[Music] foreign
he knew he had a tremendous gift but didn't imagine he would one day use it to become one
of the 80s most charismatic and successful male recording artist it wasn't easy dealing with
everything that goes along with Fame and Fortune though and Behind the Music he was struggling with
a serious addiction that would continue to have a hold on him for decades to come and threatened
to ruin what he'd worked so hard to achieve Alexander O'Neal was born November 15 1953 in
Natchez Mississippi he was raised solely by his mother in abject poverty with five half-siblings
his father passed away in an accident just months before Alexander's birth he would confess years
later that even though he did have great male role models around him it made him very angry
to not have grown up with a father another issue that saddened him was colorism as a child he was
forced to deal with ill treatment due to having a much darker complexion than his brothers and
sisters being a big kid it's no surprise that Alexander gravitated towards football his talent
for the sport would take him all the way to becoming an All-State linebacker long before
that though it was obvious that he had another gift that little did he know would make him an
international Superstar I had utter interests hanging out with my friends playing football
but no matter what else I was doing I was always singing too singing around the house singing as I
walked down the street subconsciously there must have been something there trying to get out when
my friends told me I had a nice voice I thought they were making fun of me then I heard them
bragging to other people telling the grown-ups you should listen to Alex that cat can sing his
musical Idols growing up included James Brown Otis Redding Marvin Gaye and Donnie Hathaway
when Alexander was 14 he began singing with a local band called The Soul morticians After High
School graduation he did go on to college but only completed one year at the age of 20 he decided to
pick up and move to Chicago and took a job at a factory after some time a cousin then invited him
to come to Minneapolis while there Alexander made a promise to himself that he would pour everything
he had into making it in the music industry if things didn't pan out in 10 years he'd become
a truck driver while performing around town with various bands his talent caught the attention of
up-and-coming musicians Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis they asked him to join their group flight time
who would later be renamed simply the time then one day A call came in it was Prince he'd heard
how great they were sounding and wanted them to become his permanent backing band during
a meeting to hash out all the details though things went all the way left apparently Prince
didn't like Alexander asking a lot of questions about the financial aspect of the deal the next
thing Alexander knew he was out and Morris day was in becoming the band's new lead singer in his
unsung episode Alexander claims another reason he was kicked to the curb was that apparently
Prince also thought he didn't fit the group's aesthetic some people even said that his reply
that I was too black but see Prince is black when it's convenient for Prince to be black Alexander
O'Neal have to be black and love being black all the time he just added fuel for the fire
so I said nah I'm really gonna make it I'm really gonna do it when Prince also fired Jimmy and Terry
a few years later they were hired to produce a new singer for record label taboo the duo then
reached out to Alexander and decided to bring him into the studio to cut the same songs when
the labels found her heard Alexander's version he knew he'd found something special and wanted
to meet him right away we may never know who that other artist was since Alexander O'Neal ended up
taking their spot and signed his first deal with taboo records in the spring of 1985 he released
his self-titled debut album under the production of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis it included three
singles that reached the top 20 of the r b chart the first of which was a trap called innocent
the follow-up a Melancholy ballad called if you were here tonight would give Alexander his first
taste of international success when it peaked at number 13 on the UK singles chart want you tonight
then the Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis written and produced tracks Saturday love with labelmate
shirelle drop that October and would take both artists careers to new heights it peaked
at number two on the r b chart it also made it into the top 30 on the hot 100. the song linked
Alexander O'Neal and cherelle together forever in the public mind similar to previous hit Duos that
didn't start out that way like Marvin Gaye and Tammy Terrell and Peaches and Herb Alexander's
Debonair style complete with slickback hair and Banker suits were a calculated move to look the
part of a romantic crooner as the money started to roll in the first thing he did was buy his
mother a house he also began living life in the fast lane on all fronts he fathered two children
from his first marriage and then went on to have six more with several other women drugs
had also entered the picture he didn't keep his addiction hidden though Jimmy and Terry
were well aware of what was going on and put their foot down with Alexander they refused
to do another album with him unless he changed his ways the duo even paid for him to go to rehab two
years later all three did come back together to put out Alexander's second album title hearsay
it went gold and yielded the biggest U.S hit of his career with the song fake it taught the r b
chart and reached number 25 on the pop chart the follow-up single criticized also became a top 5
r b hit Alexander collaborated with shirelle again for the third single off the album never knew love
like this it climbed all the way to number two on the r b chart his popularity across the pond
was also whitehawd he set a new precedent when he performs sold out shows for six consecutive
nights at famed Wembley Stadium during the Run he made everyone's jaws drop when he decided to
have a bed on stage and bring one lucky lady out of the audience to lay with him in it while he
serenaded her and if you're wondering yes he did it before Madonna all the fame and fortune Alex
Xander was experiencing though wasn't making him happy as recluse I didn't have a social life I I
didn't want one I just want to stay by myself go to work make this money and have people to stay
out of my business his drug addiction had also ramped up again Jimmy and Terry laid down the
law again and said they wouldn't do another album with him unless he did another rehab stand this
time he was less receptive to their demands and even though he tried to clean himself up when he
did get back into the studio things just weren't the same after a 1988 Christmas album Alexander
dropped all true man in 1991. the album went gold in the U.S and became His Highest charting release
in the UK although it ultimately sold fewer copies than hearsay the title track also became a top
five r b hit while the project did turn out to be a success Jimmy and Terry didn't want to deal with
Alexander's self-destructive Behavior anymore and walked away from him for good in 1993 he released
his fifth album love makes no sense it would serve as his last project for taboo records
although it reached the UK Top 20 and two singles from the album reached the top 40 there overall
sales were not as strong as his earlier releases after leaving taboo Alexander signed with Motown
but never released any singles or albums with the label during his three-year tenure there
the way he tells it things played out that way because people use the fact that he decided to
be open about his drug addiction against him in 1996 his first album with label One World
titled lovers again was released it didn't chart in the UK although the single let's get together
did reach their top 40. over the years as words circulated throughout the industry about his drug
problem as well as the belief that he was too old school for the Times Alexander would continue to
have difficulties finding people willing to take a chance on him hence his move to London where
he would stay for the next 14 years he figured instead of begging for a record deal in the U.S
he'd go where he was appreciated in that time he released two albums 2002's Saga of a married man
and 2008's Alex loves after returning to the U.S in 2010 Alexander released five questions
the new Journey that same year in 2015 following a brief appearance on reality TV show Celebrity Big
Brother that ended with a major blow up with blogger Perez Hilton Alexander admitted that
the stress of being on that show caused him to relapse on crack cocaine again immediately after
getting off the show he says he binged on the drug while staying in a London hotel two years later he
released his autobiography titled after his fourth album all true man the dynamic duo of Alexander
O'Neal and cherelle came together for the first time in decades in 2019 at the Soul Train Awards
to pay tribute to longtime collaborators Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis on March 21st 2023 Alexander
posted a written announcement on his Facebook as well as a short video video clip on his Instagram
stating his intention to end his touring days over the course of the next year the fittingly
title Time to Say Goodbye tour will Spam The Globe beginning in the UK this September thank
you guys for my much over the years reportedly find my records coming out to the shovels and
don't forget I love you guys and this is my farewell tour because it's time to say goodbye
[Music]