Willie "Loco" Alexander (born January 13, 1943) is an American

singer Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

and keyboardist based in

Gloucester, Massachusetts Gloucester () is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. It sits on Cape Ann and is a part of Massachusetts's North Shore. The population was 29,729 at the 2020 U.S. Census. An important center of the fishing industry and a ...

. He played with the Lost, the Bagatelle and the Grass Menagerie, before becoming a member of

the Velvet Underground The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City in 1964. The original line-up consisted of singer/guitarist Lou Reed, multi-instrumentalist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, and drummer Angus MacLise. MacLise ...

in late 1971, joining fellow Grass Menagerie alumni Doug Yule and Walter Powers and replacing Sterling Morrison, who had gone off to pursue an academic career. With the Velvet Underground, Alexander toured England, Scotland and the Netherlands in support of then-current album '' Loaded''. After completing the tour on November 21, 1971, in

Groningen Groningen (; gos, Grunn or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen (province), Groningen province in the Netherlands. The ''capital of the north'', Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of t ...

, the band planned to start recording a new album, but band manager

Steve Sesnick Stephen Eugene Sesnick Jr. (September 8, 1941 – October 27, 2022) was an American rock club and rock band manager, and later an inventor and businessman. Early life Sesnick was born in Hoboken, New Jersey, on September 8, 1941. He was educated ...

sent all of the band but Yule home, presumably to retain maximum control of the product (the resulting album was '' Squeeze'', released in 1973) and effectively ending Alexander's time with the band. After leaving the Velvet Underground, he enjoyed a checkered career, both solo and with his Boom Boom Band, that lasts to this day. In-between, Alexander teamed up with Powers to tour France in 1982 for

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

punk

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the pr ...

New Rose Records, in 1987 opening for Dramarama and in 2006 for a tour with the Boom Boom band. Alexander's 1975 single "Kerouac", was covered by

Tim Presley Tim Presley is an American musician, singer and songwriter. Presley began his career playing with the hardcore punk bands Model American and The Nerve Agents. In 2004, Presley founded the psychedelic rock band Darker My Love. In 2006 he joined ...

on the album ''The Wink'' (Drag City, 2016) and his 1980 single "Gin" was covered by Luna on their covers album ''A Sentimental Education'' (Double Feature, 2017). In addition to his storied music career, in 1994, Alexander narrated a local film entitled ''Middle Street'' made by fellow

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east o ...

native, independent filmmaker

Henry Ferrini Henry Ferrini (born 1953, Boston, Massachusetts, United States) is an American non-fiction filmmaker best known for his portraits of Jack Kerouac and Charles Olson. Ferrini attended Bard College at Simon's Rock in Great Barrington, MA where h ...

. Willie has also contributed many songs to the soundtracks for Henry's other films. The band, Willie Alexander and the Fishtones, released the album ''I'll Be Goode'' (Fisheye Records) in 2016.

Albums discography

Solo

* ''Solo Loco'' (1981 - New Rose Records) * ''Taxi-Stand Diane'' (EP) (1984 - New Rose Records) * ''Greatest Hits'' (1985 - Fan Club/New Rose Records) * ''Tap Dancing on My Piano'' (1986 - New Rose Records) * ''The Dragons Are Still Out'' (1988 - New Rose Records) * ''Fifteen Years of Rock & Roll with Willie Alexander'' (1991 - Fan Club/New Rose Records) * ''Willie Loco Boom Boom Ga Ga 1975-1991'' (1992 - Northeastern Records) * ''Private WA'' (1993 - Tourmaline Music) * ''The Holy Babble'' (1996 - Tourmaline Music) * ''Loco in Beantown'' (1999 - Tendolar) * ''The New Rose Story 1980-2000'' (4 CD's BoxSet) (2001 - Last Call Records) * ''Solo Loco Redux'' (2002 -

Captain Trip Records Captain Trip Records is a Japanese music label founded and run by musician Ken Matsutani. The label specializes in experimental music and various subgenres of rock, particularly psychedelic rock and progressive rock. In addition to the publication ...

) * '' Vincent Ferrini's Greatest Hits'' (2009 - Fish Eye Records)

Willie Alexander and the Persistence of Memory Orchestra

* ''Willie Alexander's Persistence of Memory Orchestra'' (1993 - Accurate Records) * ''The Persistence of Memory Orchestra: The East Main St. Suite'' (1999 - Accurate Records)

Willie Alexander and the Boom Boom Band

* ''Sperm Bank Babies'' (1978 - Garage Records) (authorized bootleg) * ''Willie Alexander and the Boom Boom Band'' (1978 - MCA Records) * ''Meanwhile... Back in the States'' (1978 - MCA Records) * ''Pass the Tabasco'' (1996 - Mau Mau Records) (reissue of the two first albums) * ''Loco Live 1976'' (2001 -

) * ''Dog Bar Yacht Club'' (2005 - Fish Eye Records)

Willie Alexander and the Confessions

* ''Autre Chose'' (live, 1982 - New Rose Records) * ''A Girl Like You'' (1982 - New Rose Records)

The Fish Eye Brothers

*''When the Swan was on the Boulevard'' (2009 - Fish Eye Records)

With The Bagatelle

* ''The 11 p.m. Saturday LP'' (1968 - ABC Records)

With The Lost

* ''Early Recordings, Demos, Acoustic and Live 1965-1966'' (1996 - Arf! Arf! Records) * ''Lost Tapes 1965-'66'' (1999 - Arf! Arf! Records)

With The Velvet Underground

* '' Final V.U. 1971-1973'' (2001 -

)

Sources

# Anonymous. "Velvet Underground ist wieder da!" In: ''Sounds'', November–December 1971. Interview with the band
link
# Henry Daniel. "Velvet Underground". In: '' Frendz'', November 5, 1971. Interview with the band
link
# Arjan de Weerd. "Despite All the Amputations, the Name of This Band Is Velvet Underground", July 2, 2004. Interview with Willie Alexander on his V.U. stin

References

External links

MaximusRocknRoll: Willie 'Loco' Alexander
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander, Willie 1943 births Living people American rock keyboardists American male singer-songwriters The Velvet Underground members Musicians from Philadelphia American rock songwriters Musicians from Boston American rock singers Singer-songwriters from Pennsylvania Singer-songwriters from Massachusetts