Albert Lee

Lee was with a variety of bands from 1959 onwards, playing mostly R&B, country music and rock and roll. He was accompanying Richard Keller, (Dickie Pride), in the Castle Pub, Tooting, the night Russ Conway saw him perform there, two weeks before taking Larry Parnes to see Pride. In addition to Buddy Holly, his early guitar influences included Cliff Gallup, Grady Martin, the Everly Brothers, Scotty Moore, James Burton and Jerry Reed.[3] 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.[4] Heads Hands & Feet became a 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. In October 1969 Country Fever, an RCA package toured six countries in eleven days, starting at the Nashville Room with the London band the Kingpins.[5]

In 1971, Lee performed with Deep Purple's keyboard player Jon Lord on the studio recording of Lord's Gemini Suite. That opus was a follow-up to Deep Purple's Concerto for Group and Orchestra. Ritchie Blackmore had played guitar at the first live performance of the Gemini Suite in September 1970, but declined the invitation to appear on the studio version, which led to the involvement of Lee. Other performers were Yvonne Elliman, Ian Paice, Roger Glover, Tony Ashton and the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir Malcolm Arnold.

Lee left for Los Angeles in 1974 and, through his friend bassist Ric Grech (of Blind Faith), did some session work on three albums with the Crickets who also at the time included Sonny Curtis and Jerry Allison. One of these releases is titled A Long Way From Lubbock. Lee also received many other offers of session work. In 1976, he 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 including Ricky Skaggs and Rodney Crowell. Starting in 1978, Lee worked for five years with Eric Clapton, which included 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 its musical director.[6] He played regularly with the Everlys for over twenty years.

Lee (left) and Vince Gill (right) with tour promoters Ann and Andrew Pattison in Australia, February 1988

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 toured as Albert Lee & Hogan’s Heroes on a regular basis until 2015. The lineup of the band included British musicians Peter Baron on drums, Gerry Hogan on guitar and Brian Hodgson on bass. Pete Wingfield was the original keyboard player, before leaving to be replaced by Elio Pace and later Gavin Povey.

They were renowned for attracting celebrities to their gigs. Stars such as Eric Clapton, Tommy Emmanuel, Lonnie Donegan, Dave Edmunds, Nick Lowe, 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 1988 Lee toured Australia along with Vince Gill, then a comparative unknown, and has returned to tour the country on several subsequent occasions.

In the early 2000s Albert Lee toured with Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings. In 2002, Lee appeared at the Concert for George [Harrison]. 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, a documentary about the history of the guitar. 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 album entitled Like This was released in spring 2008 to coincide with their European tour. He lives in Malibu, California.

• Poet and the One Man Band – Poet and the One Man Band LP (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 (1995)
• Bo Diddley – The London Bo Diddley Sessions
• Jerry Lee Lewis – The London Sessions
• Eddie Harris – E.H. in the U.K. (Atlantic, 1973)
• Herbie Mann - London Underground (Atlantic, 1973), Reggae (Atlantic, 1973), Reggae II (Atlantic, 1973 [1976])
• Emmylou Harris – Luxury Liner, Blue Kentucky Girl, Roses in the Snow, Evangeline, The Ballad of Sally Rose (Guitars, Mandolin)
• Eric Clapton – Just One Night, Another Ticket, Money and Cigarettes
• John Prine – The Missing Years (Guitar, Mandolin, Piano)
• Rosanne Cash – Seven Year Ache
• Jon Lord – Gemini Suite
• Earl Scruggs – Earl Scruggs and Friends
• Ricky Skaggs - Don't Cheat In Our Hometown
• 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 Nicolette 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 LP (Guitars, Piano, Musical Director) (1983)
• Everly Brothers – EB '84 LP (Guitars) (1984)
• Everly Brothers – Born Yesterday LP (Guitars) (1986)
• Everly Brothers – Some Hearts LP (Guitars) (1988)
• Don Everly – Sunset Towers
• The Refreshments – Cover of Chuck Berry's "Let It Rock"
• Dave Edmunds – "Sweet Little Lisa"
• Marcel Dadi – Nashville Rendez-vous
• Bert Jansch – Heartbreak
• Jerry Scheff – Fire Down Below
• Brad Paisley – Play
• Jackson Browne – Under the Falling Sky
• Jean-Pierre Danel – "Tulsa Time"
• Arlen Roth -Toolin' Around (1993), Telemasters (2019)
• Maestro Alex Gregory - Bach on Steroids (2009)
• Maestro Alex Gregory - Another Millennium (2010)
• Steve Morse -The Introduction (lead guitar in "General Lee") and Stand Up (vocals and guitar in "Rockin' guitars")
• The Geoff Everett Band – The Quick and the Dead (2012)
• Maestro Alex Gregory - Holy Grail of 7 strings (2013)
• Various Artists - Guitar Heroes: Making History (2015), featuring James Burton, Amos Garrett, Albert Lee & David Wilcox
• Jericho Summer - Night Train' (2015), featuring Richard Fortus, Marco Mendoza

• The Guinness Who's Who of Country Music. Guinness Publishing. ISBN 0-85112-726-6
• Watts, Derek, (2008). Country Boy: A Biography of Albert Lee. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Co., ISBN 978-0-7864-3658-3