Last Albums: Arthur Alexander - Lonely Just Like Me (1993)

The R & B world seems to produce all-star level talent who should be legends but instead perform for many years - often decades - in undeserved obscurity. Many never found an audience even among the genre's own fans. Such is the case with hard luck Arthur Alexander who died in 1993 before Lonely Just Like Me could make him a star.

Alexander's resume contained a few minor hit records in the early 60s but he is mostly known for one song. Beatles fans will surely recognize him as the composer of "Anna" a song they covered on their very first album, Please Please Me, all the way back in 1963 before America and their appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show.

Lesser known is "Soldier Of Love" a Beatles cover that only appears on their Live At The BBC double set. The Rolling Stones released "You Better Move On" as part of  their 1964 eponymous EP and "Sally Sue Brown" was reworked by Bob Dylan for his 1988 album, Down In The Groove. When these icons cover your work respect should be guaranteed.

Even though many highly regarded artists loved his music, after a few minor chart entries and some bad industry dealings with record companies, Alexander quit the music business entirely and earned a living driving a bus for a social services organization. Eventually, musician Ben Vaughn coaxed him out of retirement, and the revitalized singer recorded Lonely Just Like Me in 1993 with Vaughn producing the sessions. Sadly, a heart attack took his life only a few months after it was released.

Alexander was not your traditional R&B showman. His records weren't barn burners. He sang in a pleasant, easy, low-key style that reminds one of O.C. Smith on his 60s hit "Little Green Apples" or Otis Redding in the mellow mood he showed us on his gargantuan 1967 hit, "Dock Of The Bay." It's easy to believe that Alexander is to rhythm and blues what James Taylor is to rock 'n roll.

Many of Alexander's compositions were quite sad and titles such as "Go Home Girl," "Every Day I Have To Cry," "Johnny Heartbreak," and the title song are all prime examples. Two tracks, "Sally Sue Brown" and "Genie In The Jug," prove Alexander could get a beat going when he wanted to. All twelve entries on the original CD were written or co-written by Alexander. When asked how he wrote such great songs without being a musician he said, "They really find it surprising. All I can tell them is that it's a gift, it is a gift from God. I hear a melody and lyrics in my head, and once they get in there they just won't go away."

In 2007 Hacktone Records re-issued the album under the name of Lonely Just Like Me: The Final Chapter with a lot of bonus material. An entire on air performance and interview with Terry Gross of NPR's Fresh Air is included along with four demos Alexander recorded in a Cleveland hotel room. Finally, he added a live version of "Anna" recorded at The Bottom Line.

This is music well worth hearing and the view from this pulpit is that soft rock fans will like Lonely Just Like Me just as much as R & B lovers.

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Last Albums discusses music that was recorded as new material and intended to be released to the public as a complete album but not necessarily the last one. Live albums, greatest hits or "best of" collections and compilations do not count, nor do posthumous releases of leftover tracks cobbled together to make a final album.