Marjorie Lucille "Margie" Alexander (October 11, 1948 – March 26, 2013) Obituary, Margie Babbs, Times-Georgian.com
Accessed 9 April 2013 was an American

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

and

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

singer, mainly noted for her recordings in the 1970s.

Biography

She was born in

Carrollton, Georgia Carrollton, Georgia is a city in the northwest region of Georgia, about 45 miles (72 km) west of Atlanta near the Alabama state line. It is the county seat of Carroll County, which is included in the Atlanta Metropolitan Area. Historically, ...

, the third of six children. She attended, and began singing in, Piney Grove Baptist Church, and graduated from Carver High School in Carrollton.Robert Pruter, ''Chicago Soul'', p.351
/ref>Duke/Peacock Records: an illustrated history with discography Galen Gart, Roy C. Ames - 1990 Gospel Crusaders of Los Angeles Born to Die LRS 11342 Feel Good LRS 11343 By the mid-1960s she was a member of the Gospel Crusaders of

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. Biographical note by John Bush at Allmusic.com/ref> In 1968, she started singing at the Club 400 in Atlanta, and joined

Clarence Carter Clarence George Carter (born January 14, 1936) is an American singer, songwriter, musician and record producer. His most successful songs include " Slip Away", "Back Door Santa" (both released 1968), " Patches" (1970) and "Strokin" (1986). Ear ...

's band as a back-up singer. By 1971 she had a recording contract with

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

, where Clarence Carter produced the single "Can I Be Your Main Thing", written by Hubert Carter and featuring

electronic piano An electronic piano is a keyboard instrument designed to simulate the timbre of a piano (and sometimes a harpsichord or an organ) using analog circuitry. "Electronic Piano" was also the trade name used for Wurlitzer's popular line of electric ...

by Clayton Ivey.Margie Alexander at SirShambling.com
/ref>Margie Alexander at NME.com
Although the record was not a

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

, it has subsequently been widely anthologised as a classic example of

Southern soul Southern soul is a type of soul music that emerged from the Southern United States. The music originated from a combination of styles, including blues (both 12 bar and jump), country, early R&B, and a strong gospel influence that emanated fro ...

music. After Clarence Carter founded his own label, Future Stars, Alexander continued to record with him, her biggest success coming with "Keep On Searching", which Carter wrote and produced, and which reached # 50 on the

Billboard R&B chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...

in 1974. In 1976 she signed with Chi-Sound, a

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

started by

Carl Davis Carl Davis, (born October 28, 1936) is an American-born conductor and composer who has lived in the United Kingdom since 1961. He has written music for more than 100 television programmes, but is best known for creating music to accompany si ...

(producer of

Gene Chandler Gene Chandler (born Eugene Drake Dixon; July 6, 1937) is an American singer, songwriter, music producer, and record-label executive. Chandler is nicknamed "the Duke of Earl" or, simply, "the Duke." He is best known for his most successful son ...

's "

Duke of Earl "Duke of Earl" is a 1962 US number-one song, originally recorded by Gene Chandler. It is the best known of Chandler's songs, and he subsequently dubbed himself "The Duke of Earl". The song was penned by Chandler, Bernice Williams, and Earl Edwar ...

") which was distributed by

United Artists Records United Artists Records was an American record label founded by Max E. Youngstein of United Artists in 1957 to issue movie soundtracks. The label expanded into other genres, such as easy listening, jazz, pop, and R&B. History Genres In 1959, ...

.Chi-Sound label discography
/ref> She had two minor hits on Chi-Sound in 1977, "It's Worth a Whippin'", produced by

Major Lance Major Lance (April 4, 1939, 1941Soul music A-Z 1995 p. 185 or 1942The golden age of American rock 'n roll: Volume 3; 2002 p. 556 – September 3, 1994) was an American R&B singer. After a number of US hits in the 1960s, including "The Monk ...

and

Otis Leavill Otis Leavill (February 8, 1937
Accessed 8 February 2010

(# 92 R&B), and "Gotta Get A Hold On Me" (# 68 R&B). In 1992 she released a gospel album, ''God Is In Control'', on the Soul Potion label. She married John E. Babbs in 1997, and in 2009, as Margie Babbs, was reported as singing at a church in Carrollton, Georgia. She died on March 26, 2013 at the age of 64.

Discography

Singles

* "Can I Be Your Main Thing" / "It Can't Last Forever" (Atlantic 2828, 1971) * "Love Slave" / "Keep On Searching" (Future Stars 1005, 1974) * "It's Worth A Whippin'" / "Take My Body" (Chi-Sound 17605, 1976) * "Gotta Get A Hold On Me" / "What'cha Trying To Do To Me" (Chi-Sound 1033, 1977) * "Looking Back" / "Blue Vibrations" (Startown 005, 1984)

Albums

* ''God Is In Control'' (Soul-Po-Tion Records, 1992)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander, Margie 1948 births 2013 deaths American women singers American gospel singers American soul singers People from Carroll County, Georgia 21st-century American women