Margie Alexander

Biography

She was born in Carrollton, Georgia, the third of six children. She attended, and began singing in, Piney Grove Baptist Church, and graduated from Carver High School in Atlanta.

By the mid-1960s she was a member of the Gospel Crusaders of Los Angeles. In 1968, she started singing at the Club 400 in Atlanta, and joined Clarence Carter's band as a back-up singer. By 1971 she had a recording contract with Atlantic Records, where Clarence Carter produced the single "Can I Be Your Main Thing", written by Hubert Carter and featuring electronic piano by Clayton Ivey. Although the record was not a hit, it has subsequently been widely anthologised as a classic example of Southern soul 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 in 1974. In 1976 she signed with Chi-Sound, a record label started by Carl Davis (producer of Gene Chandler's "Duke of Earl") which was distributed by United Artists Records. She had two minor hits on Chi-Sound in 1977, "It's Worth a Whippin'", produced by Major Lance and Otis Leavill (# 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.

Singles

Albums