Music
Dave Alexander
1947–1975 · bassist, songwriter
Original bassist of the Stooges, the Ann Arbor proto-punk band that came up through Detroit's Grande Ballroom alongside the MC5.
- Born
Ann Arbor, Michigan- Died
Ann Arbor, Michigan
aged 27- Birth name
- David Michael Alexander
- Also known as
- Zander
- Detroit years
- 1967–1970
- Field
- Music
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Alexander grew up in Whitmore Lake and Ann Arbor, where he met the brothers Ron and Scott Asheton at Pioneer High School. In 1967 they formed the Psychedelic Stooges with singer Iggy Pop, Alexander on bass. The band became a fixture of the late-1960s Detroit rock scene alongside the MC5, playing the Grande Ballroom on Grand River Avenue, the city's rock palace, where Iggy first performed on March 3, 1968, and which he later called his rock school. Signed to Elektra in 1968, the Stooges released The Stooges (1969), with "I Wanna Be Your Dog," and Fun House (1970); Alexander played bass on both and shared the band's songwriting credits. He was fired in 1970 after arriving too drunk to play at the Goose Lake International Music Festival in Michigan. He died in Ann Arbor in 1975, aged 27, of pulmonary edema linked to alcoholism, and entered the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the Stooges in 2010.
Highlights
- Original bassist of the Stooges (1967–1970)
- Played on The Stooges (1969) and Fun House (1970)
- Regular at Detroit's Grande Ballroom with the Stooges
- Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the Stooges (2010)
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 1
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Performed here · 1968–1970
Grande Ballroom
Closed · 1928–1972
1928 dance hall that was Detroit's leading rock venue from 1966 to 1972 and home stage of the MC5 and the Stooges. Bought by Chapel Hill Missionary Baptist Church in 2006, the building stands empty and was listed for sale in 2023.