Bluesman gets historical marker 62 years after death - Montgomery County, TX - News Article Locations on Waymarking.com

Born in the Brazos River area of Texas, Algernon “Texas” Alexander's career began by singing at a number of different functions ranging from fish fries to county fairs. In the late 1920s, he journeyed to New York City, New York where he recorded for the OKeh Record label with the King Oliver Band. He later returned to Texas where he performed with such notable blues musicians as Chester "Howlin' Wolf" Burnett and his cousin, Sam "Lightin' Hopkins. In 1940, he was convicted of the murder of his wife and was sentenced to serve at the Texas State Penitentiary in Paris, Texas. After being released from prison in 1945, he resumed his performing in Texas. He died in obscurity in 1954.

A Montgomery County historical marker by his headstone reads:

"Algernon Alexander is internationally recognized as a father of Texas Blues. Born into adject poverty on September 12, 1900 in Jewett, Leon County, Texas, Alergnon was raised in Richards, Texas, by his grandmother, Sally Beavers. While working in the cotton fields and for the railroad, Alexander learned the "Blues," a new expressive style of emotional and spiritual music sung by African Americans. Alexander made over 69 recordings for Okeh and Vocalion records as "Texas" Alexander from the late 1920s to the early 1950s, including the first kown recording of the famous folks song "House of the Rising Sun". Alexander played with the top Blues artists of the era, including the Mississippo Sheiks and Lonnie Johnson. He mentioned dozens of others, inclduing his nephew Lightnin' Hopkins, his cousin Frankie Lee Sims and Lowell Fulson. Algernon "Texas" Alexander died in pvery in Richards, Texas, on April 14, 1954."

Below are two separate articles about the dedication of this particular marker:

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First, An article from the "Houston Chronicle" on April 23, 2016 (a few months before the marker got unveiled):

"RICHARDS - The Longstreet Cemetery is a small one, tucked amid the tall pines of northwest Montgomery County. This place is devoid of sound except for that of birds, wind and the occasional pickup.

But there is music in the ground, if you know where to look.

Buried in one of the graveyard's back rows is Alger "Texas" Alexander, whose soulful moans, shouts and hollers after years working in cotton fields and on the railroad made him a father of the Texas blues.

Few will recognize the name, for this was a man whose death 62 years ago this month went unreported by the local newspaper. He died penniless despite a rich musical legacy that influenced bluesmen like Lightnin' Hopkins and Lowell Fulson.

In an effort to make up for the neglect of the past, the Montgomery County Historical Commission plans to honor Alexander with a historical marker at the African-American cemetery. It would be only the second site with the designation in the fast-growing county. Last year the commission awarded one to a Conroe barber shop that has operated for nearly a century.

"He is a little-known but very important figure in the development of the Texas blues," said Larry Foerster, chairman of the historical commission. "There are many other blues artists, like Hopkins, who get all the attention. But Texas Alexander was really the one these blues artists emulated."

Alexander was born in Leon County in 1900 and raised in Richards. He learned how to sing the blues from other blacks while working in the fields and began to perform at picnics and other events. He could not play the guitar but carried one with him to loan to others.

With the increasing popularity of the blues in the Roaring '20s, Alexander made his first recording sessions in New York for the Okeh Records label. In all, he recorded more than 60 songs from 1927 to 1934.

When Alexander sang the blues, he bellowed. He often skipped a beat, and his timing was tough for a band to follow. But it didn't stop some of the era's top musicians from playing with him.

"He was an amazing guy who hollered field-type blues," said music scholar Chris Strachwitz, whose Arhoolie record label is devoted to American roots music. "He had a good, strong voice."

Coy Prather, an Austin-based music writer, said Alexander's career was held back by his inability to play an instrument, "but his songwriting was a step above."

Among Alexander's songs was "The Risin' Sun," which some music historians believe later evolved into the folk-rock ballad "The House of the Rising Sun," a chart-topping hit for the British group the Animals.

Alexander also wrote "Frost Texas Tornado Blues," which told of the tornado that tore through the town in 1930, killing 41 people. He recorded the song with the Mississippi Sheiks in 1934.

After the recording, he returned to Texas to play neighborhood dives and juke joints. And then, he disappeared.

Some say he spent five years until 1945 in prison for murdering his wife. But Prather said he couldn't find any record of Alexander being arrested or serving jail time in the Texas counties where he lived.

Instead, Prather said he believes Alexander was arrested and sentenced to county-run work farms without any paper trail. At the time, it was illegal to perform "race music," blues songs about bad women and sexual acts, in front of a white crowd.

But those were Alexander's best-known songs.

"It's so sad," Prather said. "Here is a man who influenced Texas blues as much as anyone, and he is being forgotten because of a crime he probably didn't commit."

Alexander resurfaced in Houston in the late 1940s, singing with Hopkins for tips on street corners and railroad platforms.

In time, Hopkins moved on with his iconoclastic blues career, and Alexander went home to Richards, where he died of syphilis in 1954."

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Next, an article from the "Austin Blues Society" on August 12, 2016 (during the actual dedication):

"This morning a historical marker dedication was held for Algernon "Texas" Alexander at Longstreet Cemetery in Montgomery County, Texas. The dedication ceremony was conducted by Larry Foerster, Chairman of the Montgomery County Historical Commission, and Coy Prather, "Texas" Alexander's biographer.

"Texas" Alexander is considered by many to be one of the fathers of Texas blues music, and today's ceremony and the marker honor his contributions to the genre. Mr. Foerster and Mr. Prather have expressed their thanks to everyone who contributed to help make this dedication a reality.

For those who would like to visit the marker, Longstreet Cemetery is located off of Highway 149, about 15 miles north of Montgomery, and just south of Richards, Texas."

Type of publication: Newspaper When was the article reported?: 04/12/2016 Publication: Houston Chronicle Article Url: [Web Link] Is Registration Required?: no How widespread was the article reported?: regional News Category: Entertainment

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