For the city in Minnesota, see Albert Lea, Minnesota
Albert Lee
, born December 21, 1943 in Leominster, Herefordshire England is a Grammy Award-winning English guitarist known for his finger-style and hybrid picking technique.
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ALBERT LEE TICKETS
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Early life
He grew up in
Blackheath,
London. His father was a musician, and Albert studied piano. During this time, like many of his age, he became a fan of
Buddy Holly, and also of
Jerry Lee Lewis. He took up guitar in 1958 when his parents bought him a second-hand
Höfner President
which he later traded in for a
Czechoslovakian
Grazioso
, the forerunner of the
Futurama
. Later, he wished he had bought a
Fender instead. Albert Lee left school at the age of 16, to play full-time.
Career
Early career in England
Lee was with a variety of bands from 1959 onwards, playing mostly
R&B,
country music and
rock and roll. In addition to Buddy Holly, his early guitar influences included
Cliff Gallup,
The Everly Brothers,
Scotty Moore,
James Burton and
Jerry Reed.
Lee first experienced commercial success as the
lead guitarist with
Chris Farlowe and The Thunderbirds. Lee says that he enjoyed playing the
Stax-type material, but he really wanted to play
country music. Consequently he left Farlowe and the Thunderbirds in 1968.
During his time playing with
Heads Hands & Feet, Lee became a "guitar hero", playing his
Fender Telecaster at breakneck speed.
[1] Heads Hands & Feet became a very popular live band in the
UK, making appearances on
The Old Grey Whistle Test and also in
Europe, where they appeared on the
German music programme
Beat-Club and later performed with German bassist Georg Grimm who discovered Nasville Singer-Songwriter
Sylkie Monoff.
International success
Lee left for
Los Angeles, California in 1974 and joined
The Crickets through his friend
bassist Rick Grech (
Blind Faith) who also included
Sonny Curtis and
Jerry Allison. The band cut three albums together including
A Long Way From Lubbock
. He also got lots of offers of session work. In 1976, Lee was asked to join
Emmylou Harris's
Hot Band, replacing one of his heroes
James Burton, who was returning to perform with
Elvis Presley. The Hot Band featured other musicians such as
Ricky Skaggs and
Rodney Crowell. Starting in 1978, Lee worked for five years with
Eric Clapton, playing and singing for a live concert recording at the
Budokan in
Japan.
Lee was responsible for
The Everly Brothers 1983 reunion concert and was the musical director.
[2] He played regularly with the Everlys for over twenty years.
In 1987, Lee was invited by Gerry Hogan to headline at a
Steel Guitar Festival in
Newbury, Berkshire. Lee was at first intimidated by the prospect of having to front a band, however, the gig was successful and he now tours with Hogan's Heroes on a regular basis. Hogan's Heroes are renowned for attracting celebrities to their gigs. Stars such as
Eric Clapton,
Tommy Emmanuel,
Lonnie Donegan,
Dave Edmunds,
Marty Wilde,
Willie Nelson,
Nanci Griffith,
Don Everly,
Emmylou Harris,
Sonny Curtis and
Rodney Crowell have all jammed with the band at one time or another.
In 2002, Albert Lee appeared at the
Concert for George. Also in 2002, Lee received a
Grammy Award for Best Country Instrumental Performance for
Foggy Mountain Breakdown from the CD
Earl Scruggs and Friends
. In September 2006 Lee took part in Primal Twang: The Legacy of the Guitar—the first definitive theatrical journey through the guitar’s colourful and surprisingly controversial 3500-year history. Albert Lee appeared at the 2007
Crossroads Guitar Festival on 28 July and performed with Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings at the
Ahmet Ertegun tribute show at
The O2 in London on 10 December. A new Albert Lee and Hogan's Heroes album entitled
Like This
was released in spring 2008 to coincide with their European tour. Lee continues to tour and work in the studio, and tours on a regular basis with
Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings. He lives in
Malibu,
California.
Awards, accolades and legacy
thumb
Lee has received many awards for his playing, including the five times consecutive winner of
Guitar Player
magazine's "Best Country Guitarist".
[3]
Lee is known within the music industry for his speed of playing and his technical virtuosity
[4] and yet by the same token, one of the most melodic, playing slower passages approximating the sound of the
pedal steel guitar with his
Music Man and Telecaster guitars which are equipped with
B-Benders.
He is known as "the guitar player's guitar player"
because of the presence of so many guitarists, famous or unknown, everywhere he performs. Albert Lee is also referred to as "Mr.
Telecaster".
[5] A long-time Telecaster player, Lee wrote a foreword to A.R. Duchossoir's book detailing the history of the instrument.
Albert Lee's song "Country Boy" helped to redefine country guitar for a whole generation of players, and was later to become a huge hit for
multi-instrumentalist Ricky Skaggs.
Despite positive press from
Melody Maker and
New Musical Express, Lee has never achieved any great commercial success in terms of vast record sales during his career, but more as a live performer,
session player and
sideman, perhaps due to his self-effacing stage presence. Lee has been described by his peers who include
Jimmy Page and
Ritchie Blackmore, as a complete gentleman who does not know the meaning of the word
ego
.
Earl Scruggs, commenting on Albert Lee has stated: "I have been a fan and admirer of his guitar work from the first moment I heard him play. I am constantly amazed at his talent. I am sure there are many guitar players who have been influenced by his style and will continue to be influenced for years to come. Albert is in every sense of the word, a genuine guitar wizard".
[6]
It is widely quoted that Eric Clapton is on record as stating that Albert Lee is, in his opinion, "the greatest guitarist in the world." Emmylou Harris has stated that Lee "[is] a brilliant guitar player. His sound is unmistakable—often emulated, never equalled. When
St Peter asks me to chronicle my time down here on earth, I'll be able to say (with pride if that's allowed) that for a while I played
rhythm guitar in a band with Albert Lee."
[7]
Reflecting on the Heads Hands & Feet period of his career, Lee has stated: "What amazes me is how many musicians in
Nashville have a copy of our first album in their personal record collections, and still ask me what happened to the band."
Guitar collection
Albert Lee owns more than 25 guitars, including
Don Everly's
Gibson J-200. The
Gibson Guitar Corporation made one for Don and the other for Phil Everly. The guitars have an all black, high gloss lacquered finish, and are equipped with twin
Everly Brothers
white pickguards. The
Everly Brothers manager Wesley Rhodes had wanted the guitar to be presented to the
Country Music Hall of Fame, but Everly informed him that guitars like that should be played, not kept sitting in a glass case.
Don Everly presented it to Lee, along with his
Gibson Everly Brothers
model.
[8]
Eric Clapton gave Lee the
Gibson Les Paul Custom that he played while with
Delaney and Bonnie. Lee also plays a custom
Music Man (the guitar shown in the photographs) and a 1950's Telecaster (both with custom
B-Benders), a 1958 Stratocaster and a Martin 000-28 acoustic.
Confusion with Alvin Lee
Albert Lee is often confused with
Alvin Lee. This confusion has led to Alvin Lee being incorrectly credited on many albums in the past.
Partial Band List
- Chris Farlowe And The Thunderbirds
- The Crickets
- Country Fever
- Green Bullfrog
- Heads Hands & Feet
- Emmylou Harris and The Hot Band
- Hogan's Heroes (guitar and vocals)
- Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings
- Biffbaby's All Stars, featuring: Albert Lee, Eddie Van Halen, Steve Morse, and Steve Lukather. In association with Ernie Ball products
Discography
Solo albums
- Albert Lee — Black Claw/Country Fever
- Poet And The One Man Band — Poet And The One Man Band
LP(actually Heads Hands & Feet) (1969)
- Heads Hands & Feet — Heads, Hands & Feet
LP(1971)
- Heads Hands & Feet — Tracks
LP(1972)
- Heads Hands & Feet — Let's Get This Show On The Road!
- Heads Hands & Feet — Jack Daniels Rare Old No.7
- Heads Hands & Feet — Old Soldiers Never Die
LP(1973)
- Heads Hands & Feet — Home From Home - The Missing Album
LP(1968; unissued until 1995)
- Albert Lee — Hiding
- Albert Lee — Albert Lee
- Albert Lee — Speechless
- Albert Lee — Country Guitar Man
(Re-release of "Old Soldiers Never Die" by Heads Hands & Feet)
- Albert Lee — Gagged But Not Bound
- Albert Lee — Real Wild Child
- Albert Lee — That's All Right Mama
- Albert Lee — Heartbreak Hill
- Albert Lee — Road Runner
- Albert Lee — Advanced Country Guitar
(DVD)
- Albert Lee — Master Session
(DVD)
- Albert Lee — Country Legend
(DVD)
- Albert Lee — Highlights
(DVD)
- Albert Lee — Guitar Heroes
(DVD)
- Albert Lee — Country Boy
(DVD)
- Albert Lee — Guitar Techniques
(DVD)
- Albert Lee & Hogan's Heroes — In Full Flight!
- Albert Lee & Hogan's Heroes — Tear It Up
- Albert Lee & Hogan's Heroes — In Between The Cracks
- Albert Lee & Hogan's Heroes — Live In Paris
(DVD)
- Albert Lee & Hogan's Heroes — Like This
Featured appearances
- Bo Diddley — The London Bo Diddley Sessions
- Jerry Lee Lewis — The London Sessions
- Emmylou Harris — Luxury Liner
, The Ballad Of Sally Rose
, Blue Kentucky Girl
, Roses in the Snow
, Evangeline
(Guitars, Mandolin)
- Eric Clapton — Just One Night
, Another Ticket
, Money and Cigarettes
- John Prine — The Missing Years
(Guitar, Mandolin, Piano)
- Jon Lord — Gemini Suite
- Earl Scruggs — Earl Scruggs and Friends
- Paul Kennerley — The Legend of Jesse James
(Guitars, Vocals, Mandolin)
- The Crickets — Long Way From Lubbock
, The Crickets and Their Buddies
- Joe Cocker — Sting Ray
- Nicolette Larson — The Very Best Of Nicollette Larson
- Rodney Crowell — The Essential Rodney Crowell
- Dolly Parton - White Limozeen
- The Return Of Spinal Tap — DVD (As himself, playing on "Break Like The Wind")
- John 5 — Death Valley
- Carlene Carter — I fell in Love
- Foster and Lloyd — Version of the Truth
- Nanci Griffith — I Knew Love
- Hugh Moffatt — Dance Me Outside
- Shakin Stevens — Hot Dog
- Everly Brothers— Reunion Concert
(Guitars, Piano, Musical Director)
- Don Everly — Sunset Towers
- Dave Edmunds — Sweet Little Lisa
- Marcel Dadi — Nashville Rendez-vous
- Bert Jansch — Heartbreak
- Jerry Scheff — Fire Down Below
See also
References
- Larkin, Colin. The Guinness Who's Who Of Country Music: Albert Lee entry, Guinness Publishing, 1993. ISBN 0-85112-726-6
- [1] Albert Lee biography (retrieved 26 August 2006)
- Albert Lee Bio
- Unsung heroes: session musicians are given their own Hall of Fame
- Mr. Telecaster
- {{dead link|date=October 2008}}
- Albert Lee - Gig Reviews
- Albert Lee: State of the Art Country-Rock Guitar