Albert Lee was born on December 21, 1943, in Herefordshire, England. He grew up in Blackheath, London, where his father played English pub music on piano and accordion. At seven, Albert took up piano and studied formally for two years, delving into the classics, learning pop tunes, and coming to love rock and roll in part through the music of Jerry Lee Lewis.

In about 1958 he got his hands on his first guitar, a Hofner President acoustic arch-top. Taking an immediate liking to Buddy Holly And The Crickets, he learned all he could from their records. For a time the acoustic guitar served its purpose, but soon Albert longed for an electric:

"My first real guitar was a Grazioso which was the forerunner of the Hofner Futurama. I paid £85 second hand for it, so it was really expensive...but I always used to wish that I'd bought a Fender instead."

Due to an insatiable craving for American country, rock and roll, and rhythm and blues, Albert diligently studied recordings by Jimmy Bryant, Gene Vincent And The Blue Caps (featuring Cliff Gallup on lead guitar), the Louvin Brothers, Ricky Nelson (James Burton on lead), and especially the Everly Brothers. An important milestone was guitarist Hank Garland's masterwork Jazz Winds from a New Direction, the 1960 LP that shattered the barriers between jazz and country.

"Of the other guitarists on the scene at the time, the ones that impressed me most were Colin Green (who made his name with Georgie Fame), Bob Steel (who went to Paris to join Vince Taylor), and Mickey King (who was in Cliff Bennett's Rebel Rousers but also had a day job in a music shop called Lew Davis on Charing Cross Road...you'd walk in there and he'd say "Hey, I've just worked out James Burton's latest solo", and he'd rattle off this great solo. He was excellent - and also the first guy I saw who played with his fingers as well as a pick...that opened up a whole new world to me), and Harvey Hinsley (who was the first really inventive player I saw, back in early '60. He was doing Cliff Gallup stuff, but the number which knocked me out was 'Goofin Around', an instrumental recorded by Bill Haley's Comets)."

Albert quit school in Christmas of 1959 (only 16) when his band turned pro:

Various day jobs followed but it wasn't until 1961 that his luck turned when he was approached by Bob Xavier to join his band.

Albert's first record was cut when he was with The Jury backing Jackie Lynton on All Of Me/I'd Steal (Piccadilly 7n35064 – sept 62...just on the A-side, produced by Les Reed).

Albert again replaced Jimmy Page in Neil Christian's band The Crusaders and was replaced by Ritchie Blackmore when in 1964 he joined Chris Farlowe And The Thunderbirds, a seminal R&B/rock and roll band that was somehow overlooked in the U.S. during the British Invasion of the mid-60s. He recorded and toured with Farlowe for four years during this period.

"In May 1964, I joined Chris Farlowe and I stayed with him four years. I thought it was a great band - the best in Britain at what we did...but we never got much in the way of recognition or public acclaim. It was very frustrating; we'd support bands like The Animals, who were terribly ragged in comparison, with very little feeling or finesse - and they'd go down a storm while we got a smattering of applause from the few punters who weren't in the bar. I've got tapes of some of our gigs and they still stand up - some of our stuff was killer! Farlowe was a dynamite singer! But there was practically no crowd reaction. We worked solidly for years...tours, one nighters, all nighters, doubles, trips to Germany and Scandinavia - we went all over the place, but we never cracked it beyond a certain level.

"By the end of '67, Farlowe had decided to revamp the band - so it was him backed by a trio, with Pete Solley (aka Pete Shelley & Pete Sheridan) playing bass pedals as well as the usual stuff on his organ...but by this time I was getting a bit bored with r&b and the way the rock scene was going. Everyone was into huge Marshall stacks and maximum power, and that sort of thing held no appeal for me."

From 1968 to 1970, Albert played throughout England in various club bands, often supporting American country artists on European tours. One such band was Country Fever who were together for about 18 months and played U.S. air bases in Britain and Germany.

Country Fever toured with visiting U.S. stars like George Hamilton IV, Bobby Bare, Skeeter Davis, Connie Smith, Jody Miller, Guy Mitchell & Nat Stuckey. Albert was now singing for the first time and had begun to get calls for playing sessions.

"In America, country rock was only just beginning and it was unheard of here - but we were trying for it...mixing rock'n'roll and c&w, much as the Burritos did a few months later - but nobody wanted to know. The audiences just wanted the same old Johnny Cash and Jim Reeves imitations – and we usually got a pretty hostile reaction. In the end, it was just too frustrating, so I went into session work."

When their record company, MGM, went bust, Poet & The One Man Band were forced to fold - later surfacing as Heads Hands & Feet. Jerry Donahue and Pat Donaldson were replaced by Albert and Chas Hodges, who had been collaborating on a Lee solo album for Bell. (Only a single came out: That's Alright Mama/The Best I Can, on U.S. Bell). Their self-titled debut album 'Heads Hands & Feet' (Island ILPS 9149 - May 71), featured the original version of the now classic "Country Boy". Co-written with band members Tony Colton and Ray Smith, it was a showcase for Albert's dazzling picking style. Two albums followed – 'Tracks' (Island ILPS 9185 - Mar 72), and 'Old Soldiers Never Die' (Atlantic K40465 - Jan 73). The band did get to tour the U.S. but as the last LP's title implies, a sense of frustration had set in over the group's lack of acceptance; they disbanded before its release.

"I bummed around London for a while, doing the odd session and feeling a great sense of relief; I hadn't really enjoyed it too much".

Shortly after the group's demise, its rhythm section was signed on in the U.S. as the core of support for what would become Jerry Lee Lewis's The London Sessions album. Although sometimes a bit tattered around the edges due to the Killer's penchant for minimal rehearsals and foot-to-the-floor arrangements, the record still crackles with energy, thanks in part to Albert Lee's daredevil rock and roll magic. The double album also featured guitarists Alvin Lee (of Ten Years After), and Irish blues legend Rory Gallagher.

In 1973 Albert began occasional touring and recording with the Crickets.

The album was 'Long Way From Lubock' (Mercury 6310007 - Apr 74). After a second UK tour, Albert left the Crickets and moved to Los Angeles for good.

His career took a turn upon his arrival in Los Angeles. Somewhat disappointed in efforts to gain recognition through touring, he pursued the difficult course of L.A. session work. Through his association with the Crickets he met musical idols, Phil and Don Everly, and their friendship remains to this day. At the time Don was gigging informally at the Sundance Saloon, in Calabasas, near L.A. Albert accepted Don's invitation to sit in along with pedal steel titan Buddy Emmons. Their reputation as a monster group spread quickly, and their Tuesday night gigs became legendary. Albert and the nucleus of Heads Hands & Feet played on Don's second album 'Sunset Towers' and a tour was in the pipeline when Albert got the call from Joe Cocker. After Albert left, Lindsey Buckingham was chosen to take his place. (Lindsey toured with Don and got to play with his idol Merle Travis, while still building up a following with Buckingham/Nicks who were later snapped up by Fleetwood Mac).

Lee's reputation was growing, and his talents led him to more studio and road work. Albert and Pete Gavin (ex HHF drummer) got the S.O.S. call from Joe Cocker’s manager, Reggie Locke (ex HHF boss). and joined up. They toured America twice during last half of 74.

"Joe is a great guy, but he was certainly having a few problems then. He was nervous, jittery...couldn't eat...was drinking heavily. He'd throw up on stage most nights - but he finished the whole tour"

Before the album was finished, however, Albert came to another crossroads. He saw Emmylou Harris at a club called the Laguna Bowl in early 1976 and Emmylou planned to ask him to join the Band when James Burton left. This plan was accelerated when Burton fell ill with 'flu. An old acquaintance from the Cricket days, veteran session pianist Glen D. Hardin, asked him to fill in. Burton was committed to Elvis Preley's road group while maintaining his slot with Emmylou, but when scheduling finally became too hectic for him in the spring of 1976, Lee was asked to become a permanent Hot Band member. Albert first played with The Hot Band at The Branding Iron in San Bernadino in February 1976. Luxury Liner was Emmylou's first LP to feature Lee's accompaniment, and its brisk title track amply displayed his amazing agility. (Frank Reckard replaced Albert Lee two years later and stand-ins over the years for once-off gigs have included Bob Warford, Jay Lacey and Vince Gill).

Lee chose this time to complete his postponed solo album, with the assistance of producer Brian Ahern and the Hot Band, 'Hiding' (A&M, AMLH64750) was released in February 1979. It included Albert on vocals, piano and guitar and offered perhaps the definitive rendition of "Country Boy", with Ricky Skaggs helping out on fiddle and Emmylou on backing vocals. Although Albert's solo career led to his departure from the Hot Band in 1978, his guitar work has graced many of Emmylou Harris's LPs since Luxury Liner, including the Grammy award-winning Blue Kentucky Girl, and Evangeline.

In December 1978, Albert came home to London for Christmas and while there played on a Marc Benno session (for 'Lost In Austin'), where he me Eric Clapton who invited him to join his band. He toured with Eric Clapton and performed on Clapton's double album, Just One Night. Recorded live at The Budokan theatre, Tokyo, the album featured Albert on lead vocals for a cover of Mark Knopfler's 'Setting Me Up'. He also added his touches to Eric's LPs Another Ticket and Money and Cigarettes. Albert continued to work with Clapton for five years before Eric decided to change his entire band.

Around this time Albert played a role in Paul Kennerley's musical documentary album, The Legend of Jesse James, and continued to work closely with the Hot Band. In spring of 1982 he signed a deal with Polydor who released his second solo album "Albert Lee" (POLS 1067 Aug'82).

In 1983 he was an instigator in the Everly Brothers reunion when he was chosen as guitarist/musical director for the Everly's first concert in 10 years at The Royal Albert Hall in London. He continues to tour with The Everlys spending up to four or five months on the road with them each year.

Two instrumental albums were released on the MCA Masters series - "Speechless" 1986 and "Gagged But Not Bound". In 1987 Albert was approached by Gerry Hogan to headline at a steel guitar festival in Newbury, England. Although daunted at first by the prospect of fronting his own band, the gig was a success and Albert now tours Europe with Hogan's Heroes. In 1993 Albert released his first vocal-oriented album in years - "In Full Flight", was recorded live at Montreux with Hogan's Heroes.

Through his association with The Ernie Ball co. Albert has appeared occasionally with The Biff Baby All-Stars - a celebrity supergroup who's members include Eddie Van Halen, Steve Morse and Steve Lukather.

More recenlty Albert has been touring with ex-Stone Bill Wyman and his band The Rhythm Kings. The band is a veritable who's who of british rock - Albert shares the stage with Bill, Peter Frampton and Georgie Fame. "I recorded about a dozen tracks for him [Bill Wyman] last year ['96] and thought no more about it until I got a call from his office telling me an album was coming and would I like to do some gigs. We only did three cities; Hamburg, Amsterdam and London. It was great fun and I hope we do it again next year".

To be continued...