Thomas Alexander Harvey (March 10, 1941 – April 4, 2020) was an American singer, songwriter, author, actor, and radio host.

History

Alex Harvey was born in rural western Tennessee near Brownsville. In 1964, Harvey graduated from Murray State University in Kentucky with a master's degree in Music and Education, and he also studied acting in Los Angeles. Alex Harvey performed and recorded as a musician throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Harvey's songs have been recorded by many other significant artists such as

Alan Jackson Alan Eugene Jackson (born October 17, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter. He is known for blending traditional honky-tonk and mainstream country pop sounds (for a style widely regarded as "neotraditional country"), as well as penning many o ...

Cymarron Cymarron was an American soft rock band (music), band from the 1970s, most famous for their song "Rings (song), Rings", a number 17 hit record, hit in 1971. The recording went to No. 6 on the ''Billboard'' Adult Contemporary chart and peaked at numb ...

Three Dog Night Three Dog Night is an American rock band formed in 1967, with founding members consisting of vocalists Danny Hutton, Cory Wells, and Chuck Negron. This lineup was soon augmented by Jimmy Greenspoon (keyboards), Joe Schermie (bass), Michael A ...

Billy Ray Cyrus Billy Ray Cyrus (born August 25, 1961) is an American country singer and actor. He has released 16 studio albums and 53 singles since 1992, and is known for his hit single "Achy Breaky Heart", which topped the U.S. Hot Country Songs chart and ...

, Jimmy Buffett,

Anne Murray Morna Anne Murray (born June 20, 1945) is a retired Canadian singer. Her albums, consisting primarily of pop, country, and adult contemporary music, have sold over 55 million copies worldwide during her over 40-year career. Murray was the fir ...

Eydie Gormé Eydie Gormé ( ; born Edith Gormezano; August 16, 1928 – August 10, 2013) was an American singer who had hits on the pop and Latin pop charts. She sang solo and in the duo Steve and Eydie with her husband, Steve Lawrence, on albums and telev ...

Henry Mancini Henry Mancini ( ; born Enrico Nicola Mancini, ; April 16, 1924 – June 14, 1994) was an American composer, conductor, arranger, pianist and flautist. Often cited as one of the greatest composers in the history of film, he won four Academy Award ...

, Peggy Lee, and

Sammy Davis Jr Samuel George Davis Jr. (December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990) was an American singer, dancer, actor, comedian, film producer and television director. At age three, Davis began his career in vaudeville with his father Sammy Davis Sr. and the ...

Kenny Rogers Kenneth Ray Rogers (August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Rogers was particularly popular with country audiences but also charted mo ...

alone has recorded eighteen Alex Harvey songs. Two of Alex Harvey's greatest hits were "Reuben James," recorded by

, and "

Delta Dawn "Delta Dawn" is a song written by musician Larry Collins and country songwriter Alex Harvey (country musician), Alex Harvey. The first notable recording of the song was in 1971 by American singer and actress Bette Middler, Bette Midler for her ...

," recorded by

Tanya Tucker Tanya Denise Tucker (born October 10, 1958) is an American country music singer and songwriter who had her first hit, "Delta Dawn", in 1972 at the age of 13. Over the succeeding decades, Tucker became one of the few child performers to mature int ...

, Helen Reddy and

Bette Midler Bette Midler (;''Inside the Actors Studio'', 2004 born December 1, 1945) is an American singer, actress, comedian and author. Throughout her career, which spans over five decades, Midler has received List of awards and nominations received by Be ...

. In 1973, Alex Harvey's "Delta Dawn" was nominated for a

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

in the category of

Best Country Song The Grammy Award for Best Country Song (sometimes known as the Country Songwriter's Award) has been awarded since 1965. The award is given to the songwriter(s) of the song, not to the artist, except if the artist is also the songwriter. There ha ...

, however, the Grammy was awarded to

Kenny O'Dell Kenneth Guy Gist Jr. (June 21, 1944 – March 27, 2018), known as Kenny O'Dell, was an American country music singer and songwriter, best known for writing the number-one country hits " Behind Closed Doors" (recorded by Charlie Rich, 1973) and ...

for writing

Charlie Rich Charles Allan Rich (December 14, 1932July 25, 1995) was an American country music singer, songwriter, and musician. His eclectic style of music was often difficult to classify, encompassing the rockabilly, jazz, blues, country music, country, sou ...

's " Behind Closed Doors." "To Make My Life Beautiful" charted in the Netherlands in 1972. He died on April 4, 2020.

Discography

Per the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

National Union Catalog. * ''Alex Harvey'' (1971) * ''Souvenirs'' (1972) * ''True Love'' (1973) * ''Preshus'' ''Child'' (1976) * ''Purple Crush'' (1977) * ''No Place But Texas'' (1986) * ''Black and Red'' (1995) * ''Eden'' (1997) * ''Arms of An Angel'' (2001) * ''Luminary'' (2002) * ''Peace'' (2003) * ''The Songwriter'' (2004) * ''Galilee'' (2005) * ''Texas 101'' (2015) * ''Heart of The Art In Song'' (2018)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Harvey, Alex 1941 births 2020 deaths 20th-century American singers 20th-century American male actors American alternative country musicians American country guitarists American country singer-songwriters American male guitarists Place of death missing American male singer-songwriters Murray State University alumni Capitol Records artists Country musicians from Tennessee People from Haywood County, Tennessee 20th-century American male singers Singer-songwriters from Tennessee