Albert Lee

Albert Lee occupies an unusual market in music — Uk by delivery and upbringing, he spent the mid-’60s seeing that a high R&B guitarist, however in the 1970s became among the best rockabilly guitarists on earth, no slouch in nation music either. In Britain he’s a been home name, and in Nashville and LA he’s been perhaps one of the most in-demand program guitarists there’s; but beyond professional music circles in the us, he’s one particular vaguely recognizable brands, and sometimes misidentified along with his similar-sounding modern, ex-Ten Years After guitarist Alvin Lee (with whom he do talk about a berth once, in Jerry Lee Lewis’s music group around the latter’s London Classes recording) — but where Alvin was a hero of Woodstock along with a flashy guitarist, in the way of English blues extroverts Jimmy Web page and Jeff Beck, Albert is a lot more likely found playing in the backdrop, behind the Everly Brothers or alongside Eric Clapton. Lee was created in Leominster, Britain, in 1943. His intro to music originated from his dad, who performed piano and accordion. His 1st device was the piano, which he used at age group seven — he was fortunate to become more than five years into his key pad study when rock and roll & roll arrived, and his 1st idol was Jerry Lee Lewis, which also designated his intro to rockabilly music. Within a year or two, however, Lee experienced switched to acoustic guitar, and also found out the music of Friend Holly & the Crickets. He began learning your guitar in earnest and learning their information very closely, rather than lengthy after graduated from an acoustic to a power device, and was learning the lead acoustic guitar parts on information by Holly, Gene Vincent, Ricky Nelson, the Louvin Brothers, as well as the Everly Brothers — except that to him these were as much information by Tommy Alsup, Jimmy Bryant, Cliff Gallup, Wayne Burton, Chet Atkins, and Hank “Sugarfoot” Garland, among additional guitarists. At 16, he switched professional and became a member of the steady of musicians doing work for supervisor Larry Parnes, playing behind Dickie Satisfaction, among other celebrities on Parnes’ roster. He later on joined the support music group of R&B vocalist Bob Xavier, and later on performed behind Jackie Lynton, through whom he made an appearance on his 1st recording. Lee double succeeded Jimmy Web page as a business lead guitarist, first in Mike Hurst’s music group and in Neil Christian’s support group. And Lee, subsequently, was succeeded within the last mentioned music group by Ritchie Blackmore when he jumped to Chris Farlowe’s support group the Thunderbirds. He spent four years using the Thunderbirds, who became known in United kingdom musical circles among the greatest R&B rings in England, and everything gained popularity as Farlowe charted singles (including lots one strike) in 1966 and early 1967. He finally still left Farlowe in 1968, sense bored stiff after four years, and over following two years handed down through several rings playing behind several visiting American nation superstars, including George Hamilton IV, Skeeter Davis, and Bobby Bare. Lee handed down through several groupings, including Nation Fever and Poet & the main one Man Music group, before finally achieving a semipermanent berth with Minds, Hands & Foot, a progressive nation outfit who have been type of England’s response to the Traveling Burrito Brothers or the Nitty Gritty Dirt Music group. He first attained public see as an associate of the group, which attained some positive important see — and allowed Lee to broaden his playing beyond your guitar — but noticed little commercial achievement. They split after 2 yrs, and Lee produced his living like a program guitarist for another year or two, and was also in a position to latch to a bit of fresh recording action happening in Britain. In 1970, Chess Information had scored an urgent chart success using the London Howlin’ Wolf Classes, which had resulted in a spate of “London Classes” albums by Muddy Waters and Chuck Berry, amongst others at Chess, and also a B.B. Ruler recording on ABC Information built across the same lines. He got in on Jerry Lee Lewis’ London Classes album, which appeared to reopen Lee’s romantic relationship of the first ’60s with American functions — except that time one group of his existence appeared to close when he was selected to displace Glen D. Hardin within the Crickets. He toured together and in addition cut sides together in Nashville for the Mercury Records discharge, GOOD WAY From Lubbock. Once the smoke cigarettes cleared from his 2 yrs with the music group, Lee had transferred to LA, where he produced connection with Phil Everly and Don Everly, who have been working separately at that time. Lee became a member of Don’s music group and also got his Minds, Hands & Foot bandmates to focus on his Sunset Towers LP. Following that, Lee joined up with Joe Cocker’s music group, which, subsequently, resulted in the offer of the agreement in 1975 to accomplish a single recording with A&M Information, that was Cocker’s label at that time. A gig playing (and documenting) with Emmylou Harris postponed the conclusion of his very own record for two years, before end of 1978, though when House, since it was entitled, finally appeared, it had been not just a electric guitar virtuoso display but included Harris onto it as a visitor performer. He was agreed upon to Polydor being a single musician, but by that point the program work and will be offering were to arrive fast and furious, and Lee was apparently everywhere, using everyone from Jackson Browne to Bo Diddley to Herbie Mann. His most noticeable gig, nevertheless, was using Eric Clapton, 1st on JUST ONE SINGLE Night and within the tour that adopted. So when the Everly Brothers reunited for any concert, a live recording, along with a concert video, Lee was there within the music group. Lee’s own single career continued in to the past due ’80s with Speechless (1987) and Gagged however, not Bound (1988), both released by MCA and both essential successes. He was also later on an associate of Gerry Hogan’s bluegrass group Hogan’s Heroes, and toured and documented with Expenses Wyman’s music group, the Tempo Kings. He in addition has used Eddie Vehicle Halen and Steve Morse inside a supergroup known as the Biff Baby All-Stars. In his 5th decade as a specialist musician, Lee was section of a rarefied fraternity being a virtuoso’s virtuoso, reputed on three continents and virtually living out a specialist life that a lot of of his co-workers, when he began, could only imagine. He continuing to record in the 21st hundred years, cutting the nation/rockabilly record Heartbreak Resort for Glucose Hill in 2003. That same calendar year, Castle Records released a Lee retrospective compilation, That’s FINE, Mama. Another Sugar Hill discharge, Road Runner, made an appearance in 2006.