ANNA
ARTHUR ALEXANDER
ARTHUR ALEXANDER
Written by: Alexander
Recorded by: Arthur Alexander (1962)
Recorded by: Arthur Alexander (1962)
WHEN ‘ANNA’ APPEARED ON
Please Please Me with John
Lennon taking the vocal, the
name of the song’s composer, Arthur Alexander,
rang few bells for most people. To some extent
this turned out to be story of Alexander’s entire
career, one in which he wrote and sang a handful
of country and soul classics, recorded quite a few
more and yet depended for what fame he did enjoy
upon more famous people hearing his work and
recording it themselves. The Beatles, The Rolling
Stones, Bob Dylan, Dr Hook & The Medicine
Show and Ry Cooder all covered Arthur Alexander
records or compositions. The Beatles frequently
performed ‘Soldier Of Love’, The Rolling Stones
cut ‘You Better Move On’, Bob Dylan revived the
more obscure ‘Sally Sue Brown’ (Alexander’s first
single), Dr Hook had a top ten hit with ‘Sharing
The Night Together’ a couple of years after
Alexander’s version sank without trace, and Ry
Cooder covered ‘Go Home Girl’. Of these only
‘Anna’, ‘You Better Move On’, ‘Go Home Girl’ and
‘Sally Sue Brown’ were Alexander compositions.
Please Please Me with John
Lennon taking the vocal, the
name of the song’s composer, Arthur Alexander,
rang few bells for most people. To some extent
this turned out to be story of Alexander’s entire
career, one in which he wrote and sang a handful
of country and soul classics, recorded quite a few
more and yet depended for what fame he did enjoy
upon more famous people hearing his work and
recording it themselves. The Beatles, The Rolling
Stones, Bob Dylan, Dr Hook & The Medicine
Show and Ry Cooder all covered Arthur Alexander
records or compositions. The Beatles frequently
performed ‘Soldier Of Love’, The Rolling Stones
cut ‘You Better Move On’, Bob Dylan revived the
more obscure ‘Sally Sue Brown’ (Alexander’s first
single), Dr Hook had a top ten hit with ‘Sharing
The Night Together’ a couple of years after
Alexander’s version sank without trace, and Ry
Cooder covered ‘Go Home Girl’. Of these only
‘Anna’, ‘You Better Move On’, ‘Go Home Girl’ and
‘Sally Sue Brown’ were Alexander compositions.
For John Lennon, it was perhaps song writer
Alexander’s frequent use of the word ‘girl’ to
punctuate a line that left the most identifiable
influence on his own song writing, but Alexander’s
vocal style too was something that seemed to offer
Lennon a more achievable model than Elvis or
Little Richard. One of Alexander’s biggest hits was
his composition ‘Everyday I Have To Cry’, a minor
hit for him and a bigger one for Steve Alaimo;
it was also covered by Dusty Springfield. Yet
somehow he seemed unable to build upon these or
any other successes. Ill-health may have played its
part but in truth Arthur Alexander was probably
just not cut out for show business. He died aged
53 and his musical legacy was considerable, not
only through influencing The Beatles but also
by infiltrating the recording catalogues of many
major artists. Even so, listening to Alexander’s
own recordings makes you wonder why he wasn’t
more appreciated as a performer. “Arthur, sell
me real fine,” says the producer at the start of his
original version of ‘Anna’. “You just get better
each time…” It seems like no exaggeration at all.
Alexander’s frequent use of the word ‘girl’ to
punctuate a line that left the most identifiable
influence on his own song writing, but Alexander’s
vocal style too was something that seemed to offer
Lennon a more achievable model than Elvis or
Little Richard. One of Alexander’s biggest hits was
his composition ‘Everyday I Have To Cry’, a minor
hit for him and a bigger one for Steve Alaimo;
it was also covered by Dusty Springfield. Yet
somehow he seemed unable to build upon these or
any other successes. Ill-health may have played its
part but in truth Arthur Alexander was probably
just not cut out for show business. He died aged
53 and his musical legacy was considerable, not
only through influencing The Beatles but also
by infiltrating the recording catalogues of many
major artists. Even so, listening to Alexander’s
own recordings makes you wonder why he wasn’t
more appreciated as a performer. “Arthur, sell
me real fine,” says the producer at the start of his
original version of ‘Anna’. “You just get better
each time…” It seems like no exaggeration at all.
Arthur Alexander
These days you can buy most of ArthurAlexander’s 1960s recordings, but when The
Beatles latched onto ‘Anna’this great
singer/songwriter was a household name only
in his own household. He even left the music
business and became a bus driver for many
years.