Born September 12th 1900 in Jewett Texas, Alger "Texas" Alexander is considered one of the more influential vocalists in the history of Texas music. The blues singer began performing in the early 1920s. He recorded off and on through the early half of the twentieth century. When he couldn't get steady paying gigs, he and cousin Lightnin' Hopkins would perform as street musicians to help make ends meet, particularly during The Great Depression. Alexander also performed with big bands like the Mississippi Sheiks, Sax Black Tams, and individual musicians like Joe "King" Oliver, Lonnie Johnson, Howlin' Wolf, and many others.

Before he found any money in music, Alexander worked mostly in cotton fields and farms. He moved to Dallas, Texas for a start and found moderate but sporadic success. There he performed along with many other blues and soul artists in what is now referred to as Deep Ellum. He was considered very popular, and was compared to Blind Lemon Jefferson at the height of their respective careers.

In November of 1928, Alexander recorded what is believed to be the earliest version of "The House of the Rising Sun." Other songs he recorded include "Mama's Bad Luck Child," "Sittin' On A Log," "Texas Special," "Broken Yo Yo," "Don't You Wish Your Baby Was Built Up Like Mine?" and scores of songs ending in the word blues, including "West Texas Blues," "Penitentiary Moan Blues," "No More Women Blues," "Frisco Train Blues," "Evil Woman Blues," "Death Bed Blues," "Deep Blue Sea Blues," and "Texas Got The Blues Blues." He never played an instrument himself, as the only instrument he needed were his vocal cords, but he often carried the guitar of the man who promised to accompany him on a given evening. So arguably, Alexander was one of the first known roadies of historical record.

In 1939 Alexander is believed to have murdered his wife. He was sentenced to prison, but only served five years of time, from 1940 to 1945. Once released from prison, Alexander returned to street performances with Lightnin' Hopkins and the pair also recorded in 1947 on the Aladdin label. Alexander made his last recording in 1950 with Benton's Busy Bees and died of syphilis on April 16th 1954 in Richard, Texas. Alexander's body is buried in Longstreet Cemetery, Grimes County, Texas.