serving Pottstown, PA and The Tri County area.
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British guitar legend Albert Lee returns to Sellersville
- By Rob Nagy
(prior to the show at The Sellersville Theater on 13 Aug 2012
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| Photo gs (2010) |
There are too many music greats to mention that Lee has recorded and or shared the stage with at one time or another in a career spanning over five decades. Often described by his peers as “a complete gentleman who does not know the meaning of the word ego,” Lee is a five-time winner of Guitar Player Magazine’s “Best Country Guitarist” designation. Guitar legend Eric Clapton has been quoted as saying, “Albert Lee is the greatest guitarist in the world.”
As Lee approaches 70, he is showing no signs of slowing down.
“I’ve been very busy, which is good in this business,” says Lee. “I have a double live album out that was from a DVD that my English band did,” says Lee. “On every tour we like to put something out there for the folks to buy. So what we did was release a sound track of a DVD released late last year. I’m working on a new album with my band Hogan’s Heroes, and I’m going to be doing a solo album, which will coincide with a documentary that a friend of mine in England is making on my career.
“He thought it would be a great idea to do a solo album to coincide, and we can video the making of the album. I’m hoping to get people from my career involved with it like Emmylou Harris, the Everly Brothers and maybe Clapton. I’m hoping we’ll have all this tied up so we can do a nice birthday concert at the end of next year,” added Lee. “I really do hope it comes off, because it would be a nice thing to do.”
Like so many British teenagers at the time, Lee was enamored by the American rock and roll of the ’50s. Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis and the Everly Brothers all struck a nerve and by the age of fifteen Lee was pursuing a career in music. Expanding his musical interests to R&B as well as country, he found inspiration in the guitar playing of Scotty Moore (Elvis Presley), James Burton and Jerry Reed. Following a 10-year run as lead guitarist with Chris Farlowe and The Thunderbirds, which ended in 1968, Lee gained national notoriety as member of the band “Heads, Hands & Feet,” one of the UK’s most popular acts. Known for his lightening fast fingering and hybrid style of picking, Lee was rapidly earning a reputation as one of England’s great guitarists.
The ’70s proved to be the turning point in Lee’s career. He joined his heroes “The Crickets,” Buddy Holly’s band, recording several moderately successful albums before becoming a member of Emmylou Harris’s band. He replaced one of his guitar heroes, James Burton, in Harris’ group. By the end of the decade Lee embarked on what would become a five-year run with blues guitar icon Eric Clapton.
Having met the Everly Brothers early in his career, Lee was instrumental in their revival and served as musical director and lead guitarist, a role that would last decades.
“I first met them in 1962 in London,” recalls Lee. “I eventually moved to Los Angeles and started playing local bars with Don Everly. It was such great fun. I got to be one of Don’s great buddies. In ’83 they did a reunion concert at Royal Albert Hall in London, and a year later they did an album and embarked on a tour. So I ended up playing with them for 28 years. I miss those days.”
In 2002, Lee appeared at the infamous “Concert For George,” a star-studded music event paying tribute to the late George Harrison.
“That was one of the most enjoyable and important gigs I’ve ever done,” says Lee. “It was great music with a fantastic band and a great occasion. I shared the stage with some pretty good guitar players.”
That same year Lee was given a Grammy Award for Best Country Instrumental Performance for “Foggy Mountain Breakdown” off the album “Earl Scruggs and Friends.”
Currently on tour with his latest band, Lee is looking forward to performing with a pared down version of what fans are used to.
“This is the same kind of music as Hogan’s Heroes,” says Lee. “We don’t have a steel guitar. This is just a four piece. I kind of prefer it that way. As much as I love the steel guitar, it’s in the same register as the guitar, and it kind of gets in the way sometimes. There’s a lot more air there, and everyone can stretch out more without really getting in each other’s way.
“It’s going to be a lot of fun. I’m always looking for that elusive gig,” added Lee. “The one that’s going to be absolutely fantastic. That’s what keeps me going.”
