Alphonso Young

Alphonso Young – Guitarist. While living in Louisville, Alphonso Young joined a local rock band called the Presidents in 1960. With its reputation growing rapidly, the Presidents made plans to record at Motown in Detroit and stopped in Indianapolis along the way. Young’s band became an immediate attraction at The Place to Play on Indiana Avenue, which had traditionally been a jazz scene. In November 1961, the Presidents beat Jimi Hendrix and Billy Cox in a contest at George’s Bar. (Coming from Clarksville, Tennessee, Hendrix and Cox had rolled into a town in a broken down car, in search of playing opportunities.) Following the contest, Young quit the Presidents to join Jimi and Cox in Clarksville to play with the King Casuals. Along with Raymond Bell from the Presidents, Young showed up in Clarksville a couple days later. Young played rhythm guitar behind Hendrix’s lead but only stayed with the King Casuals for a short time. However – according to Young – he was the one to teach Jimi how to play with his teeth.