After his family relocated to Ann Arbor from Whitmore Lake, Michigan he attended Pioneer High School in Ann Arbor, Michigan where he met the Asheton Brothers. "Zander" (as he was known) dropped out after 45 minutes on the first day of his Senior Year in 1965, to win a bet. Later in 1965 he sold his motorcycle and went to England with his best friend Ron Asheton to see The Who and to "try and find The Beatles".

Alexander and the Asheton brothers met Iggy and formed The Stooges. Although he was a total novice on his instrument, he was a quick learner and subsequently had a hand in arranging, composing and performing all of the songs that appeared on the band's first two albums, The Stooges and Fun House. He is often credited by vocalist Iggy Pop and guitarist Ron Asheton in interviews with being the primary composer of the music for the Stooges songs "We Will Fall", "Little Doll" (both on The Stooges), "1970" and "Dirt" (Fun House).

Alexander was fired from the band in August 1970 after showing up at the Goose Lake International Music Festival too drunk to play.

He died of pulmonary edema in 1975, aged 27, in Ann Arbor after being admitted to a hospital for pancreatitis, which was linked to his drinking.

Mike Watt mentions Alexander by name in his song, The Angel's Gate, on his 2004 album The Secondman's Middle Stand, by which time Watt had replaced Alexander in the reformed Stooges. At Watt's first performance with the Stooges at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in May 2003, he wore a Dave Alexander T-shirt in tribute.

References

External links

• Dave Alexander on Open Up and Bleed site
• iggypop.org: Iggy and the Stooges fan site