Albert Lee

British guitarist Albert Lee made a name for himself as a consummate country and rockabilly stylist, picking out virtuosic licks both on his solo records and as a top-notch sideman. Lee was born in Leominster, England, in 1943 and first made a splash with the blues-tinged country-rock outfit Head, Hands & Feet, which recorded several albums in the early '70s. Lee subsequently formed his own band for a time before joining Emmylou Harris' backing group in the late '70s. He spent several years in the early '80s as a member of Eric Clapton's band and departed to become the musical director for the Everly Brothers' mid-'80s reunion. In the meantime, Lee released his first solo album, Hiding, on A&M in 1979 and followed it with a more rock-oriented, self-titled effort for Polydor in 1982. Most critics agreed that Lee reached the high point of his solo career on a pair of albums for MCA, 1987's Speechless and 1988's Gagged but Not Bound. In the meantime, Lee continued to play on numerous country and rock sessions through the '90s and also performed with a backing band dubbed Hogan's Heroes, which featured steel guitarist Gerry Hogan, keyboardist Mike Bell, bassist Brian Hodgson, and drummer Pete Baron. They released the live album In Full Flight in 1994. Lee joined ex-Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings project in the late '90s and issued another album with Hogan's Heroes, Tear It Up, in 2002. In 2003 the Sugar Hill label issued a new album, Heartbreak Hotel, while Castle Music collected some of Lee's earliest sessions on That's All Right Mama.