Dean Alexander

Blessed with a strong voice, good looks, and a knack for songwriting, Dean Alexander found his star rising in Nashville when, after years of struggle, his single "Live a Little" began making its way up the country charts in the summer of 2014. Dean Alexander hails from the Midwest; he was born in Parkersburg, West Virginia, and spent most of his childhood in nearby Tuppers Plains, Ohio. When he was ten years old, Alexander picked up a copy of the album This Time by <a href="spotify:artist:2sxmKe3CUrWnx7eoXMhOlW">Dwight Yoakam</a>; as Alexander puts it, he "freaked out over it," and he soon developed a strong taste for country music. Alexander also cites <a href="spotify:artist:7290H8m1Dwt8G7jm1y9CQx">Chris Isaak</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:43ZHCT0cAZBISjO8DG9PnE">Elvis Presley</a>, and <a href="spotify:artist:2zyz0VJqrDXeFDIyrfVXSo">Jerry Lee Lewis</a> as personal favorites, and admits to having a soft spot for vintage surf music, especially <a href="spotify:artist:2GaayiIs1kcyNqRXQuzp35">the Ventures</a>. By the time he was 12, Alexander had started playing guitar and was writing his first songs. In 2006, Alexander pulled up stakes and moved to Nashville with just $100 in his pocket, working odd jobs by day and playing honky tonks by night. Alexander's big break came unexpectedly when he was working for a landscaping firm; one day, he was shoveling fertilizer onto a customer's lawn when they pointed out that Dean's cowboy boots and white jeans hardly looked like a experienced gardener's work clothes. Alexander admitted that he was an aspiring musician and learned he was at the home of Barbara Orbison, the wife and business manager of the late <a href="spotify:artist:0JDkhL4rjiPNEp92jAgJnS">Roy Orbison</a>; Barbara soon signed Dean to his first publishing deal. A few years later, after Alexander landed a songwriting deal with Stage Three Music, he crossed paths with producer <a href="spotify:artist:2wGqbrJQyoV5riYTCvxvVC">Scott Hendricks</a>. <a href="spotify:artist:2wGqbrJQyoV5riYTCvxvVC">Hendricks</a> recognized Alexander's talent, and with his help Dean scored a recording contract with <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Elektra+Nashville%22">Elektra Nashville</a>. One of his first releases for the label was the 2012 single "Dangerous," which was used on the short-lived television series GCB, while another single, "Sunshine on my Rain," appeared in the spring of 2013. Alexander began making good on his hard work when "Live a Little," a country tune with a reggae undertow, debuted on the <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Billboard%22">Billboard</a> country charts in late July 2014. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi