Albert Lee was born on December 21, 1943 in Leominster, Herefordshire, England. 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 Jerry Lee Lewis. He took up guitar in 1958, and left school at age 16 to play full-time the following year.
Lee was with a variety of bands from 1959 onwards, playing mostly country music and rock and roll. Band membership changed constantly, and he might step into a role vacated by Jimmy Page, and in turn have Ritchie Blackmore step in for him. During his time playing with Heads Hands & Feet, Lee became a "guitar hero", playing his Fender Telecaster at breakneck speed.
Despite positive press from Melody Maker and New Musical Express his career never seemed to take off. Despite his technical wizardry he seems to have lacked the stage presence that his peers enjoyed, mainly because he has been described by his peers, as a complete gentleman, who does not know the meaning of the word, ego. He left for Los Angeles, California in 1974 as offers of session work were flooding in, although efforts to record and release his own albums went nowhere. In 1976, Lee was asked to join Emmylou Harris's Hot Band, replacing one of his heroes James Burton and finally found a niche where his talents were appreciated.
Starting in 1978, he worked for five years with Eric Clapton, playing and singing for a live concert recording at the Budokan in Japan.
While still nowhere near as famous as his nominal peers, he continues to work on tour and in the studio. In recent years he has toured with Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings Band. Albert Lee, is widely known as, "the guitar player's, guitar player." This is due to the high presence of many famous, and non famous guitarists, everywhere, and anywhere he performs. Albert Lee is also referred to as "Mr. Telecaster".
Albert Lee was responsible for The Everly Brothers reunion concert and was the musical director. Lee is a regular player with the Everlys. Lee also performed at the Concert For George in 2003.
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".
Albert Lee is often confused with Alvin Lee. This confusion, has led to Alvin Lee being incorrectly credited on many albums in the past.
Albert Lee lives in Malibu, California.
