John Lee

b. John Arthur Lee, 24 May 1915, Mt. Ready, Alabama, USA. Few post-war nation blues monitors merit the explanation ‘masterpiece’, but John Lee’s July 1951 documenting of ‘Down ON THE Depot’ should get the accolade. Essentially a standard teach blues, it really is raised by his propulsive glide electric guitar playing and keening vocal. Lee originated from a musical family members, where all seven brothers, a sister and both parents performed guitar. Nevertheless, the significant impact on his playing was Uncle Ellie Lee, renowned in Evergreen, Alabama, as its finest exponent of glide technique, utilizing a knife rather than bottleneck. Both ‘Down IN THE Depot’ as well as the similarly amazing ‘Blind Blues’ carry see to his tutelage. Lee was also affected by Brewton musician Levi Kelley. He supplemented useful instruction using the information of Blind Blake, Blind Lemon Jefferson and Leroy Carr. Shifting to Montgomery in 1945, he quickly experienced, by his personal estimation, ‘the city sewed up’ when it found playing at home celebrations and suppers. In 1951 he noticed skill scout Ralph Bass advertise for skill on WMGY radio; four from the six tunes he documented had been released on two Federal government singles, representing a number of the last cases of nation blues being released on a significant label. Lee retired from energetic overall performance in 1960. He was rediscovered in 1973 following a three-year search and documented classes in Montgomery and Cambridge, Massachusetts, of which he exposed an similarly individual piano design.