Arthur Alexander
May 10, 1940 - June 9, 1993
2005 Inductee

Born in Florence and raised across the river in Sheffield, Arthur Alexander was an early force within the Muscle Shoals Music industry as the singer and songwriter of the first hit to come out of Rick Hall's FAME Recording Studio, "You Better Move On".

Alexander was one of the first true singing songwriting stars of "country-soul", a genre that wed Southern Black R&B singers to songs written in a country format and played basically by White musicians. It was the start of the whole "Muscle Shoals Sound", and Alexander's career was one of its cornerstones.

Alexander's style influenced many of the top names in rock music. The Beatles recorded his song "Anna" on their first album for Vee Jay Records, while the Rolling Stones covered "You Better Move On" on their early album "December Children". Other artists recording Alexander's songs include Bob Dylan, Elvis Presley, Joe Tex, Percy Sledge, Ike and Tina Turner and Ry Cooder.

Alexander left the music industry in 1979. He was coaxed back into performing for the first time in 15 years for the Grand Opening of the Alabama Music Hall of Fame.  Renewed interest in his career secured him a recording contract that resulted in the release of "Lonely Just Like Me" in 1993, this was to be his final recording. Arthur Alexander died of a heart attack following a performance at Nashville's City Fest in June of 1993.