British guitarist Albert Lee is a musicians’ musician, a speedy, telecaster master of American rock and rockabilly guitar. Born in Herefordshire County 1943 to an English gypsy family of modest means, Lee’s musicianship has carried him as a stage and studio musician to a life in Malibu. Over the years he’s worked with Emmylou Harris, The Everly Brothers, Joe Cocker, Eric Clapton, Ricky Skaggs and Rodney Crowell among many. Albert’s uncharted ride to the top of music scenes of London, Nashville and Los Angeles began as a youth in grim post-war England, listening to the radio.
Albert Lee: I was an avid listener to the BBC. Anything that was on there, I just loved it, you know, comedy shows and all kinds of music. It was probably when I heard records like Johnnie Ray, you know, “Walking in the Rain,” and things like that, you know, I like that kind of pop music. It was pretty cool, it was American music, and it was unlike anything that was on radio normally in England. And then shortly after that, “Rock Around the Clock” just floored me.
Nick Spitzer: What do you think it was about- whether it was “Rock Around the Clock,” or Jerry Lee Lewis or rockabilly, all the American R&B- what is it do you think that was so appealing, not just to you but to British youth at that time?
AL: Well it was exciting for us then, you know, this driving beat and pretty cool recordings, that was the thing that got us going.
NS: What artists were the ones that you listened to and noticed the guitar parts and began to really follow those?
AL: The rock ‘n’ roll records were I guess Scotty Moore with Elvis, and someone gave me a copy of Gene Vincent’s first album, and Cliff Gallup, the guitar player on those first two records of his, you know he knew his way around the guitar. So I learned all of his solos from those two albums.
NS: So the ‘60s in England, I mean that’s an incredible era anywhere but especially in England.
AL: Well I was with Chris Farlowe for four years. That was a really good band, and he was a great R&B singer. There were two clubs in the West End of London, it was the Flamingo Club, which was kind of R&B and jazz based, so I’d play there with Chris Farlowe, and there were a lot of really good bands and good guitar players down there. John McLaughlin was down there playing with an R&B band, Andy Summers was playing with Zoot Money’s Big Roll Band, so you know there were a lot of good players.
NS: So get us to your journey to the US.
AL: Some old friends of mine that I’d known for a while, they said, “Well we’re going to do an album.” So I was there as a session guy. Well we signed with Capitol, and it was a pretty big deal at the time for an unknown band. Of course, off we went to the states, you know.
NS: Well what was the band now being called?
AL: Oh Heads Hands and Feet.
NS: Tell me about some of your favorite songs to play guitar?
AL: Of course “Luxury Liner” with Emmylou Harris was one in particular, you know, it introduced me to the American country market. But that was a turning point for me because I realized at that point, I’m now living in America.
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