King Alex

[Robertjack]

King Alex ( July 29, 1934 - March 15, 2008) was a Kansas City bass player and blues singer whose career spanned over forty years.

"King-Alex" Littlejohn was born during the great depression in Arkadelphia, Arkansas. Soon after Alex and his family moved to Ferriday, Louisiana where Alex grew up. His father worked for the city, but he also played guitar, fiddle and sang. In fact his whole family was musical. Uncle White played piano and guitar. Aunt Maude sang and played guitar. Alex remembered the music they made at house parties and fish fries.

When Alex was 14 he came to Kansas City with his Uncle and Cousin and lived in the 18th and Vine district, where he loved to listen to Louis Jordan, Charles Brown, T-Bone Walker, Frank Sinatra and later B.B. King. Alex attended the Kansas City Conservatory of Music for a while and also took Bass lessons from Claude "Fiddler" Williams, an original member of the Count Basie band.

Alex got his first break on stage at a club in Kansas City on 5th Street. He went on to play the East-side clubs such as O.G.'s, Club Harlem, Club Mardi Gras and the Black Orchid. As King Alex and the Kansas City Turnpikes he recorded a couple of sides in the late 1950's for Spindle, including "Hutcia Cutchia Lovin' Man" as King Alex & The Untouchables.

He had a chance to go national, but had newly married, had a good job at the Tension Envelope factory, just bought a house and a car. His family came first, so for decades King Alex had been playing around Kansas City and the region, defining the tough Kansas City Blues sound.