[4] When he was age 11, Willie began incorporating him into the family business and continuing to expose children to the music by appearing with him at local schools, work that later resulted in Alex becoming a member of his touring band for club and festival bookings.

[6][7] After Willie's death, Alex served as a deputy with the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department for seven years and graduated from Aspen University in 2009 with a degree in criminal justice/law enforcement administration.

He retired from the force to resume a career in music, after an off-duty incident involving an ex-convict gang member, who shot at him two or three times without hitting his mark, and who was subsequently convicted of first-degree murder in the death of a former roommate.

[13] He founded Dixon Landing Music—a combined recording label, publishing house and management firm—in Los Angeles in 1989 in an effort to continue his grandfather's legacy in promoting the careers of younger artists.

Alex contributes keyboards with vocals handled by soprano Marcy Levy, aka Marcella Detroit, who co-wrote "Lay Down Sally" with Eric Clapton, as well as guitarist Alan Mirikitani, front man of the Los Angeles-based band BB Chung King and the Buddaheads.