established the Derby label to record

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom.S. Frith, W. Straw, and J. Street, eds, ''iarchive:cambridgecompani00frit, The Cambridge Companion to Pop ...

, Jay Warner, ''American Singing Groups: From 1940 to Today'', Hal Leonard Corporation, 2006, pp.53-54"> Jay Warner, ''American Singing Groups: From 1940 to Today'', Hal Leonard Corporation, 2006, pp.53-54
/ref> and also collaborated as songwriters on songs such as "Stand By Me Father", " That's Where It's At", and " Together Let's Find Love".. Retrieved 22 February 2013 After Cooke's death in 1964, Alexander managed and promoted the career of another former gospel singer,

Lou Rawls Louis Allen Rawls (December 1, 1933 – January 6, 2006) was an American baritone singer. He released 61 albums, sold more than 40 million records, and had numerous charting singles, most notably the song " You'll Never Find Another Love like Min ...

, who had also been a member of the Pilgrim Travelers; Rawls started having a series of pop and R&B hits in 1966. Alexander also recorded several future stars on his Derby label, notably

Johnnie Taylor Johnnie Harrison Taylor (May 5, 1934 – May 31, 2000) was an American recording artist and songwriter who performed a wide variety of genres, from blues, rhythm and blues, soul, and gospel to pop, doo-wop, and disco. He was initially suc ...

Billy Preston William Everett Preston (September 2, 1946 – June 6, 2006) was an American keyboardist, singer, and songwriter whose work encompassed R&B, rock, soul, funk, and gospel. Preston was a top session keyboardist in the 1960s, backing Little Richa ...

and

The Valentinos The Valentinos (also known as The Womack Brothers) was an American family R&B group from Cleveland, Ohio, best known for launching the careers of brothers Bobby Womack and Cecil Womack. Bobby went on to find greater fame as a solo artist whil ...

. He also worked as an independent record producer, with musicians including

Bobby Bland Robert Calvin Bland (born Robert Calvin Brooks; January 27, 1930 – June 23, 2013), known professionally as Bobby "Blue" Bland, was an American blues singer. Bland developed a sound that mixed gospel with the blues and R&B. He was describ ...

Little Junior Parker Herman "Junior" Parker (March 27, 1932November 18, 1971), ...

Bobby Womack Robert Dwayne Womack ( ; March 4, 1944 – June 27, 2014) was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. Starting in the early 1950s as the lead singer of his family musical group the Valentinos and as Sam Cooke's backing guitarist, Womack's ...

Solomon Burke Solomon Vincent McDonald Burke (born James Solomon McDonald, March 21, 1940 – October 10, 2010) was an American singer who shaped the sound of rhythm and blues as one of the founding fathers of soul music in the 1960s. He has been called ...

, and

Little Richard Richard Wayne Penniman (December 5, 1932 – May 9, 2020), known professionally as Little Richard, was an American singer, pianist, and songwriter. He was an influential figure in popular music and culture for seven decades. Described as the "Ar ...

. Alexander died of

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is the neoplasm, uncontrolled growth of cells in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system below the bladder. Abnormal growth of the prostate tissue is usually detected through Screening (medicine), screening tests, ...

Hollywood, California Hollywood, sometimes informally called Tinseltown, is a List of districts and neighborhoods in Los Angeles, neighborhood and district in the Central Los Angeles, central region of Los Angeles County, California, within the city of Los Angeles. ...

, in 1996 at the age of 80.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander, J. W. 1916 births 1996 deaths 20th-century African-American male singers 20th-century American male singers 20th-century American singers American gospel singers Specialty Records artists Mirwood Records artists Singers from Mississippi Musicians from Tulsa, Oklahoma People from Monroe County, Mississippi Ethiopian Clowns players Baseball players from Mississippi Deaths from prostate cancer in California 20th-century American sportsmen