All Things Hip Hop Episode #1

Gary Alexander cut his teeth in music by listening to his father’s records (Charles Alexander & The Carolina Five) on local jukeboxes around South Carolina. At 11 years old his personal journey in music began on 2 strings on a guitar he bought for 12$. “I couldn’t play chords because I only had 2 strings and well, because I did not know any. So I figured out how to tune the 2 strings to an open chord. I began writing songs straight away”. At 15 after the death of his mother Gary found himself living alone. He packed a bag and headed to Myrtle Beach SC. After struggling on the streets and sleeping on Ocean Blvd. Gary began to rise above the adversity. He soon began working for Country music stars Larry Gatlin and the Gatlin Brothers. Larry was a source of learning and inspiration for Gary and the term ‘Songsmith” began to take real meaning. Performance and the writing began to be two separate crafts. At the advice of Larry, Gary took a job with the legendary ‘Opryland” company performing in San Antonio