Georg & Albert  photo box

EM Club Worms 1963

THE QUIET GENIUS OF ALBERT LEE

by DAVE VEITCH

On the phone, Albert Lee is a lot like his guitar playing - soft-spoken and articulate, never prone to loud or showy outbursts.

"I'm generally a quiet kind of guy," he says over the phone from his home in Los Angeles.

"Maybe my career might have taken a different turn if I had been more extroverted. But the music was always the thing for me."

Lee isn't a household name like his guitar-picking contemporaries such as Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page, but the 63-year-old native of London, England, has carved out an illustrious career for himself, both as a solo artist and as a sideman.

His twanging guitar can be heard on countless records, including those by Clapton, Joe Cocker, Rosanne Cash, Emmylou Harris, Dolly Parton, Michelle Shocke, Rodney Crowell and many moore. 

The life story goes something like this: Self-taught teenage guitarist falls in love with American rockabilly and country, goes professional at 16, tours British and German clubs in various bands during early '60s, enjoys U.K. success with Chris Farlowe's R&B band from 1964-68, takes turn toward country music, tours and records with Buddy Holly's band The Crickets in the 1970s, spearheads the 1983 Everly Brothers reunion - and, of course, becomes a sought-after guitarist-for-hire on the road and in the studio.

That's the sort of history that guitarists today just don't - and can't - have.

"During the '60s, a lot of us went off to Germany and we were playing seven days a week, six hours a night. So it's a great training ground for bands and, unfortunately, that's disappeared now," he says.

"The kids now are hearing a different type of guitar than what I heard 40 years ago," says Lee, who grew up loving Holly, Gene Vincent and The Louvin Brothers.

"The young kids are playing grunge and they can't go out and play a guitar without having a fuzzbox with it - I think they're missing a lot because they're not getting the influences that I had."

Those influences have allowed Lee to play within a myriad of musical genres - although one of his fondest experiences was being a member of Harris' Hot Band, an exceptional group of musicians who recorded some of the singer's best music, including 1979's Grammy-winning Blue Kentucky Girl and her 1980 classic Roses in the Snow.

"It was perfect for me because it's playing the kind of music I really like. And it was a band that was really on the ascendance."

Now a member of The Rhythm Kings, an all-star R&B band fronted by former Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman, Lee has no regrets about how his career has gone.

"I didn't have the success that a lot of English players had," he says.

"You often ask yourself: What if this happened or what if that happened - looking back, I feel very fortunate in what I've done."

Frank Zappa

Lenny, mein Enkelsohn, entscheidet sich spontan für den Viersaiter, kein Wunder nach drei Generationen Basser.

Rein in die Boots und dann wird abgerockt ...

... aber zunächst bei den Sandkasten-Rockern von der Förmchenbande, nichts überstürzen.

Mit dieser Setliste von Joe South spielten wir beim Country-Fest auf Country-Rose's Ranch.

Artikel "Rems-Murr-Anzeiger" von 1988

Interview im "Rems-Murr" Anzeiger 

Ich tingelte zwei Jahre mit Tony Sheridan und dieser Setliste durch Deutschland.

Soundcheck Winnenden 1988. Wir waren Ibanez Endorser.

Tony und Macca Paul .... sozusagen mein Vorgänger

Setliste Emory Gordy jr. on tour mit John Denver, 1978

TS & Roy Orbison 1972

Cliff Richard & Tony Sheridan 1958

SATURDAY 9th 'OH BOY!' SHOW # 35 (Compered by Jimmy Henney)
ABC CATALOGUE SHOW NUMBER 10. (OF 13)  
RESIDENT WEEKLY BAND & PERFORMERS:Lord Rockingham's XI,  Red Price, The Dallas Boys, Neville Taylor & The Cutters, Cherry Wainer, The Vernons Girls.
THIS WEEK'S SPECIAL GUESTS: Billy Fury, Conway Twitty, Cuddly' Dudley, Dean Webb, Dickie Pride, Marty Wilde, Maureen Kershaw, Tony Sheridan & The Wreckers.

Acht Jahre war ich mit dem Blue Mountain Express (BME) on the road. Bluegrass at it's best.

Yep !

Kardomah Coffee Bar Fleet Street: in den 50ern bis Anfang 60er "die" Musikerbörse in London - von EC bis Joe Cocker und den Rolling Stones - jeder war hier, und es wurden neue Bandkontakte geknüpft, u. a. fand Cliff Richard hier seine Shadows.

Flamingo Club  Soho, London

Jackie Lynton

Marquee Club Wardour Street. Lemmy of Motörhead about Marquee Club "The reason I liked The Marquee the most was because it was scruffy and it had no air-conditioning whatsoever and it was a hellhole and your feet stuck to the carpet and that's exactly what a rock'n'rollclub should be like."

Donovan 1972 at Marquee

Cyril Davies

Chas McDevitt at 2 i's Coffee Bar 1957

The place to be seen and heard in those days was a coffee bar in Old Compton Street called 2i's. It was owned by Paul Lincoln, a wrestler and promoter but was a hotbed for all the aspiring and big name acts of the day. It had an old piano and not much else but its fame was world-wide as the place to be. Tom Littlewood was the doorman, he also taught Judo and auditioned the acts. Alfred was offered a place, subsequently doing a 20 minute act every night for the next year, backed by Tony Sheridan and his friends.

(f.l.t.r.) Terry Smart, Harry Webb, Ian Samwell & Norman Mitham downstairs in the cellar beneath the 2i's Coffee Bar

Vince Eager at 2i's Coffee Bar. It was during a six months house band residency at the famous 2 i’s Coffee Bar in London that pop guru Larry Parnes booked the Vagabonds to appear on a Sunday concert starring Marty Wilde at the Coventry Gaumont. Following the show it was only a matter of hours before Roy Taylor became Vince Eager and a member of the famous “Parnes Stable” of popsters.

Vince Eager & Rockola at Eddy Cochran Festival Chippenham

50 Years later, photo taken at the unveiling of the plaque at the 2i's
Monday Sep. 27. Brian Bennett, Cliff Richard, Bruce Welch, Liquorice
Locking,Chas McDevitt and Wee Willie Harris.

1oo Club London 28.January 2007, Chas Mc Devitt. Rockin the 2i's Reunion, Veterans of the 2i's Coffee Bar.

1oo Club London 28.01.2007, Vince Eager, he was the King.

1oo Club London 28.01.2007, Liquorce Loklin on Harmonica

1oo Club London 28.01.2007, Wee Willie Harris

1oo Club London 28.01.2007, John Pilgrim on Washboard

1oo Club London 28.01.2007, Terry Wayne. It was a great show, over five hours skiffle and rock'n roll.

100 Club London 28.01.2007, Rockin the 2i's. Danny Rivers.

$ 6,50 für ein Clapton-Konzert

6 Wochen lang Nummer 1: "Out Of Time"

Zeitungskritik Chris Farlowe

Army Shop von Chris Farlowe

In seinem Army Shop in Islingtom

Chris Farlowe always seemed destined for great things as a singer and based on the company he kept on-stage and the people he worked with in the mid-60s, he did succeed, at least on that level. Born John Henry Deighton in Islington, North London, in 1940, he reached his early teens just as the skiffle boom was breaking in England, and was inspired by Lonnie Donegan to enter music. His first band was his own John Henry Skiffle Group, where he played guitar as well as sang, but he gave up playing to concentrate on his voice, as he made the switch to rock & roll. He eventually took the name Chris Farlowe, the surname appropriated from American rock & roll vocalist Tal Farlow, and was fronting a group called the Thunderbirds, as Chris Farlowe & the Thunderbirds. They built their reputation as a live act in England and Germany, and slowly switched from rock & roll to R&B during the early years of the 60s. Their debut single, "Air Travel", released in 1962, failed to chart, but the following year, Chris Farlowe & the Thunderbirds (whose ranks included future star guitarist Albert Lee) were signed to EMI's Columbia imprint, through which they issued a series of five singles thru 1966, all of which got enthusiastic critical receptions while generating poor sales.

Jackpot with Chris Farlowe, 1981

Billy Fury, Jess Conrad, Gene Vincent, Joe Brown, Eddy Cochran, Adam Faith, Marty Wilde.

After Show

Colosseum Theaterhaus Stuttgart

"Die Jazzrockformation Colosseum brilliert im Theaterhaus"

oder "Ein Lob dem deutschen Bier"

Na gut, auf die Shownummer mit den drei gleichzeitig geblasenen Instrumenten musste verzichtet werden, der legendäre Saxophonist Dick Heckstall-Smith war erkrankt. Für ihn war kurzfristig die eher zurückhaltende Barbara Thompson eingesprungen, die auf Grund ihrer Beziehung zu Jon Hiseman mit dem Repertoire von Colosseum vertraut ist. Jedenfalls machte sie ihre Sache ausgezeichnet ! Wie Colosseum, von manchem gern reserviert als Rock-Dinosaurier tituliert, überhaupt im reichlich ausverkauften großen Saal des Theaterhauses einen erstaunlich frischen, ja begeisternden Eindruck hinterließen.

Vielleicht hält ja Jazzrock à la Colosseum jung, schließlich haben sich die Briten nie unter Wert verkauft, haben auch in schlechten Zeiten nie mit dem Pop-Mainstream geliebäugelt. Am Dienstagabend jedenfalls präsentierten sich die sechs Musiker um den Wunderdrummer Hiseman in bestechender Form, spielten inspiriert mit allen denkbaren Rhythm-&-Blues-Varianten zwischen Electric Flag und Mountain. Mit dem in jeder Hinsicht gewichtigen Sänger Chris Farlowe hatte die Band wie in ihren besten Tagen einen Trumpf in der Hinterhand, überführte der doch den "Stormy Monday Blues" spontan in eine Hymne aufs deutsche Bier und ließ auch sonst keine Gelegenheit aus, ironisch mit der altersbedingten Hinfälligkeit der ganzen Angelegenheit zu kokettieren.

Hat wirklich Kaiser Wilhelm 1897 Colosseum live gesehen? Hinfälligkeit jedenfalls ist eine höchst relative Angelegenheit. Welche Band bietet schon live eine 20-minütige "Valentyne Suite" voller rhythmischer und motivischer Raffinessen und "Theme from an Imaginary Western", immerhin eine der schönsten Balladen der Rockgeschichte ? Colosseum haben ihren Jazz-Rock solide auf Rhythm & Blues gebaut, selbst das vergleichsweise weniger zwingende Material des neuen Albums "Tomorrow's Blues" bietet Virtuosen wie dem Gitarristen Clem Clemson Raum, solistisch zu brillieren. ukr

Dick Heckstall Smith  RIP

Saxophonist Dick Heckstall Smith was blessed with the advantage of a restless, didactic edge in his every creative endeavour. He brought out the essential skills and humanity in musicians he worked with both professionally and interpersonally. His career is a landmark in a number of regards for British jazz and R & B. As a founding protagonist, he takes his place as a truly significant figure in the 1960's cultural revolution, although he lived and died in the spirit of a working musician. Dick never stopping to speculate on his industrious creative output, instead offering reflection in his fluent emotional yet factually rich memoirs, de-romanticising both the people and political economy within the industry. He passed away December 18, 2004.

Am 13. September verstarb der Gitarrist und Sänger Chris Jones. Chris war bereits Ende August mit Herz-Rhythmus-Störungen in ein Krankenhaus in Northeim eingeliefert worden, wo die Ärzte eine seltene - aber heilbare - Krebserkrankung feststellten. Daher war Chris guter Dinge, geheilt zu werden, und schickte vor wenigen Tagen über die Homepage seiner Plattenfirma Grüße an Freunde und Fans. Umso überraschender erreichte uns die Nachricht seines Todes. Der gebürtige Amerikaner ist den Blues-Liebhabern in erster Linie durch seine Zusammenarbeit im Duo mit Steve Baker bekannt, auch mit vielen anderen Künstlern stand er häufig auf der Bühne. Zudem war Chris Jones ein hochgeschätzter Studiomusiker und wirkte auf vielen Blues- und Folkproduktionen mit. So auch in den letzten Wochen und Monaten, unter anderem wird er auf einem Album mit Steve Baker (Gast: Martin Röttger) zu hören sein, das auf AMR veröffentlicht wird. Am 3. Oktober findet in der Lindenhalle von Wolfenbüttel das "Concert for Chris Jones" statt. "Wir bitten alle Freunde und Musiker, sich an diesem Benefiz-Konzert zu beteiligen. Dabei geht es nicht ausschließlich um die Benefiz-Idee, sondern auch darum, unserem Freund Chris Jones die letzte Ehre zu erweisen.

Musik Studio Ronsdorf mit meinem Partner Hans Kronenberg 1979-1989

Dave Roberts (Gibson Guitars)

MS Ronsdorf, hat Spaß gemacht und war ziemlich bekannt im Westen.

Geprobt wurde in einer Kirche (siehe Kreuz links) in London.

Albert's Wagenpark 1965 ...

... und 37 Jahre später, dazu noch ein Rivera Amp

Und noch ein Jaguar

In Worms EM-Club 1963, wir fingen immer mit "Green Onions" an.

Peter Barron Bass, with his Band Tamman Shud, in Australia 1967

Plattencover The Silver Strings von 1964

Star-Club Mannheim, 5 nach 8 war alles zu Ende. Wir hatten nach Monaten unfreiwillig eine kleine Pause.

Ein Feuer vernichtete den Star-Club Mannheim und unser Equipment, gerade neu angeschafft und natürlich nicht versichert.

Mike Warner in Clovis, New Mexico, Norman Pettys Studio: Hier nahm Buddy Holly fast alle Songs auf.

Buddy's Original Fender Super Amp, mit dem u. a. "Peggy Sue" aufgenommen wurde.

Peggy Sue & J. J. Allison 1958

Buddy Holly mit Freundin, Phil Everly mit Freundin, 1958

Aufnahme für Mikes CD "Naked Selzer" 2002 in Phoenix

Big Bopper's Flugschein 02.02.1959

Rock'n'Roll-Poster 1957

Rufus Thomas & Elvis 1957 in Memphis

02.July 1956 "Hound Dog" Recordings

EP & Scotty Moore

Jerry Lee, Carl Perkins, EP, Johnny Cash

Elvis, Bill Black, Scotty Moore, Sam Phillips

Memphis Mafia

"Elvis came to see me before he got a record deal, Domino says. "I liked him. I liked to hear him sing. He was just starting out, almost. He wasn't dressing up. Matter of fact, he had plain boots on. He wasn't wearing all those fancy clothes. He told me he flopped the first time he came to Las Vegas. I loved his music. He could sing anything. And he was a nice fellow, shy. His face was so pretty, so soft. I'm glad we took this picture."

Fats is still alive after a few days missing after "Katrina"

Screaming Lord Sutch & Elvis während einer Autogrammstunde in der  "Bahnhofsklause" in Mümmen 1966

Sutch was born , North West London. In the 1960, inspired by one of his favourite rock and roll stars, Screaming' Yay Hawkins, he changed his name to Screaming Lord Sutch, 3rd Earl of Harrow. Despite the fact that he had no connection with the peerage, the deed poll laws of England permitted this. Following a successful career as an early-'60s rock 'n' roll attraction, it became customary for the UK press and citizens to refer to him as Screaming Lord Sutch, or simply Lord Sutch. Early works included recordings produced by legendary audio pioneer Joe Meek.

During the 1960s, Screaming Lord Sutch was known for his horror-themed stage show, as well as for usually dressing like Jack the Ripper pre-dating the shock rockantics of Alice Cooper by several years. Accompanied by his band, The Savages, he often started the show by coming out of a big black coffin. Other stage props included knives and daggers, skulls, and "bodies". Sutch also booked 'themed' concert tours, such as 'Sutch and the Roman Empire', where the Sutch and the band members would be dressed up as Roman soldiers. Despite his self-confessed lack of any vocal talent, he released many horror themed singles during the early-mid 60s, the most popular and well known of which is "Jack the Ripper", which the White Stripes cover in their live shows and The Horror hav released.

Elvis & James Burton

BMW "Isetta"

Elvis mit seinem Vater und seiner Großmutter beim Frühstück

Backstage bei einem Bill Haley Konzert 1960

in Friedberg 1959

Indianapolis, June 26 1977  SETLIST,  ( Elvis last Show)

Also Sprach Zarathustra
See See Rider
I Got A Woman/Amen
Love Me
Fairytale
You Gave Me A Mountain
Jailhouse Rock
It's Now Or Never
Little Sister
Teddy Bear/Don't Be Cruel
Release Me
I Can't Stop Loving You
Brigde Over Troubled Water
intro : Early Morning Rain
What'd I Say
Johnny B. Goode
Drum solo
Bass solo
Piano solo
I Really Don't Want To Know
Keyboard solo
Orchestra solo
Hurt
Hound Dog
Can't Help Falling In Love
Closing Vamp

on the way to his last Appearance

August 16, 1977
Shortly after midnight Elvis returns to Graceland from a late-night visit to the dentist. Through the early morning of the 16th he takes care of last minute tour details and relaxes with family and staff. He is to fly to Portland, Maine that night and do a show there on the 17th, then continue the scheduled tour. He retires to his master suite at Graceland around 7:00 AM to rest for his evening flight. By late morning, Elvis Presley is dead of heart failure. It is announced by mid-afternoon. In a matter of hours the shock registers around the world.

Duo-Titanen: Art Garfunkel, Paul Simon, Don Everly, Phil Everly (v. l. n. r.), Central Park NY 2003

Bob Dylan , Neal Young, Eric Clapton, vor dem Konzert "The Last Walz"

George Harrison & Bob Dylan

... und Bob mit Mick

THE HOLY FATHER The Roman Pontiff, as the successor of Peter, is the perpetual and visible principle and foundation of unity of both the bishops and of the faithful.
LUMEN GENTIUM, 23

... and with the Pope

Robert Wells is a world famous pianist, entertainer, singer and composer. His music is a mix of styles, a rhapsody, including rock’ n roll, boogie-woogie and classical masterpieces. Wells performs equally well as a soloist as a part of a rock group. On stage Wells’ rock group often meets a full symphony orchestra with exciting results. 

Albert Lee und Paul Carrack während der Robert-Wells-Show im Königlichen Palast in Stockholm 2004 anlässlich Königin Sylvias Geburtstag

Rhapsody  in Rock

Albert (rechts im Bild), 2. April 2005, Royal Albert Hall mit Robert Wells

Guest gigging with Robert Wells RAH 2005

Jan. 07.02.2007 Stockholm "Circus" with Robert Wells

Hanna-McEuen is a country duo that had several charting hits in 2006 on country radio nationwide. They are cousins and have a unique ability to harmonize and complement each other. Their Dads are both founding members of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band but this generation is purely electric with an uptempo, rockin' slant. The disc includes live footage from a House of Blues concert, interviews, a Las Vegas bus tour video, multiple mixes and was shot in HD!

Hanna-McEuen - Tried & True
featuring special guest Albert Lee with T.J. Russell and Jesse Siebenberg

Eric Clapton was joined by pals Gary Brooker, Albert Lee, Andy Fairweather-Low, Dave Bronze and Henry Spinetti to form the "Ferrari Band", who played at the Ferrari Maserati Festival at Brands Hatch, Kent, UK on August 3, 2002. The name of the first song is not mis-typed - as sort of an in-joke, they had "Knock On Wood" listed as "Knock Ron Wood" on the setlist ! A nice loose, fun filled show. In a rare occurence, the Mid Valley Release is identical in sound quality to that found on Ferrari Festival, differing only slightly as to running order - the Mid Valley Release puts "Got My Mojo Working" and "Hoochie Coochie Man" together.

August 4, 2004
House of Blues, Los Angeles, CA
The Band, The Crickets & Friends including Eric Clapton, Albert Lee, Bobby Keyes, JD Souther, Tonio K, Rodney Crowell and Jessi Colter

In between a little cricket match

Eric played "Someone Someone", "Fools Paradise" and "Think it Over" along with the Crickets, who had Albert Lee playing with them for the whole set. Bobby Keyes played sax on about half of the songs.
Eric was fantastic on "Someone Someone", very fiery and soulful, also singing with great passion, and was very good on the other two songs, but there isn't much lead on these two other songs, so they couldn't showcase his playing much.
He seemed to be having a great time and said that the album The Chirping Crickets was the first album he ever bought, at age 13.
It was a real treat to see him in a smaller club, even if he only played three songs !
History class was in session on the Sunset Strip as the Crickets, one of the architects of rock'n'roll, gave a music lesson that a lot of people obviously learned.
One of the night's musical participants admitted as much when singer-songwriter J. D. Souther said as he took the stage: "I was in seventh grade doing my homework one night when I heard "That'll Be the Day" on the radio. These guys and that song just messed me up." It was obvious that he was messed up in a good way because his heartfelt rendition of "True Love Ways" was one of the evening's many highlights.
Performing both with Buddy Holly and on their own, the Crickets were one of the seminal bands that helped to not only usher in the rock era but to define it as well. They've remained active in an on-again/off-again manner since those halcyon days of the 50's and early 60's. But with the recent release of a new album on Sovereign Artists, "The Crickets and Their Buddies", the band has taken to the road again in a way that will help remind people just how important these guys are. From the looks of things onstage, being important was the last thing on the minds of lead guitarist-vocalist Sonny Curtis, guitarist Jerry Allison, drummer J. J. Allison and upright bass player Joe B. Mauldin, who were all having fun just being together again.
The new album works as a tribute to their classic catalog and to the band from the many noteworthy players who joined the Crickets in the studio. The same formula worked well in a live setting. Rodney Crowell kicked off things in fine fashion with a rousing "That'll Be the Day", which featured a blistering solo by Rolling Stones sax man supreme Bobby Keys. Keys, like the Crickets, a died-in-the-wool Texan, would appear throughout the evening, adding his big, reedy bottom to help keep the festivities lively.
Crowell also contributed a version of "Flip, Flop and Fly" before giving way to Tonio K. and Peter Case on "Not Fade Away". The fact that the band had to restart the song after beginning in the wrong key was more indicative of the night's loose, warm feel more than anything. Once it revved up again, Case nailed the harp parts. Johnny Rivers showed up to rock out on "Love's Made a Fool of You" and "High on the Mountain of Love". Guitarist Albert Lee, an honorary Cricket who contributed great guitar all night long, played a poignant version on solo piano of a 1958 Buddy Holly ballad called "Learning the Game" - it was a great moment.
Bobby Vee, another performer with serious ties to the band, joined with Nanci Griffith on several songs including a standout "More Than I Can Say" before the evening's biggest name took the stage. It was rumored all day long that Eric Clapton would join the band onstage, and only when he walked out to sing three numbers, did rumor become reality. Clapton was happy to admit that the first record he ever bought was a Crickets record when he was 13 and seemed even happier to be playing live with the band. When Keys joined Clapton and the guys on "Fool's Paradise", all Curtis could say at song's end was "that was fun". His grin and the smiling looks on the faces of the sold-out crowd showed that everyone had taken this history lesson to heart.

The Crickets And Their Buddies
Sovereign Artists (2004)
Once at the forefront of Rock'n'Roll, the Crickets have continued to tour and record since the sad loss of Buddy Holly all those years ago.
Here we get new versions of many of the old hits, featuring a plethora of guests, including Bobby Vee, Eric Clapton, Waylon Jennings and more.
"That'll Be The Day" is the obvious choice for opener. The modern production and recording techniques are welcomed, but like many of the tracks here they do miss Buddy Holly's touch, and in a couple of cases any sign of emotion too.
"Well Alright" (one of Jennings' last recordings) is worth a listen, "Think It Over" (Graham Nash) is a decent version and Vince Neil's "I Fought The Law" is the only one to really add anything to earlier versions.
An enjoyable collection, but the packaging is light and the Crickets must be careful of becoming a covers band of themselves.

The Crickets Band tuned up their instruments Saturday, September 5, 1998 in Raider Alley to play the style of rock'n'roll songs that have never really left the stage since the 1950's.
Fans of the music, who were absorbing the sights and sounds of this year's Buddy Holly Festival, listened beneath shade trees while Glen D. Hardin, Jerry Allison, Sonny Curtis and Joe B. Mauldin made a sound check prior to a pre-game performance.
The music developed by Buddy Holly and the writer-musicians that still comprise the Crickets Band was simple and easy to play, according to Allison, who helped Holly form the Crickets.
''A kid with a guitar would say, 'I can learn that,' and he could. I think it's happy music,'' Allison explained. ''I think it reminds people of happy times Ð the war was over and nobody had problems. It takes people back to those good times.''
Mauldin recalls that he wouldn't have been surprised at all by the longevity of rock'n'roll. ''I was 17 at the time, and in my mind it was never going to end,'' he said. ''My parents kept saying, 'Now, Joe, this won't last very long.' But we've been lucky, and I'm really happy that people are still enjoying it.''
Fans have their own theories. ''I think it's the music that inspired all the rest of it,'' said Bruce Hooper of San Antonio, who came to the Buddy Holly Festival with his wife, Judy, and son, Gerald.
Jerry Richardson of Plainview put it this way: ''You can go out in the garage and play it.'' His wife, Janette, said they own the Buddy Holly records.
It even has an international appeal. Elena Cherkasova of Russia appraised both the music and the Crickets Band: ''I like this music. They are good.''
Curtis, who was in precursor bands with Holly before the Crickets were formed, recalls that he played country music during high school.
''I love coming home to Lubbock,'' he said. ''I come from Meadow, and I still have family all over here Ð my sister, Aileen, lives in Lubbock; I have a sister, Jean, who lives in Midland; Ruby Mae, my oldest sister, lives in Meadow; and my brother, Pete, lives in Meadow.''
Curtis carefully ponders the question of why the type of music he helped write has lasted nearly half a century. ''I think it has a good feel, the simplicity of it. It's happy-type music. I don't ever get tired of singing those songs.''
Some subjective evidence suggests that the early rock 'n' roll music may even be producing an influence on some country music.
The Crickets musicians have opinions about the direction of country music. ''It's taken a big turn for the worst,'' said Hardin. ''I think they've just gotten away from real country music. Now, to me, it sounds like the 1960s rock 'n' roll. After Hank Williams and Lefty Frizzell, and some people like that, nothing has been added. It's turned into a big marketing scheme.''
Mauldin agrees about the new sound. ''It seems to me that what we called country music for so long has really kind of evolved into a sound like the '50s rock 'n' roll.''
The Crickets Band recently has been performing primarily on weekend tours across the United States, but some of the trips have been to England, and a future tour of Europe is planned.
Some of the members have other interests as well. Allison owns a farm near Nashville, where he raises cattle and hay. But he indicates that the group still is in demand, even though the schedule is not as rigorous as in the past.
''We still do the fun ones,'' he said. ''Like whenever they call.''

Keef Hartley in USA

EC, John Mayall, Keef Hartley

1968 Michigan

From late 1970 until the end of that decade, Carl Radle was one of the top bassists in rock music. He began the decade as a star on his instrument by virtue of his membership in the shortlived, legendary band Derek & The Dominos, alongside Eric Clapton and yoked to drummer Jim Gordon in an outstanding rhythm section -- but it was the sheer quality of his work that had led him to that point and sustained him for years after. Born in Oklahoma City in 1942, he reached his teens just as the rock 'n' roll boom began. By the early 1960's, he'd made his way to California, where he played for a time as a member of Skip And The Flips, a group organized by future Byrd Skip Battin, playing alongside drummer Billy Mundi. He entered the orbit of his fellow Oklahoman Leon Russell and played numerous sessions for him during the latter's days as an arranger -- although uncredited, Radle played on many recordings for Gary Lewis & The Playboys. For a time in the late 1960's, he was also a member of the band Colours, which cut two LPs for Dot Records at the end of the 1960's. It was Russell's introduction that brought Radle to the attention of Delaney & Bonnie and led to his joining their backing band (alongside drummer Jim Gordon) and which, in turn, led to his crossing paths with Eric Clapton, who used him (along with Gordon) on his first solo album, and also to his participation in the sessions for George Harrison's All Things Must Pass album, which brought about the formation of Derek & The Dominos. Though it took a little time to be fully appreciated by the public, the resulting album Layla And Other Assorted Love Songs proved to be one of the most enduring creations to come out of Clapton's career. Radle later played with Joe Cocker's Mad Dogs And Englishmen show and the resulting album, again with Russell's prompting, and albums by Dave Mason, Mark Benno, J. J. Cale, RIta Coolidge, Dr. John, Art Garfunkel, and Buddy Guy, Bobby Keys, and Freddie King, and as a member of Leon Russell & The Shelter People. By 1975, when Clapton resumed touring, he brought Radle back as a band member and he remained through the Backless album - then, in 1978, Clapton decided to dismiss his group, believing them inadequate in the studio. At the outset of the 1970's, Radle had cut an extraordinary musical figure, his tall, slightly gaunt bespectacled figure hunched over his instrument holding down the rhythm section with whatever drummer he happened to be working with, whether he was playing blues, country, or rock 'n' roll. And the results were impressive, a fact borne out by the sheer number of sessions he'd played in the first half of the 1970's. By the second half of the decade, however, Radle's health had started to decline, principally from the ravages of excessive drinking and some drug use. He died in 1980, of complications from a kidney infection caused by his alcoholism and addiction. At the time, his passing was barely noticed even by many Clapton fans or the rock press.

Mayall has been brewing up his own version of the blues for more than forty years along with a shifting lineup of Bluesbreakers. Mayall is a multi-instrumentalist and distinctive vocalist with a keening tenor who has always tried to find his own place within the blues idiom. His backup band, the Bluesbreakers, have included a veritable who's-who of musicians, including three of the best guitarists to come out of Great Britain: Eric Clapton, Peter Green, and Mick Taylor - not to mention the legendary rhythm section of Mick Fleetwood and John McVeigh. Over the course of his career, Mayall has experimented with Acoustic Blues, Chicago Blues, Jazz Blues, and just about every other hyphenated blues hybrid imaginable.

Jim Capaldi (R.I.P.), Bill Wyman, Mark Knopfler

Reuters/Billboard :

LONDON (Billboard) -  Steve Winwood,  Pete Townshend,   Paul Weller and Bill Wyman are among those taking part in an all-star celebration of the late Jim Capaldi, a former member of Traffic.
The show will take place January 21, close to the second anniversary of his death, at London's Roundhouse. Tickets go on sale December 18, 2006.
The Dear Mr. Fantasy concert, named for one of Traffic's best-known albums, will celebrate the life and work of Capaldi, who died of cancer January 28, 2005, at the age of 60. The event will raise funds for the Jubilee Action Street Children Appeal, a charity in which Capaldi and his wife Anina were active.
Also confirmed to appear are Joe Walsh, former Deep Purple keyboardist Jon Lord,  Gary Moore, Simon Kirke, Dennis Locorriere, the Storys, Andy Newmark, Ray Cooper and keyboardist Paul "Wix" Wickens.

Macca und Mike Sanchez auf der Party von Jeff Beck 2005

Bill, Mark, Albert at Royal Albert Hall 2003

Georgie Fame, Martin Taylor Bill Wyman, Albert Lee. Cleveland 15.Aug. 2001, RK.

Bill Wyman, Charly Watts, Chris Stainton, Steve Winwood, Prinzessin Diana after a Concert at the Royal Albert Hall 1982

EC & J. J. Cale at Crossroad Festival 2004

4,5 & 6 June 2004
Crossroads Guitar Festival
Cotton Bowl stadium, Dallas, TX
Saturday June 5, 2004:
Eric Clapton joining JJ Cale for his entire set - After Midnight, Cocaine, Call me the Breeze, Travellin Light.
Also he then joined the all star blues jam of Jimmie Vaughan, Buddy Guy, Robert Cray, Robert Randolph and Hubert Sumlin. Grammy Winner Albert Lee
Sunday June 6, 2004:
Eric Clapton came on for a loose jam with BB King, Buddy Guy, Jimmie Vaughan and John Mayer,
jammed on Jingo with Santana,
Cause We Ended As Lovers with Jeff Beck
and with his own abridged set of rock and blues classics, wisely retaining the services of his red hot European touring band.

Sold out in Twelfe Minutes

Eric and Doyle Bramhall II

Albert, Sheryl, Allison

Chicago Tribune says: "Impish, white-haired guitar guru Albert Lee joins Vince Gill’s 12-piece band for an arched-eyebrow take on Johnny Burnette’s rockabilly scorcher “Tear It Up.”

Old Friends

Willie's Guitar "Trigger"

EC & Band 2007 US Tour

Larry Carlton & Steve Lukather

James Burton, Glen D. Hardin, Jerry Scheff, Ronnie Tutt

Emory Gordy & Emmylou Harris

James Burton & Glen D. Hardin

Emmylou Harris, Glen D. Hardin, Mary Cay Place

Emmylou, with Rodney Crowell and Albert Lee, John Ware and Emory Gordy, Ricky Scaggs and Glenn D Hardin, Hank De Vito, the best Hot Band ever.

James Burton & Seymour Duncan (der die gleichnamigen Pickups baut) in Nashville 2004.

Mauriel Anderson's All Star Guitar Night

Rick Nelson was one of the very biggest of the 50s teen idols, so it took a while for him to attain the same level of critical respectability as other early rock greats. Yet now the consensus is that he made some of the finest pop/rock recordings of his era. Sure, he had more promotional push than any other rock musician of the 50s; no, he wasn't the greatest singer; and yes, Elvis, Gene Vincent, Carl Perkins, and others rocked harder. But Nelson was extraordinarily consistent during the first five years of his recording career, crafting pleasant pop-rockabilly hybrids with ace session players and projecting an archetype of the sensitive, reticent young adult with his accomplished vocals. He also played a somewhat underestimated role in rock & roll's absorption into mainstream America - how bad could rock be if it was featured on one of America's favorite family situation comedies on a weekly basis?

Herb Pedersen

Virtuosic instrumentation and ultra-smooth vocal harmonies have made the Laurel Canyon Ramblers one of the most successful groups performing tradition-rooted bluegrass. Led by banjo, guitar and dobro player and vocalist Herb Pederson, the Laurel Canyon Ramblers represent over one hundred years of bluegrass experience.
The Laurel Canyon Ramblers, named after a street in Los Angeles that crosses Hollywood Boulevard, were brought together when Pederson returned to bluegrass in 1994. The son of a policeman who was born in 1944 and raised in Berkeley, California, Pederson had filled in for an ailing Earl Scruggs in the mid-1960s and had replaced influential banjo Doug Dillard in the Dillards in 1968. Since leaving the Dillards in 1971, Pederson had recorded three solo albums, been a founding member of Country Gazette, and played on recordings by such artists as Linda Ronstadt, John Denver, Jerry Garcia, David Grisman, Diana Ross, Nicolette Larson, Gordon Lightfoot, Stephen Stills, John Prine, Johnny Rivers, Emmylou Harris, Jackson Browne and Dan Fogelberg. Together with Chris Hillman (the Byrds, the Flying Burrito Brothers), Pederson had recorded six albums with California country-rock band, Desert Rose, and a duo tribute album to the early-'60s sounds of Buck Owens-style country music, Bakersfield Bound, in 1996. In addition to writing such standard bluegrass tunes as "Old Train" and "Wait A Minute," Pederson contributed to the soundtracks of films and television shows including Smokey & The Bandit, City Slickers, Maverick, The Fire Down Below, The A Team, The Rockford Files and The Dukes of Hazzard.

Glen D. Hardin

(sometimes spelled Glenn D. Hardin) has enjoyed a long career in rock & roll and country music, playing behind some of the most prominent music stars of the 1970s and 1980s. Born in Ropesville, Tennessee in 1939, he was in his mid-teens as country music began its transformation into rock & roll, and he got to see performers such as Elvis Presley and Buddy Holly during their early, pre-stardom days. His own interest lay more with playing than singing -- he learned guitar at a professional level but became truly proficient on the piano. Hardin's first major gig came in 1961, when he became a member of the Crickets, the Texas-spawned band founded by Buddy Holly and led by drummer Jerry Allison in the wake of Holly's death -- he played the piano on the singles "My Little Girl" and "(They Call Her) La Bamba," and on their album California Sun; additionally, after Joe B. Mauldin left the group, Hardin furnished their bass sound with a Fender Rhodes piano bass. He also wrote songs with Crickets guitarist/singer Sonny Curtis, co-authoring the group's single "Teardrops Feel Like Rain," and the songs "Count Me In," "My Heart's Symphony," and "Where Will the Word Come From," recorded by their fellow Liberty Records artists Gary Lewis & the Playboys. During the second half of the 1960s, Hardin kept busy and highly visible as a member of the Shindogs, the house band on the weekly ABC rock & roll showcase series Shindig, which had been put together by Leon Russell and included James Burton as leader and lead guitarist. He also played on records by Merle Haggard and Hamilton Camp. It was through Russell that Hardin played on records for Delaney Bramlett and, in tandem with Burton that, in 1970, he started working with Elvis Presley. Although he also played in the country-rock band Swampwater, and did sessions with everyone from Dean Martin to Gram Parsons and Linda Ronstadt during this period, Hardin's most important and long-lasting 1970s gig was with Elvis - he and Burton, along with bassist Jerry Scheff and drummer Ron Tutt, became what was known informally within Presley's orbit as "the T.C.B. Band," and they were at the core of his live and studio performances from 1970 through 1976, a period in which Hardin also wrote arrangements for the singer. He played on the live performances and studio tracks that comprised the bulk of Presley's comeback legacy, and only quit in 1976, as Presley's physical and mental condition began to deteriorate. Hardin jumped right in to Emmylou Harris' backing group, the Hot Band, remaining with her into the 1980s, in addition to playing on records by Michael Nesmith, Hoyt Axton, John Denver, and Chris Hillman, among others. In recent years, in addition to playing with the Crickets on-stage, he has been playing as a backup musician to Presley once again, as part of the live band in the holographic stage entertainment show "Elvis Lives."

Jackson Browne & Jordan Zevon

Jordan & Warren Zevon

Warren Zevon in Studio 2000

Schnell noch'n Schluck, die Jungs warten schon.

Jim Keltner, Steve Cropper, Donald Dunn 1976 in Tokyo

1969 Big Show Hollywood Bowl

As the house band at Stax Records in Memphis, Booker T. & the MG's may have been the single greatest factor in the lasting value of that label's soul music - not to mention Southern soul as a whole. Their tight, impeccable grooves can be heard on classic hits by Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, Carla Thomas, Albert King, and Sam & Dave, just to name the very most prominent examples. For that reason alone, they would deserve their spot in rock & roll's hall of fame. But in addition to their formidable skills as a house band, on their own they were one of the top instrumental outfits of the rock era, cutting classics like "Green Onions," "Time Is Tight," and "Hang 'em High."
The anchors of the Booker T. sound were Steve Cropper, whose slicing, economic riffs influenced tons of other guitar players, and Booker T. Jones himself, who provided much of the groove with his floating organ lines. In 1960, Jones started working as a session man for Stax, where he met Cropper. Cropper had been in the Mar-Keys, famous for the 1961 instrumental hit "Last Night," which laid out the prototype for much of the MG's (and indeed Memphis soul's) sound with its organ-sax-guitar combo. With the addition of drummer Al Jackson and bassist Lewis Steinberg, they became Booker T. & the MG's. In a couple years or so, Steinberg would be replaced permanently by Donald "Duck" Dunn, who, like Cropper, had also played with the Mar-Keys.

Scotty Moore, DJ Fontana, George Harrison

Ringo & George

Hugo Fritz, "Don Hugo", einer der besten Gitarristen hier in good old Germany

Der legendäre Palomino Club in North Hollywood, L.A.

The Grease Band was formed in 1966 as back-up to singer Joe Cocker but the original line-up underwent several changes over the ensuing years. Henry McCullough (guitar), Alan Spenner (bass) and Bruce Rowlands (bass) joined Chris Stainton in the group's best-known incarnation, but this unit split from Cocker in 1970 at the end of an arduous American tour. Spenner, Rowlands and McCullough were then joined by guitarist Neil Hubbard as the Grease Band embarked on an independent career.

When people use the term "singer/songwriter" (often modified by the word "sensitive") in praise or in criticism, they're thinking of James Taylor. In the early 70s, when he appeared with his introspective songs, acoustic guitar, and calm, understated singing style, he mirrored a generation's emotional exhaustion after tumultuous times. Just as Bing Crosby's reassuring voice brought the country out of the Depression and through World War II, Taylor's eased the transition from '60s activism and its attendant frustrations into the less political, more inward-looking 70s. He was rewarded with a series of hit albums and singles (surprisingly, many of the latter were covers of old songs rather than his own compositions), and he managed to survive his initial fame to achieve lasting popularity. He continued to tour successfully for decades, and, starting with his 1970 breakthrough Sweet Baby James, all but one of his regular album releases for the rest of the century went gold or platinum, while his 1976 Greatest Hits album achieved a diamond certification reflecting sales of more than ten million copies.

Listening to Peter Sarstedt today, you might think he's the creation of some TV movie producer who tried to build a story around a character based on Donovan and only got it 25 % right. Sarstedt recalled Donovan, and to a slighter extent such other British pop/folk singer/songwriters of the era as Al Stewart and Cat Stevens, with his lilting phrasing and earnest ambition. Like those artists, he was also prone to being a bit fruity and smug. And if you thought Donovan's production could be overly pop-conscious, Sarstedt's arrangements were a far more determined admixture of wordy lyricism and bouncy commercialism, their brassy orchestrations often sounding like juiced-up refugees from easy-listening sessions.
The combination paid big dividends, though, in early 1969, when his "Where Do You Go To My Lovely" went to #1 in the British charts.

Lee Sklar has been a prominent figure among Hollywood session bassists dating back to the 1970's and ever since. Sklar (born Leland Bruce Sklar, May 28, 1947, Milwaukee, WI) has more than 2000 albums to his credit (and still counting), and is considered to be one of the "A" players in the highly selective L.A. rock music community where the competition for recording dates is fierce, and where only the strongest will survive. His very recognizable bass playing style has been heard on hits by Linda Ronstadt, James Taylor, Hall & Oates, Jackson Browne, Phil Collins, Clint Black, Reba McEntire, Billy Cobham, and George Strait, to name just a few. And never one to remain idle, Sklar has entered the new millennium with a vengeance, taking on new projects with Willie Nelson, Steven Curtis Chapman, Nils Lofgren, Lisa Loeb, and many more.

Don Everly & Albert Lee

Waylon Jennings & Buddy H.

At Clear Lake, Iowa, where Buddy Holly gave his last concert on February 2nd, 1959 in "Surf Ballroom"

Winter Dance Party, Clearlake Iowa, Surf Ballroom

Reviews from this gig: 4th Feb. 2006
Rockin’ and Rollin’
By JAN HORGEN, Of The Globe Gazette
CLEAR LAKE - The music lives.
As long as Jerry Allison, Joe B. Mauldin, Sonny Curtis and Albert Lee can step on stage, the music will never die. Rock ’n’ roll pioneers and the closing act for this year’s ’50s in February show, the Crickets and Albert Lee talked “back in the day” with some younger musicians during a sound check at the Surf Ballroom Saturday afternoon.
Tuning up first on an Curtis composition, they kicked the beat into overdrive with Lee at the microphone for “Wild One” before slowing the pace for Curtis’ rendition of  “True Love Ways.”Their style brought smiles from members of the other bands and murmurs such as, “Still got it. Just listen to that.”
With five decades of performances behind them, how do these artists find the stamina to keep climbing back on stage? “We’ve actually turned down a few gigs lately. We’re getting older, you know,” Allison says with his signature smile. “But it’s still fun, and as long as someone wants to hear us, we’ll keep coming back.”
Listening to other sounds is another way to keep the performance fresh. Allison has been listening to Lee’s music of late.
Lee has classical in his CD player at the moment. “My daughter is attending Julliard, studying opera.”
Mauldin thrives on old  “Johnny Rivers stuff. My wife and I love to dance to that ’50s music.”  In the green room where the walls are adorned with the signatures of hundreds of artists who have stepped out on the Surf stage, the energy crackled. “This is a great venue, a place where you catch the feeling of the crowd,”  Curtis said.
On the other side of the wall, the people waited for the Crickets and Albert Lee and the music.

  04.02.2006 The Clear Lake show was amazing. We played at the Buddy Holly tribute night with the Crickets and Albert Lee at the legendary Surf Ballroom, which is where Buddy's last show took place. It was incredible meeting the Crickets. Sonny Curtis wrote "I Fought the Law". J.I. Allison wrote the classics "Peggy Sue" and "That'll be the Day". Albert Lee is just about one of the most legendary guitarists alive today. I had them all sign my Fender Telecaster. What a cool night. Kevin's dad Bob Montgomery was in Buddy's first band called the Buddy and Bob show back in Lubbock, TX. Bob wrote a bunch of great tunes that Buddy played back in the day and he also wrote the Patsy Cline hit, "Back in Baby's Arms", which we played.
Kevin and I are a little road weary, but still having fun. Kevin is doing 364 shows this year. He's nuts.
In March we'll be doing more full band gigs with the Gin Blossoms drummer and our good buddy Danny White on Bass. Danny used to play with Alice Cooper and Roger Cline and the Peacemakers. Those shows will be lots of fun. I prefer to play with a band rather than just Kevin and I. Well, gotta run. "Alberts Diaries"

"Great Crickets gig on 4th Feb, 2006 nice to see so many people dressing for the part! What a great night! Was good to see so many at a dinner that followed on Monday the 6th. What a swell party that was." Alberts Diaries

Big Bopper, Richie Valens, Buddy Holly

Buddy & Phil 1958

Freed, Williams, Costa, Holly

Gold 1957

Buddy Holly's last gig

The Crickets - J.I. Allison (drums), Joe B. Mauldin, (bass) Sonny Curtis, (guitar) Glen D.Hardin (Keyb) - helped define the sound of modern music and sold millions of records with hits like « That’ll Be the Day », « Oh Boy » and « Peggy Sue ».
They have been cited as direct influences by the Beatles, the Hollies, Bob Dylan and numerous other rock, country, and rockabilly musicians. Their songs are among the most popular and most recognizable of the modern era.
Today, in 2004, the Crickets, joined by a number of their buddies including Eric Clapton, Rodney Crowell, Waylon Jennings, Graham Nash, John Prine, Albert Lee, and Nanci Griffith are releasing a new album entitled « The Crickets and Their Buddies ».

Buddy's driving license

 The temporary bass player of the Crickets, Waylon Jennings

Buddy Holly was born Charles Hardin Holley in Lubbock, Texas, USA in 1936.
The Holleys were a musical family and as a young boyBuddy Holly learned to play the violin, piano and guitar. As a teenager he was already singing professionally as part of a country duo. Holly's big break came when they opened for Bill Haley and the Comets at a local rock show.
He was signed by a scout from Decca Records to a solo recording contract. However, early success as a solo artist eluded him.
Back in Lubbock, Holly formed his own band, "The Crickets", and began making records at Norman Petty's studios in Clovis, New Mexico. Among the songs they recorded was That'll Be the Day, which takes its title from a phrase which John Wayne's character says repeatedly in the movie, The Searchers.
Norman had music industry contacts, and believing that That'll Be the Day would be a hit single, he contacted publishers and labels. Coral Records, a subsidiary of Decca, signed Buddy Holly and The Crickets. This put Buddy in the unusual position of having two record contracts at the same time!
Holly's music was sophisticated for its day, including the use of novel instruments (for rock and roll). Holly was an influential rhythm guitarist, notably on songs such as Peggy Sue and Not Fade Away. While Holly could pump out boy-loves-girl songs with the best of his contemporaries, other songs featured more sophisticated lyrics and more complex harmonies and melodies than had been previously shown in the genre. Holly also managed to bridge some of the racial divide that punctuated rock, notably winning over an all-black audience when accidentally booked for New York's Apollo Theatre (though, unlike the fictional portrayal in his movie biography, it took several performances for audiences to be convinced of his talents). After the release of several highly successful songs, in March of 1958, he and the Crickets toured the United Kingdom. In the audience was a teenager named Paul McCartney, who later cited Holly as a primary influence (his band's name, The Beatles, was later chosen partly in homage to Holly's Crickets). Holly's personal style, more controlled and cerebral than Elvis's and more youthful and innovative than the country and western stars of his day, would have an influence on youth culture on both sides of the Atlantic for decades to come, reflected particularly in the New Wave movement in artists such as Elvis Costello and Marshall Crenshaw, and earlier in folk rock bands like The Byrds and The Turtles. He married Maria Elena Santiago on August 15, 1958 In 1959, Holly split with the Crickets and began a solo tour with other notable performers including Ritchie Valens and J.P. Richardson, "The Big Bopper".
Following a February 2nd performance at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa, a small four-passenger Beechcraft Bonanza took off into a blinding snow storm and crashed into Albert Juhl's corn field several miles after takeoff at 1.05 a.m. The crash killed Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, J P Richardson, and pilot Roger Peterson, leaving Holly's pregnant bride, Maria Elena Holly, a widow. (She would miscarry soon after.)
This event inspired singer Don McLean's popular 1971 ballad American Pie, and immortalized February 3rd as The Day The Music Died.
Funeral services were held at the Tabernacle Baptist Church in Lubbock, Texas, and Buddy Holly was interred in the City of Lubbock Cemetery. [edit] Tributes Monument at Crash Site – September 16, 2003.
In 1988, Ken Paquette, a Wisconsin fan of the '50s era, erected a stainless steel monument depicting a steel guitar and a set of three records bearing the names of each of the three performers. It is located on private farmland, about one quarter mile west of the intersection of 315th Street and Gull Avenue, approximately eight miles north of Clear Lake. He also created a similar stainless steel monument to the three musicians near the Riverside Ballroom in Green Bay, Wisconsin. That memorial was unveiled on July 17, 2003.
The dramatic arc of Holly's life story inspired a Hollywood biography The Buddy Holly Story, for which actor Gary Busey received a nomination for Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Holly, as well as a successful Broadway musical documenting his career.
Buddy Holly is considered one of the founding fathers of rock 'n roll and one of its most influential. Although his career was cut short, his body of work is considered some of the best in rock music history and his music would influence not only many of his recording contemporaries, but also the future direction music would take.   
b. Charles Hardin Holley, 7 September 1936, Lubbock, Texas, USA, d. 3 February 1959, Clear Lake, Iowa, USA. Holly was one of the first major rock 'n' roll groundbreakers, and one of its most influential artists. He wrote his own songs, recorded with a self-contained guitar-bass-drums combo, experimented in the studio and even changed the image of what a rock singer could look like: until he came along, the idea of a bespectacled rock idol was unthinkable. Holly's hiccuping vocal style and mature, melodic compositions inspired many of the rockers who would emerge in the 60s and 70s, from the Beatles and Bob Dylan to the Hollies. Later, British singer-songwriter Elvis Costello would emerge with an unabashed Holly-inspired physical appearance. Like many other early rock 'n' rollers, Holly's musical influences included both country music and "race" music, or R&B. He made his first stage appearance at the age of five, joining with his brothers Larry and Travis in a talent contest; he won $5. During his childhood, Holly learned to play guitar, violin and piano, taking formal lessons but teaching himself boogie-woogie rhythms on the piano. At 12 years old he was entertaining friends with Hank Williams songs and in 1949 formed a bluegrass duo, Buddy And Bob, with friend Bob Montgomery (b. 12 May 1937, Lambasas, Texas, USA). He learned to play banjo and mandolin during this period. Holly made his first recording on a home tape recorder in 1949, a song called "My Two-Timin' Woman". By 1952 Buddy And Bob had become popular around Lubbock, recording two songs together at Holly's home that year and another in 1953. In September of that year Holly and new partner Jack Neal appeared on KDAV radio, performing two numbers. Adding Larry Welborn on bass, they were given their own programme, The Buddy And Jack Show, which was retitled The Buddy And Bob Show after Neal left to get married and Montgomery returned to accompany Holly. The duo performed country material primarily, but occasionally included an R&B song by artists such as Hank Ballard. KDAV disc jockey Hipockets Duncan became the trio's manager and secured work for them in the West Texas area. Further recording took place at KDAV but none of it was released. In 1954, the trio added fiddler/guitarist Sonny Curtis and steel guitarist Don Guess to the group, and together made more recordings in Lubbock and at Nesman Recording Studio in Wichita Falls, Texas. That year the group, now including drummer Jerry Allison (b. 31 August 1939, Hillsboro, Texas, USA), opened concerts for Bill Haley And His Comets and Elvis Presley in Texas. Holly was impressed by Presley and began thinking about performing in the new rock 'n' roll style. However, in the meantime he continued to play country. In December 1955, Nashville agent Eddie Crandall requested of KDAV disc jockey Dave Stone that Holly and his group record four demo songs, believing he could secure them a contract with Decca Records. The group, now minus Montgomery and known as Buddy And The Two Tones, sent five songs, and Decca brought them to Nashville where they recorded four songs produced by Owen Bradley at Bradley's Barn Studio on 26 January 1956. Decca issued "Blue Days, Black Nights", backed with "Love Me", under the name Buddy Holly And The Three Tunes (the Crickets were not contracted to Decca at this time), in April. Several other records were recorded in two sessions for Decca during the autumn of 1956, but Holly, dissatisfied with Decca's insistence that he continue to play country music, together with the loss of his group to insensitive sessionmen, began making plans to secure a new contract. He was officially dropped by Decca in January 1957. In February 1957, Holly, Welborn and Allison traveled to Norman Petty's NorVaJak studios in Clovis, New Mexico, where they recorded a rock 'n' roll version of Holly's "That'll Be The Day", a song from their period in Nashville. The song was a revelation and contained one of the most gripping vocals and distinctive galloping riffs of any record released during the 50s. Upon returning to Lubbock, Holly formed the Crickets with Allison, rhythm guitarist Niki Sullivan (b. 23 June 1937, South Gate, California, USA, d. 6 April 2004, Sugar Creek, Missouri, USA), and bass player Joe B. Mauldin. A number of record companies turned down "That'll Be The Day" until it was issued by Brunswick Records in May, ironically a division of Decca. Another Decca subsidiary, the artistically independent Coral Records, signed a deal to issue records under Buddy Holly's name. With Petty as manager, "That'll Be The Day" underwent heavy promotion until it reached number 1 in September 1957. It also reached number 1 in the UK. Just as the record was being released, the Crickets performed at such venues as the Apollo Theatre in New York and the Howard Theater in Washington, DC, winning over predominantly black audiences and helping to further break down racial barriers in rock. They spent the next three months touring the USA. The Crickets recorded prolifically in 1957, including such indisputable classics as "Words Of Love" (April), "Not Fade Away" and "Everyday" (May), "Peggy Sue" (named after Allison's girlfriend and originally planned as "Cindy Lou"), "Oh Boy" and "I'm Gonna Love You Too" (June), "It's Too Late" and "Send Me Some Lovin'" (July), and "Maybe Baby" (September). Holly was innovative in the studio, making much use of newly available production techniques, such as overdubbing vocals and double-tracking guitar parts. The vocals on "Peggy Sue" were a typical example of Holly's technique. Although simple in structure and execution, Holly somehow managed to recite the words "Peggy Sue" differently in every line, as if fascinated by the very syllables of her name. A seemingly straightforward song like "Everyday" is similarly transformed by the ingenious use of a celeste (played by Petty's wife, Vi) and the decision to include Jerry Allison slapping his knee, in place of drums. Brunswick continued to issue recordings under the Crickets name despite Holly's solo contract with Coral Records. Most releases featured the entire group, often with other musicians (Vi Petty on piano) and a vocal group (the Picks). Of these Holly "solo" releases, "Peggy Sue" reached number 3 in the USA and "Rave On" number 37 during 1957-58. Contrary to the legend, Holly and the Crickets charted less than 10 times in the USA during their brief career. No albums charted during Holly's lifetime. The Crickets closed 1957 with an appearance on the influential Ed Sullivan Show, following which Niki Sullivan left the group citing the harsh tour schedule as his reason. The Crickets returned to the Ed Sullivan Show at the end of January 1958 before recording "Rave On" and "That's My Desire" in New York and touring Australia for six days. Further Clovis recording sessions, including "Well ... All Right" and "Think It Over" occupied February. Jerry Allison also recorded "Real Wild Child" which was later released under his middle name of Ivan. This was followed by a UK tour beginning on 2 March at the Trocadero in London, which also included appearances on the UK television programmes Sunday Night At The London Palladium and Off The Record. The UK tour finished on 25 March at the Hammersmith Gaumont. Holly and the group enjoyed immense popularity in Britain, with 10 Top 10 singles. "Maybe Baby" became the fourth Holly/Crickets single to chart in the USA in March, eventually peaking at number 17 (and number 4 in the UK). The group returned to the USA in late March and immediately embarked on a US tour instigated by disc jockey Alan Freed, also featuring such popular artists as Jerry Lee Lewis and Chuck Berry. Coral released the frantic Holly single "Rave On" in May and although it reached only number 37 in the USA, it made number 5 in the UK. Following the tour, on 19 June, Holly recorded two songs written by Bobby Darin in New York without the Crickets; they remained unreleased but signalled an impending rift between Holly and the group. While in New York Holly met Maria Elena Santiago, whom he married two months later. During that summer Holly returned to Petty's studio in Clovis and recorded "Heartbeat", "It's So Easy" and "Lonesome Tears'. Guitarist Tommy Allsup played on these sessions and was subsequently asked to join the Crickets. During September sessions in Clovis, extra musicians including saxophonist King Curtis and guitarist Phil Everly joined Holly. Waylon Jennings, then unknown, provided backing vocals on one track; during the same period, Holly produced Jennings" debut single. By September three more Holly/Crickets singles had charted in the USA, but none fared very well. Holly and the Crickets toured the north-east and Canada during October, by which time there was apparently friction between the Hollys and the Pettys. Buddy and Maria Holly travelled separately from the group between dates. During the trip, Holly decided to try recording with strings, but prior to returning to New York for that session in October 1958, he announced to manager/producer Petty that he was leaving him. To Holly's surprise the other Crickets chose to leave Holly and remain with Petty; Holly allowed them use of the group's name and they continued to record without him (Sonny Curtis joined the group after Holly's death). Meanwhile, on 21 October, Holly, producer Dick Jacobs and studio musicians (including a string section) recorded "True Love Ways", "It Doesn't Matter Anymore" (written by Paul Anka), "Raining In My Heart" and "Moondreams". They were held for later release while "It's So Easy" was released; it failed to chart in the USA. "Heartbeat" was issued in December and became the last Holly single to chart in the USA during his lifetime. The superb "It Doesn't Matter Anymore" was released posthumously and its lyrics betrayed an unintended elegiac mood in light of the singer's fate. The song provided Holly with his only solo UK number 1 hit and served as a perfect memorial. The flip-side, "Raining In My Heart", was equally inventive, with a touching melody reinforced by the orchestral arrangement in which strings were used to startling effect to suggest tearful raindrops. In December 1958 Holly, now living in New York with his wife, recorded six songs at home on his tape recorder, presumably to be re-recorded in the studio at a later date. During Christmas Holly returned to Lubbock and appeared on radio station KLLL with Jennings. He is prompted by a bet to write a song ("You're The One") in less than 30 minutes. Back in New York during January 1959, Holly made other demos at home by himself. That month he began assembling a band to take on the "Winter Dance Party" tour of the US Midwest. Allsup was hired on guitar, Jennings on bass and Carl Bunch on drums. They were billed as the Crickets despite the agreement to give Holly's former bandmates that name. Also starring Ritchie Valens, the Big Bopper, Dion And The Belmonts and the unknown Frankie Sardo, the tour began on 23 January 1959 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. On the afternoon of 1 February the tour played in Green Bay, Wisconsin, but an evening show was cancelled owing to bad weather. The 2 February date at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa, went ahead. It was following this show that Holly, Valens and the Big Bopper chartered a small plane to take them to the next date in Moorhead, Minnesota, rather than travel on the tour bus, which had a defective heater and had previously broken down several times. In the dark early hours of a freezing cold morning and as a result of the snowy weather, the plane crashed minutes after take-off, killing all three stars and the pilot. (The tour actually continued after their deaths, with Bobby Vee, Jimmy Clanton and Frankie Avalon filling in.) Holly's popularity increased after his death, and his influence continues to this day. Several of the posthumous releases fared particularly well in the UK. In 1962, Norman Petty took the demos Holly had recorded at home in 1958 and had the instrumental group the Fireballs play along to them, creating new Buddy Holly records from the unfinished tapes. In 1965, Holly In The Hills, comprised of the early Buddy and Bob radio station recordings, was released and charted in the UK. Compilation albums also charted in both the USA and the UK well into the new millennium. During the 70s the publishing rights to Holly's song catalogue were purchased by Paul McCartney, who began sponsoring annual Buddy Holly Week celebrations. A Buddy Holly Memorial Society was also formed in the USA to commemorate the singer. In 1978, a movie called The Buddy Holly Story, starring actor Gary Busey as Holly, premiered; members of the Crickets, in particular, denounced it as containing many inaccurate scenes. The following year, a six-record boxed set called The Complete Buddy Holly was released in the UK (it was issued in the USA two years later). A 1983 release, For The First Time Anywhere, contained original Holly recordings prior to overdubbing. In 1990, Buddy, a musical play that had previously been staged in London, opened on Broadway in New York. Buddy Holly's legacy lives on, not only with tributes such as these, but in the dozens of cover versions of his songs that have been recorded over the years. Holly was an initial inductee into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 1986. To have a catalogue of songs of this calibre behind him at the age of 22 was remarkable. How would he have approached the 60s and subsequent decades? Such was the quality of his work that few could.

The Crickets & Bobby Vee

Sonny Curtis, Bobby Cochran, J.I.Allison

Joe B. Maudlin, Mike Berry

Wayne und Albert Lee (Mitte) mit den Crickets, der original Buddy Holly Band, bei der Albert seit 15 Jahren Ehrenmitglied ist

Brian Hodgson, Frank Mead, Wayne und Albert Lee (v. l. n. r.)

Wayne Lee live in concert mit seiner Band "Raincheck"

Lonnie Donegan's last concert in der Royal Albert Hall

Hans Theesing & A. Lee bei einer Clinic in Ibbenbüren

Albert & The Hellecasters in Edmonton

Albert und Buddy Emmons lassen sich Blumen schenken

Tommy Emanuel, Brian Hodgson, Albert Lee

09.-15. April 2003

Albert & Lucie Diamond, Country Star

AL with Earl Sruggs

Lee has been playing with Ventura's Dynamo Jump for the past five years. "He's one of those rare people that just really loves to play," says Dynamo Jump singer/drummer Jerry McWhorter

Albert Lee joins the band for a better-late-than-never CD release party. Jan. 26, 2007

Abert with RDs "Pukka Blokes" 2006 at Twilight Sound Studio in Karlsruhe

NEW Albert Lee DVD available Summer 2007

14.04.2007 Blues Garage Hannover, we are very proud to support Albert Lee & Hogan's Hereos!

Blues Garage Hannover 14.04.2007 Albert Lee & Hogan's Heroes, another fantastic evening with one of the world's famous Guitar Player and Musician. We love you Albert.

We are very glad to announce that Elio Pace will be appearing with the band on Keyboards and Vocals during the forthcoming tour. Elio is an extremely talented musician, and we are excited at the prospect of working with him.

Albert at Namm Anaheim Music Show 2003 with two Hellecasters

with "Hellecasters" in Canada

with Luca Olivieri in Italy

Oklahoma Bluegrass Festival 2002 in Guthrie

Earl Scruggs - mit ihm gewann Albert den Grammy 2002.

"I am constantly amazed at his talent. I am sure there are many guitar players who have been influenced by his style and will continue to be influenced for years to come. Albert is in every sense of the word a genuine guitar wizard."
- Earl Scruggs -

E. Scruggs & Chris Hillman von den Byrds und den Flying Burritos

Banjoman Earl Scruggs returns to the tent for a fantastic night of the best bluegrass you could hope to hear on this planet. Scruggs auditioned for Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys band, joined in 1945 and forever changed the way American roots music was played and heard. The banjo method he popularized now is called Scruggs' style" and it is a basic enough ingredient in bluegrass and other forms of folk music to be considered elemental. This year he has been given his own exhibit hall at the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Marty Stuart, Earl Scruggs, Doc Watson, Merlefest 2005

Jerry Douglas, Travis Tritt, Vince Gill, Earl Scruggs, Randy Scruggs,
Gary Scruggs, Glen Duncan, John Jorgensen, Harry Stinson

Elisabeth "Bettan" Andreassen is one of the most popular and successful female singers in Scandinavia.
She's been an activ artist since 1980 and has sold over one million albums.
Elisabeth Gunilla Andreassen was born as a Norwegian citizen in Gothenburg, Sweden, on March 28, 1958.
She grew up on the island of Källö-Knippla in the Gothenburg archipelago together with her Norwegian parents called Ingrid and Jarle, her little brother Jan and two foster-brothers.
Elisabeth also has her roots in the small community of Sykkylven in the north-west of Norway

Keb Mo & Herb Pedersen, Ventura 9/13/03

Herb Pedersen & Jackson Browne, Ventura 9/13/03

Herb Pedersen with his Band

Neil Young & Crazy Horse at Bonnaro Manchester, TN, 11.06.2005

Lineup
The Allman Brothers Band, Widespread Panic, Dave Matthews Band, Trey Anastasio, Jack Johnson, The Black Crowes, Alison Krauss, Modest Mouse, Ratdog, Herbie Hancock's Headhunters 2005, Gov't Mule, Bela Fleck Acoustic Trio, The Mars Volta, John Prine, Yonder Mountain String Band, Jurassic 5, The Word, Galactic, My Morning Jacket, Keller Williams, STS9, Earl Scruggs, Benevento-Russo Duo feat. Mike Gordon, Joss Stone, Kings of Leon, De La Soul, O.A.R., Toots and the Maytals, Umphrey's McGee, Iron & Wine, Ozomatli, Rilo Kiley, Karl Denson's Tiny Universe, Drive-By Truckers, Particle, Joanna Newsom, Peter Rowan & Crucial Reggae, Xavier Rudd, Ray LaMontagne, The Gourds, Blue Merle, Secret Machines, Saul Williams, Donna the Buffalo, Mouse on Mars, John Butler Trio, The Perceptionists, Ollabelle, Old Crow Medicine Show, RJD2, Citizen Cope, The Old '97s, Brazilian Girls, M. Ward, Madeleine Peyroux, The Frames, DJ Krush, Assembly of Dust, Amos Lee, Matisyahu, Perpetual Groove, Tea Leaf Green, Lake Trout, 22-20s Gabby La La feat. Les Claypool, Heartless Bastards, Josh Ritter, Kermit Ruffins and the Barbeque Singers, Signal Path, Keren Ann, Dr. Dog, Motion Potion, DJ Quarter-Roy, DJ Medi4, DJ Quickie Mart, Animal Liberation Orchestra, Steel Train, SIIHB's

Bonnaroo Music Festival, 12.06.2005  Manchester, Tennessee:

Since its inception in 2002, Bonnaroo has become a landmark event revered as "Festival of the Year" by Pollstar, Spin, Billboard and Rolling Stone, among other accolades. A four-day, multi-stage camping festival held on a 700-acre farm in Manchester, Tennessee, the event's first three annual installments each sold out up to 90,000 tickets with no traditional advertising - an unprecedented achievement. The event has spawned a host of related products, including festival merchandise, several volumes of live CDs and a series of DVD documentaries, the first of which reached gold status within five months of its release date.
With headliners like Dave Matthews & Friends, The Dead, Trey Anastasio, Bob Dylan and Widespread Panic, Bonnaroo features many of the top artists in the grassroots rock genre, along with hosts of acts in complementary styles such as jazz, bluegrass, singer/songwriter, hip hop and electronica. Bonnaroo programming combines the richness of roots traditions with the freshness of the cutting edge, combining many styles and formats into one dynamic experience. In its three years of existence, a staggering range of artists have performed at Bonnaroo from veteran legends such as James Brown, Neil Young, and Emmylou Harris, to hip-hop groups like Jurassic 5 and The Roots, to eclectic singer-songwriters Ben Harper and Jack Johnson.
Hailed among critics and fans for its near-flawless logistics, peaceful vibe, and progressive lineup, Bonnaroo features eight music stages and a 100-acre entertainment village. Bonnaroo takes on the microcosmic economy and infrastructure of a small city. In addition to dozens of epic performances, the festival buzzes with round-the-clock attractions and activities including a classic arcade, cinema, comedy club, theater performers, beer festival, playground, kids area, artist workshops, yoga classes and a music technology village, not to mention over a hundred vendors, cafes and concessionaires providing high quality crafts and foods.
In 2002, Rolling Stone called Bonnaroo "the most ambitious festival of the year". In 2003, the same publication named it "the American rock festival to end all festivals". With aggressive programming and staunch support from the market, the event quickly evolved from its status as the culmination of the jam band movement into a cultural movement of its own. With headliners Trey Anastasio, Dave Matthews and Friends and Bob Dylan and over 90 artists and attractions supporting, Bonnaroo 2004 drew 90,000 loyal fans and further critical acclaim. The New York Times noted: "Bonnaroo, in just its third year, has already revolutionized the modern rock festival". In a special issue of Rolling Stone, Bonnaroo was named one of the 50 moments that changed the history of rock'n'roll.

Kenny Burrell & Fred Walecki

ABOUT WESTWOOD MUSIC & FRED WALEKI

Westwood Music is known throughout the country as the leader in understanding and anticipating a musician’s needs and for developing the technology to meet those needs. We create solutions to problems that even musicians at times are unable to articulate.
Since our beginning 50 years ago, we have always been known for treating each customer, from beginner to pro, with legendary warmth and service. Since the ‘60’s, Westwood Music and its owner, Fred Walecki, have been at the center of rock and roll legend-making. The stories abound--like the time the Stones went to see Sonny and Brownie at the Ash Grove, driven by Fred in his mom’s station wagon. Or when Bernie Leadon promised to stand good for a Westwood Music charge account for his new band, which had come up with the questionable name of "The Eagles."  Those were wild and heady days.
Founded first as a rare violin, harp, and orchestral instrument store by Hermann Walecki in 1947, Westwood Music gained international stature as Hermann sold some of the most important rare instruments of this century: the " Lord Nelson Stradivarius," the "Markivich Stradivarius," and the "Mendolson Stradivarius," to mention only a few. When Hermann fell ill in 1966, his son Fred, at the age of nineteen, took over the business.
Realizing his sensibilities lay more with guitars and other modern instruments, Fred gradually phased out the rare instrument side of the business and began to cater to clients involved in the new sounds of the ‘60’s. Within a few short years Fred had been befriended by such music legends as Buffalo Springfield Band, Bernie Leadon, Ned Doheny, Jackson Browne, Joni Mitchell, Poco, Linda Rondstadt, The Byrds, Hearts and Flowers. And the rest, as they say, is Rock and Roll history, as evidenced by the abundance of Gold Records lining the walls of the store from groups both past and present.
Through the ‘70’s, 80’s, and 90’s the client list has grown and grown for one simple reason—no other music store in southern California is really involved with what large stage groups need, i.e., custom length, high quality cords,  lights, batteries, gaffers tape, custom anvil cases measured for the clients at their rehearsal halls, and personal, 24 hour commitment to service. Late night phone calls at home to Fred from a group in a bind are common. Twelve hours to a guy on the road who is unable to get a three-dollar item that will make or break the pedal steel player seems like an eternity. With Westwood Music behind them, that item is there next day by FedEx, delivered to the guy’s room by the bell hop with the morning coffee.
These days, it’s hard to imagine what our store is like if you haven’t been in, but it’s a relief from the supermarket-type stores. The small profit margins of the chain stores seem to dictate impersonal treatment, but it doesn’t have to be that way. We meet their prices but not their lack of service. Buying a guitar used to be a great time and it still can be—picking up and playing twenty or so Martins before choosing the perfect one, or having the same people who set up Bruce Cockburn’s guitar set up yours. That’s very cool.
It helps that we have such a long and rich history with the old companies like Martin and Gibson. Things are a bunch easier when you actually know the humans you are speaking to at these big companies. How do we know them? First, we like the people at the big companies, and they like us. Heck, some of the high lamas at the big companies worked with us in our store years ago, like Ren Fergison back in the 60’s, or Chris Martin in the 70’s. Ren is one of the high guys at Gibson acoustic in Bozeman, and Chris is the main person at Martin now.
Beginning students, talented songwriter/bar players and the fortunate few who have became musical legends—Westwood Music has been loyal to them all. We aren’t big but we are powerful when you need real help from real people who sell the good goods. It is not unusual on any given day to find Joni Mitchell or Lyle Lovett, Gram Nash or David Crosby, Kevin ("Kebmo") or Chris Hillman visiting Westwood Music, talking with the other regular customers.
It would be nice to hear from you and feel free to call. Or, better yet, come in some day soon, hang out and have the "Westwood Music experience".

©  Westwood Music, 2002
All rights reserved. Last revised: 08/18/05

 

Fred Walecki Benefits Concert August 2000 Santa Monica

The Walecki Benefit Shows 
Santa Monica Civic Center 
Santa Monica, CA. 
Aug 8 & 9, 2000 
8/9/00 
Disc 1 1. Intro (Thomas E. Campbell, Executive Director-Guacamole Fund) 
Randy Meisner & Friends
2. Take It Easy 
3. Take It To The Limit 
Colin Hay (Men At Work)

4. Company of Strangers 
5. Day After Day 
Warren Zevon (w/ Jackson Browne & Ry Cooder)
6. Fistful Of Rain 
7. Johnny Strikes Up The Band 
Jackson Browne (w/ Ry Cooder)
8. Next Voice You Hear 
Jeff Bridges 
9. She Lay Her Whip Down 
Jackson Browne w/Bonnie Raitt
10. Baby, How Long 
11. Your Bright Baby Blues 
12. My Opening Fairwell 
 
DISC 2 
Bonnie Raitt
1. Crazy Thing Called Love 
2. Give It Up 
Crosby, Nash Pevar & Raymond 
3. Someday Soon 
4. Dream For Him 
5. Margarita 
6. Deja Vu 
Spinal Tap
7. Hell Hole 
8. Flower People 
9. Big Bottom 
Chris Hillman w/ Herb Pederson
10. Old Crossroads 
Crosby, Nash & Hillman
11. Turn Turn Turn 
 
DISC 3 
Emmylou Harris
1. Wheels (w/ C Hillman) 
2. If I Can Only Win Your Love 
3. Hour of Gold 
Emmylou & Linda Ronstadt
4. Valerie 
Linda Ronstadt w/ Emmylou Harris
5. For A Dancer 
Linda Ronstadt
6. Heart Like A Wheel 
Don Henley
7. Boys Of Summer 
8. My Thanksgiving 
9. Desparado 
Finale (ALL)
10. Mercury Blues 
11. Stand By Me 
Fred Walecki says thanks 
 
DISC 4 (8/8/00) Highlights
Jackson Browne (w/ Ry Cooder) 
1. Next Voice You Hear 
Jackson Browne w/Bonnie Raitt
2. Baby, How Long 
3. Your Bright Baby Blues 
4. My Opening Fairwell 
Crosby, Nash Pevar & Raymond
5. Lady Of The Island 
6. Deja Vu 
7. Taken At All 
8. Wooden Ships 
The Byrds (McGuinn, Crosby & Hillman)
9. Tambourine Man 
10. Turn Turn Turn 
Linda Ronstadt
11. Heart Like A Wheel 
Don Henley
12. Boys of Summer 
13. Desparado  

 

Finale, Santa Monika Civic Center. (featuring Don Henley, Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Brown, Randy Meisner, Spinal Tap, Jeff Bridges, David Crosby, Graham Nash, Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris, Warren Zevon, Ry Cooder, Albert Lee, Colin Hay and many others) 


 

The Danny Gatton Tribute Concert held at the Birchmere in Alexandria, VA on Jan. 8. 1998 included; Vince Gill, Rodney Crowell, Steve Earl, Albert Lee, Bill Kirchen, John Jennings Pete & Maura Kennedy, Steve Wolf, Dave Chappel, Tom Principato, Amos Garrett, Brent Mason and more.

Arlen Roth, Albert Lee, Les Paul, on Danny Gatton Tribute Concert

James Burton & Steve Cropper

by BEVERLY KEEL „Tennesian“

Guitar god Steve Cropper was put to work at his own tribute on Wednesday night.
Rather than sit in a Ryman Auditorium pew to watch Play It Steve: A 50-Year Musical Journey with Steve Cropper and Special Guests, he strapped a guitar over his colorful fish-print shirt and played on nearly all of the 30 songs performed by friends such as Felix Cavaliere, Danny Shirley, T. Graham Brown and John Anderson.
Others on the roster included John Kay, Ray Benson, B.J. Thomas and Randy Owen.
"I tried to wiggle out of it, but they wouldn't let me," Steve said. "I just wanted to sit in the audience and hear all these people play, because I'm a big fan of them. They said, 'No, you've got to come on stage and play.'"
Between the soul-drenched guitars, infectious rhythms and a Jim Horn-led horn section, the music was so good that you couldn't help but crinkle your nose and jut out your head.
Said emcee Peter Gallagher, "If you tried to make the soundtrack of your life, chances are Steve and his guests either wrote it or played on it."
Nearly as good as the show was the backstage hang where legends like James Burton and Delbert McClinton leisurely roamed.
As always, Steve was the coolest person in the room. At least on the outside.
"I think he is more excited than nervous," said his wife, Angel. "He's got his great friends around him and he is so stoked about all the people who came in from around the country."

PRIMAL TWANG: The Legacy of the Guitar is an exciting theatrical journey through the 3500-year history of the world’s most popular instrument, featuring electrifying live performances.  The musical, directed by Anthony Leigh Adams, will be filmed for a DVD release.

The production stars world music legend, Dan Crary, accompanied by an all-star ensemble of international guitar greats, including Grammy-winners Eric Johnson, Albert Lee, Andrew York, Mason Williams and Doc Watson. Together, in person, for the first time on any stage!!!

Discover the power of the "instrument of the gods," with stories and music from the guitar’s past, present and future. Join us for the world premiere of PRIMAL TWANG at the Birch North Park Theatre in San Diego, September 7-10, 2006

 

Eric Johnson, Doyle Dykes, Albert Lee

Primal Twang San Diego 2006

London 1948

Kidbrooke Park Road, Sister Vanessa, Cherry, and Julanne, Kids nextdoor.

Rio Rancho, NM – July 2006… San Diego, CA will host the world premiere of Primal Twang: The Legacy of the Guitar — the first definitive theatrical/multimedia journey through the guitar’s colorful and surprisingly controversial 3,500-year history. The story of the world’s most popular instrument will be told through a combination of onstage narration, virtuosic live performances by an all-star cast of guitar heroes, and video projections of rare historical footage and still images. The program will debut in three evening shows and one matinee, September 7-10, 2006, at the lavishly renovated North Park Theatre, where it will be filmed for commercial release.Primal Twang began several years ago as the brainchild of flatpicking pioneer and Taylor Guitars clinician Dan Crary and writer/producer/director Anthony Leigh Adams. They expanded the premise and co-wrote a script that begins with the guitar’s ancient ancestors and covers not only the wildly eclectic forms of music played throughout the centuries on variants of the steel-string, nylon-string, and electric guitar, but also the sociological impact the guitar has had in every era. “Primal Twang reveals compelling stories and music from the guitar’s past, present, and future,” says Adams, who is directing the production. “Dan and the seven-piece band are onstage the whole time, performing everything from ancient modal music to classical, flamenco, and the Chet Atkins school, and from the guitar-based vocal pop of the early 20th Century through the jazz, folk, surf, and rock eras, right up to today. At key points in the show, our featured guest artists will join the band. So we’ll see and hear some of the best guitarists in the world as the ‘instrument of the gods’ emerges from antiquity, gathers steam over centuries, and explodes in our own time to become the ‘universal’ musical instrument.” 

Vikki Lee

Emerging northern California, based recording artist Vikki Lee has proven to be an accomplished musician and successful bandleader as well as an extremely entertaining, dynamic and versatile performer.
Vikki has always been a real "trouper" - she just loves to work. Over the years, her talent has been showcased in just about every northern California music and/or entertainment venue, both large and small, as well as many popular clubs and rooms in central and southern California. Vikki and her many talented bands have appeared at most of the major hotels, casinos and resorts in Nevada, performing alongside acts as diverse as Elvin Bishop, Al Stewart, Mickey Gilley, B. J. Thomas, The Guess Who, The Marshall Tucker Band, The New Riders of the Purple Sage and Tito Puente. Ms. Lee has even travelled to England and Germany and gigged there as well.
Vikki's talent and professionalism have earned her recording session credits with such artists as David Bromberg, Richie Barron and former "Tubes" guitarist Bill Spooner as well as the reputation as one of the San Francisco Bay area's finest vocalists !
As many of you know, watching Vikki Lee "live" is always a very exciting experience. She was absolutely born to be on stage in front of an audience. Vikki can sing and play any type of music from simple folk, sweet soul, funky rhythm and blues, light jazz, contemporary pop and hard rock and roll - all the way to her present traditional and alternative country-rock song stylings.
A creative, versatile musician, Ms. Lee carries on her resume an artist endorsement from respected equipment manufacturer Dean Markley for her solid work on the slide guitar - she can really rip it up !
But Vikki Lee would not be Vikki Lee without a band, her own band, a good tight band that she has put together herself, a band she gigs with, a band she hangs with and a band she even books all the gigs for !
Vikki's band has had many incarnations through the years - from Vikki Lee and the Convertibles through The Vikki Lee Band up to the many versions of her present group, Sticky Vikki and the Pinecones. While Vikki has truly enjoyed all of her bands, she has some very special words for the current line-up of her brand-spanking "new" Sticky Vikki and the Pinecones: "Finally, I really do have my dream band. I play all the music I like and want to play, exactly the way I want to play it. I just love these guys ! They are the best band in the world to play with and to be with !"
And Vikki Lee should know ! She has fronted some really great units and played with some really great players including Kenny Dale Johnson (Chris Isaak Band), Kevin Wells (Elvis Costello), Amos Garrett (Anne Murray, Maria Muldaur, Jeff Muldaur), Jimmy Pugh and Kevin Hayes (Robert Cray Band), Mac Cridlin (Pointer Sisters, Hoo Doo Rhythm Devils), Johnny Tremolo and the premier San Francisco horn section of Keith Crossan and Tim Hyland (Marty Balin, KBC Band).

Glenn Glenn, Vicky Lee, Albert Lee, Jan. 2007

Tom Petty, Dhani Harrison, Prince

Delbert Mc Clinton    was born Nov. 4, 1940, in Lubbock, Texas. He honed his craft working in a bar band, the Straitjackets, backing visiting blues giants such as Sonny Williamson, Howlin' Wolf, Lightnin' Hopkins and Jimmy Reed. He made his first recordings as a member of the Ron-Dels and was noted for his distinctive harmonica work on Bruce Channel's 1962 hit "Hey Baby." On a tour of the UK with Channel, McClinton met a young John Lennon and advised him on his harmonica technique, resulting in the sound heard on the Beatles hit "Love Me Do." 

Eric Clapton mit Melody, Tochter von Wayne Lee

Rodney Crowell Band with Tony Levin.

John McNally, Kingsize Taylor, Frank Allen

Downtown Blues Club Hamburg, Kingsize Taylor, Gastsänger bei Albert Lee & Hogan's Heroes.

2003

Paule & Otto in Hamburg 2001

George Harrison

Musicians on "Run Devil Run": David Gilmoure, Ian Paice, Paul McCartney, Mick Green, Pete Wingfield and Doug Lacey (front)

Dexys Midnight Runners (Main Performer), Andy Leek (Organ), Andy Growcott (Drums), Al Archer (Guitar), Jeff Blythe (Horn), Jeff Blythe (Saxophone), Tony Cousins (Remastering), Barry Hammond (Engineer), Mick Talbot (Keyboards), Big Jim Paterson (Trombone), Jimmy Paterson (Horn), Kevin Rowland (Bass), Kevin Rowland (Guitar), Kevin Rowland (Piano), Kevin Rowland (Vocals), Peter Saunders (Organ), Steve Spooner (Horn), Steve Spooner (Sax (Alto)), Pete Williams (Bass), Pete Wingfield (Producer), Peter Barrett (Artwork), Kevin Archer (Guitar), Kevin Archer (Vocals), Kevin Archer (Liner Notes), Nigel Reeve (Enhanced CD Design)

Dustin und Paul

Al Perkins, Keith Richards, James Burton

Joe South, 2003 Songwriting Award, Atlanta. I played 1984 whit him, very proud of it.

Luca Olivieri, Jerry Donahue, James Burton, Tommy Emanuel.

REUNION SHOWS THIS SEPTEMBER
IN SOUTH DAKOTA

Chris Gage, Hank Harris, Kenny Putnam,
Marley Forman and Barry Carpenter
Red Willow Band on MySpace.com Red Willow Band - Reunion!
A Concert for SD Public Broadcasting
CD and DVD release March 3, 2007

Singer/songwriter Christine Albert drew on both her family's European heritage and the musical legacy of her adopted home state of Texas to create her unique sound. Born and raised in upstate New York, Albert moved to Santa Fe, NM, at the age of 16 and began to pursue a career in music. After settling in Austin in 1982, she became a fixture on the area's club scene, but did not release her first LP, You Are Gold, until 1990. Her next LP, 1992's Texafrance, was a bilingual affair that explored her family's French roots while seeking a common ground between the music of Patsy Cline and Edith Piaf. Released in 1993, The High Road marked a renewed focus on straight-ahead country, a trend further developed by 1995's Underneath the Lone Star Sky. I was on Tour with her in 1995 in Europe with my Band "Duck Stop"

Chris Gage, Christine Albert, Jimmy Dale Gilmoure

Scotty Moore & Earl Scruggs

Brent Mason & Billy Gibbons

Brent Mason is one of the most in-demand guitarists in Country Music. Growing up in a musical family, Mason taught himself how to play guitar starting at age 5. After graduating from high school in 1981, Mason moved to Nashville to pursue music full-time. He landed a regular gig at the Stage Coach Lounge where one night Country Music Hall of Fame member Chet Atkins was in the audience. Atkins invited Mason to play on his album, Stay Tuned, and news of Mason's talent spread throughout Music City. Mason has played on albums for Montgomery Gentry, Alan Jackson, The Mavericks, Trisha Yearwood and many more. He's also written numerous instrumental pieces for television and radio programs and performed guitar on tracks used in commercials. Nominated 12 times for CMA Musician of the Year, Mason took home the trophy in 1997 and 1998. Responding to requests to learn his techniques, Mason produced his own instruction video, "Brent Mason's Nashville Chops & Western Swing Guitar." In 1997, Mason released an instrumental album, Hot Wired.

Scotty Moore & Carl Perkins

Carl & his Fans

While some ill-informed revisionist writers of rock history would like to dismiss Carl Perkins as a rockabilly artist who became a one-hit wonder at the dawn of rock & roll's early years, a deeper look at his music and career reveals much more. A quick look at his songwriting portfolio shows that he composed "Daddy Sang Bass" for Johnny Cash, "I Was So Wrong" for Patsy Cline, and "Let Me Tell You About Love" for the Judds, big hits and classics all. His influence as the quintessential rockabilly artist has played a big part in the development of every generation of rockers to come down the pike since, from the Beatles' George Harrison to the Stray Cats' Brian Setzer to a myriad of others in the country field as well. His guitar style is the other twin peak -- along with that of Elvis' lead man Scotty Moore -- of rockabilly's instrumental center, so pervasive that modern-day players automatically gravitate toward it when called upon to deliver the style, not even realizing that they're playing Perkins licks, sometimes note for note. As a singer, his interpretation of country ballads is every bit as fine as his better-known rockers. And within the framework of the best of his music is a strong sense of family and roots, all of which trace straight back to his humble beginnings.

Duane, Scotty, James.

Im Dezember 2004 erlebten die berühmten Abbey Road Studios in London ein einmaliges Aufgebot an legendären Star-Gitarristen. In einem Tribute To The King folgten der Einladung von Elvis erstem Gitarristen, erstem Manager und lebenslangem Freund, Scotty Moore, eine Reihe internationaler Größen wie Eric Clapton, Pink Floyd's David Gilmour, Bill Wyman, Albert Lee, Mark Knopfler, Steve Gibbons, T-Dabbeljuh, Mike Sanchez und viele mehr.

Altogether in Abbey Road 2004

Great show!

Legends

Ringo Starr, Jim Keltner, Levon Helm - drei großartige Drummer. Levon ist zudem ein toller Sänger.

Pete Wingfield, Rock'n'Roll Hall Of Fame at the "Bullet" entry

Albert und Marcel Dadi

In between with The Fuzzy Dice

And with Steve Morse at NAMM Anaheim

The finale jam was the clencher. Helm and the BB's, Weider and his guys, Albert Lee and Dave Edmunds also on guitars. The jam went on for an hour or more through 4 encores. No one wanted to leave, crowd or muscians. The two crowd favorites it seemed were all the musicans joining together and doing "The Weight" and "Don't Do It". My favorite sight of the night was watching Rando and Levon smiling and playing to each other, side by side, driving the beat. Haven't seen that since 1997. As Butch always says: "Shoulda ... Coulda ... been there".
- Joe Lore, The Band guestbook, June 16, 2002 -

Jim Weider & Albert Lee, Harbor Festival, Sackets Harbor, NY, June 15, 2002

Steve Winwood & Albert in Wien 2004

Buddy Miller ist einer der ganz wenigen begnadeten Allroundmusiker unserer Zeit, die gleich in mehreren Kategorien imponieren. Ob als technisch herausragender, stets um Innovation bemühter Gitarrist, als charakterstarker, emotional beteiligter Sänger, als Songschreiber allererster Güte, dessen Titel gerne gecovert werden, oder als gefragter Produzent, der als solcher schon für Jim Lauderdale, Greg Trooper, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Vigilantes Of Love und last not least Emmylou Harris gewirkt hat. Mit all diesen Talenten gesegnet, steht der Mann aus Nashville mindestens auf einer Stufe mit seinem kalifornischen Pendant Dave Alvin oder Gurf Morlix aus Texas.

Steve Lukather, Martin Taylor, Albert Lee

Ein bisschen Jammen mit Rick Vito, Jimmy Bournette, Gary Buse at Superbowl 27

Albert und sein Sohn Wayne in Putney "halfmoon"

AL&HH'S at Borderline

June 8, 2005: Guitar legend Albert Lee drew a crowd of nearly 300 people at a recent Ernie Ball Music Man-sponsored clinic hosted at PMT Music Lawley at Middleway in Birmingham, UK.

AL & HH, 05.03.2006 at Cavern

2005 Anzere  Switzerland Pas de Maimbre

The Crickets and Chas & Dave

2009 Grammy Award Winner

Lonnie's son, Peter Donegan, at Eddy Cochran Festival

Flyer Hailsham

Lonnie just rolls back the yearsIT'S a wonderful thing, this medical science.
Before the show we were told Lonnie Donegan had been suffering with back
trouble, his doctors had advised him to cancel but, with the aid of
painkilling injections, he was determined to go on.
Well, I don't know what they gave him, but I want the prescription.
For the next 90 minutes this 71- year-old legend reminded us of just what
he means to rock and roll in the UK with a performance that turned back
time. Songs like It Takes A Worried Man, Grand Coulee Dam, Sloop John B
and Putting On The Style, inspired everyone from Marty Wilde to Lennon and
McCartney.
Local boy made good Vince Eager said as much as he stepped out to duet
with his hero on two songs - Bring A Little Water Suzie and Midnight
Special.
It was all part of the Lonnie Donegan showcase as the King of Skiffle
proved he can still rattle out a good rock song, rustle up some Cajun
rhythms and search out some soulful blues.
Along the way, he even reminded us that he was the co-writer behind a
little ditty that brought some success to Tom Jones and Elvis Presley, a
song called Never Gonna Fall In Love Again.
The finale included the definitive skiffle hit Rock Island Line, getting
the audience out of their seats, before he finished with This Might Be The
Last TimeAt 72, you have to think that he is right, but Lonnie seemed to be
having so much fun he might just keep his promise to return again.

Donna Boyd, Frank Ifield, Albert Lee at Americana 2006

07.04.2006, Bootley Hill Farmhouse, Wayne Lee on Piano with his Dad.

GRAMMY-award-winning guitar player Albert Lee joined Eve Selis and the band onstage for their DVD-Release Party at the Poway Center for the Performing Arts. Photo by Ron Baker. Oct.11.2003

with his Ferrari in Las Vegas

Seymour Duncan, Arlen Roth, Albert Lee jammin

MB 500K +Albert & Family in Reno

13.03.2008 Sinzheim, Albert Lee's Hogans Heroes with Georg, Jill Morris

Ticket for Chippenham, the town hi died.

George Guild in Paris

Everly Brothers Band

Pete Wingfield & Paul Mc Cartney & Mr. David Gilmour

Martin Taylor, Steve Howe, Albert, Tommy Emanuel 
(f.l.t.r.)

 Hailed by Chet Atkins as "Without a doubt, one of the greatest guitar players on the planet," Tommy Emmanuel has electrified audiences from Steve Kaufman's diminutive Palace Theater in Maryville, Tennessee to the closing ceremony of the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia. Having concertized throughout much of the civilized world, this dynamic performer who, in his words "happens to be a pretty good guitarist," made his way to the fabled competition in Winfield Kansas as a guest artist for the first time in 2000. Shortly before Tommy's performances there, parking lot pickers were said to have ceased jamming and moved trance like in droves to a venue designed to hold perhaps 500, now packed with three times that number all to hear Tommy Emmanuel play an acoustic guitar!

Although he has acted as a mentor to a dedicated few young guitarists in his native Australia, Tommy seems destined to make his mark performing on the world stage. His impeccable taste, flawless technique, and engaging personality have inspired fans and critics alike.

Birelli Lagrene & Martin Taylor

(

f. l. t. r.) Bruce Welch, Joe Brown, George Harrison, Mike Read, Chas McDevitt, Lonnie Donegan, Bert Weedon, Brian May and Dec Cluskey - the Rat Pack

Jimmi Page, King Rat Chas McDevitt, Nico McBrain

"NANCY & CHAS" EP July 57:
Freight Train / Greenback Dollar
Worried Man / I’m Satisfied

David Oxtoby, Albert, Frank Allen

Pukka blokes

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:
Albert Lee - Lead Guitar
Pete Oakman - Bass Guitar
Jed Kelly - Drums
Gerry Hogan - Steel Guitar

Star-Club Hamburg April 1968 with Chris Farlowe and the Thunderbirds

Albert Lee & Hogans Heroes at Mirande Festival 2004

James Burton International Guitar Festival August 22/2009 Shreveport LA

Albert, Oivin Fjeld Mr G#, Lee Dickson ist EC's Guitar Techniker, und Oivin Fjeld, der die erste Elektrische Ukulele gebaut hat.

Mr. G#

Gerry smokes like a chimney, used to drink like a fish and, happily, still plays drums like, well, Gerry Conway.

cool prices

Chris Farlowe & Albert Lee 1962 at Star-Club Hamburg

Interwiev im Englischen Beat Beat Beat Magazin 1966

Original HH & F

13.11.1971

Jerry Lee & Albert Lee: Aufnahme zur LP "London Sessions"

"London Sessions"

Jerry Lee in der Royal Albert Hall 2004

Heads Hands And Feet 1972

Derek Lawrence Sessions Take 1 - Albert Lee,Tony WilsonThe Derek Lawrence Sessions Take 1 Getaway - Ritchie Blackmore OrchestraSummertime - SenateMercy, Mercy - The Vipp'sSatisfy My Soul - Ronnie JonesI Feel Fine - Tony WilsonI Am The Preacher - Derek Lawrence Statement

poet and the one man band

Great Band 1972

HH&F

Cheap ticket

Six weeks on number one in UK

CD Albert Lee - Black Claw and Country Fever
Line LCD 9.01057  - 1991 German Release
Line (DA Music)  1. März 1994
Line (Audio CD) - June 1994

Track list 1. That's Alright Mama (Crudup),
2. What A Stupid Thing To Do (Chas Hodges),
3. Best I Can (Albert Lee),
4. Send Me Back To The Mines (Albert Lee, Corlette) ,
5. The Fool (with strings) (Lee Hazelwood) ,
6. Another Useless Day (Chas Hodges), 7. Six Days On The Road (Dudley) ,
8. Good Times (Vanda, Young), 9. St. Louis (Vanda, Young),
10. Brother Preacher , (Chas Hodges, Derek Lawrence) ,
11. Country In Harlem (Albert Lee, Corlette)
12. Look Out Cleveland (Robbie Robertson, Levon Helm),
13. Tears Of Range (Bob Dylan)
14. Mama Come Get Your Baby Boy (Albert Lee, Corlette),
15. Memphis Streets (Neil Diamond), 16. Long Gone (Neil Diamond),
17. Too Much Of Nothing (Bob Dylan),
18. Rocky Top (Trad-arr. by Albert Lee),
19. Tonight I'll Be Staying Here (Bob Dylan),
20 Mama Tried (Merle Haggard),
21. Lay Lady Lay (Bob Dylan),
22. The Fool (without strings) (Lee Hazelwood) 

1976

HH&F

"Following the dissolution of Poet and the One Man Band, Albert Lee (guitar), Pete Gavin (drums), Tony Colton (vocals) and Ray Smith (guitar) got together with Chas Hodges (bass, violin, vocals) and Mike O'Neill (keyboards) to form the country-influenced Heads, Hands and Feet and recorded a double album that had a great deal in common with the work of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and the Grateful Dead at that time. Their self-titled debut album, populated with guests from the folk and singer-songwriter scenes, was released as a double record in the U.S., but only as a single album in Europe. The record was very well regarded, with Lee's guitar work garnering attention.
Keyboardist O'Neill departed soon after the album's release, and the band proceeded to move away from country influences and towards rock. While the band was able to record and release Tracks to a certain amount of acclaim, internal strife caused continuing problems, splintering the band before the 1973 release of Old Soldiers Never Die, which marked the group's move to Atlantic Records. In 1996, See For Miles released Home From Home, a collection of recordings and demos made before the band's first label signing. Albert Lee moved on to found the Albert Lee Band with Pete Gavin and Chas Hodges and eventually joined Eric Clapton's band. Chas Hodges later formed the duo Chas & Dave with Dave Peacock."
- Steven McDonald, All Music Guide -

1972

With Herbie Mann

Heads Hands & Feet war beinahe eine Superband. Alle Mitspieler sammelten Erfahrungen in renomierten Bands und lernten hier ihr Handwerk. Sie kamen von den Outlaws (mit Ritchie Blackmore), Mike Berry, Cliff Bennett, Donovan, Duffy Power, Wilson Pickett, Jerry Lee Lewis, Delaney & Bonnie, Mike Warner, George Guild und noch einigen anderen. Erstmals trafen sich Lee, Colton, Smith und Gavin unter dem Namen: Poet & The One Man Band (Colton, Smith, O'Neill, Gavin, Lee, Pat Donaldson und Jerry Donahue).

His first album released on the Epic label in 1980, was 'Take One', featuring the renowned lead guitarist, Albert Lee.  Lifted from this album, the long awaited hit single, 'Hot Dog', was released in the same year - reaching #24 in the charts.  Six months later he had a top 20 hit with 'Marie, Marie',

The Country Fever & Black Crow Sessions

Guitar, vocals: J.J. Cale
Guitar, vocals: Eric Clapton
Guitar: Doyle Bramhall II
Guitar: Derek Trucks
Guitar: John Mayer
Guitar: Albert Lee
Bass: Gary Gilmore
Bass: Willie Weeks
Bass: Nathan East
Bass: Pino Palladino
Drums, Percussion: Jim Karstein
Drums, Percussion: James Cruce
Drums: Steve Jordan
Drums: Abraham Laboriel Junior
Percussion: David Teegarden
Hammond Organ, W. Piano & Rhodes: B. Preston
Acoustic Piano, W. Piano & Rhodes: W. Richmond
Keyboards: J.J. Cale
Acoustic Guitar & Background Vocals: Christine Lakeland
Harmonica: Taj Mahal
Fiddle: Dennis Caplinger
Horns: Bruce Fowler
Horns: Marty Grebb
Horns: Steve Madaio
Horns: Jerry Peterson    November 2006

Guitar, vocals: Eric Clapton
Guitar, vocals, keyboards: Albert Lee
Bass: Dave Markee
Drums: Henry Spinetti
Keyboards: Chris Stainton

Jerry Lee Lewis, London Session

Performed by Robben Ford, Albert Lee, Paul Gilbert, Jerry Donahue. Edited by Aaron Stang. CPP books (Guitar tablature). 68 pages. Published by Warner Brothers. (CPM0005CD)
Volume 1 and Volume 2 each contain: nine killer rock, blues and country play-along tracks, a live rhythm section featuring Musicians Institute staff artists, demo solos by monster guitarists, and complete rhythm charts and solo transcriptions with tablature. The books contain both an analysis of each progression and a transcription of each demonstration solo. Fingerings for some practical scales are diagramed and easily accessible. The guitarist has all the tools he needs at his disposal to jam with some great tracks!

Howie Epstein - ac.guitar/banjo/vocals
Albert Lee - guitar/mandolin/piano
Bob Metzger - guitar/dobro
James Burton, Frank Reckard - ac.guitar
Jay Dee Mayness - steel
Doug Atwell - fiddle
David Lindley - banjo/fiddle
John Ciambotti - bass
Ed Greene - drums
Benmont Tench, Barry Goldberg - piano
Eddie Baytos, Phil Parlapiano - accordion
Phil Kensey - sax
Vocals:
Jim Photoglo, Jim Lauderdale, Kevin Welch, Dave Edmunds, Levon Helm, Keith Knudsen, Vince Melamed,
Nicolette Larson, Robert Ellis Orrall, Kiki Dee, June Carter Cash

Green Bullfrog was a one-day studio project made in 1971. Producer Derek Lawrence's idea, it was realized by a stellar group of musicians. For contractual reasons, the musicians were billed under pseudonyms:
Albert Lee = Pinta
Matthew Fisher = Sorry
Ian Paice, of Deep Purple = Speedy
Tony Ashton = Bevy
Rod Alexander = Vicar
Chas Hodges = Sleepy
Earl Jordan = Jordan
Big Jim Sullivan = Boss
Ritchie Blackmore, of Deep Purple = Boots
A few originals (penned by Lawrence) were played, as well as many blues-inflected covers of rock songs. A record of this session was released in 1972. It was distributed by Decca records.
Four tracks recorded by Green Bullfrogs have been published on RITCHIE BLACKMORE - GET AWAY - GROUPS & SESSIONS in 2005.
Producer: Derek Lawrence
Engineer: Martin Birch
Recorded at De Lane Lea Studios, London.
It was remixed at Abbey Road Studios, London in 1991 by Derek Lawrence.

Bill's thrills released May 10 2004

Bill Wyman & his all star band The Rhythm Kings return with their fifth album intent on securing a hat-trick of UK Jazz & Blues chart album number ones. "Just For A Thrill" has Wyman's usual hit formula -real music, great players, wonderful guests, great songs, some old, some new - & an ever-growing audience just waiting to hear what the former Rolling Stones bassist has come up with now although many had a preview on the band's autumn 2003 tour which culminated in a sold out show at London's Royal Albert Hall. With more dates under his belt in January 2004 & with festival appearances set for summer 2004 before returning for a UK theatre tour this coming autumn, Bill & the boys(& girl) don't disappoint with the new album, released May 10 on R&M records. Lead vocalists Georgie Fame, Beverley Skeete, Albert Lee & Mike Sanchez tackle blues & jazz standards, old classics from Wyman's encyclopaedic collection & even a Beatles cover together with brand new songs with equal aplomb. And with a band that features Fame & Sanchez on keyboards, Albert Lee & Terry Taylor on guitars, Graham Broad on drums, & the horn section of Frank Mead & Nick Payn plus the man himself on bass, the tracks are equally sizzling. And did we forget to mention-a certain Mark Knopfler, yes, of Dire Straits fame, adds his guitar virtuosity as well. With Bill's high profile as an author, both on his former band & on the blues, together with his Sticky Fingers restaurant, & his legendary status in the music industry, the man is busier than ever before. "Just For A Thrill" - an early classic for Ray Charles & the title track of the Rhythm Kings fifth album - is destined to thrill both old & new fans in the coming year 

1975

Guitar, vocals: Eric Clapton
Guitar: Albert Lee
Guitar: Ry Cooder
Bass: Duck Dunn
Drums: Roger Hawkins
Keyboards: Chris Stainton

Date: 1977

Sundown PHONOGRAM

Comments: Lonnie Donegan album features Albert Lee, European release

Date: 1984

No Introduction Necessary
Label: THUNDERBOLT

UK Release. With Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones.

Date: 1981

Another Ticket
Label: RSO

Eric Clapton album features Albert Lee

Date: 1973
Old Soldiers Never Die
Label: ATLANTIC

Gemini Suite (1971)
Purple/Line Records
1. Guitar Movement (Lord)
Albert Lee
2. Piano Movement (Lord)
Jon Lord
3. Drums Movement (Lord)
Ian Paice
4. Vocals Movement (Lord)
Tony Ashton and Yvonne Elliman
5. Bass Movement (Lord)
Roger Glover
6. Organ Movement (Lord)
Jon Lord

Date: 1969
Date Order:
Album Title: With A Little Help From My Friends
Label: REGALZONO
Catalog: SLRZ 1006
Comments: Joe Cocker album features Albert Lee, UK release

Line-up:

Horst Jabs – vocals/guitar

Thomas Weick – lead guitar

Georg Grimm – bass


Special guest:

Albert Lee – lead guitar (#1,2,3,4)

Lisa Nicola – keyboard

Wolfgang Eckerz – violin

(2006)

Toolin Around
Aquinnah Records is proud to announce the upcoming re-release of Arlen Roth's classic 1993 recording, Toolin' Around! This cd, originally on Blue Plate in Nashville, features some amazing duets with some of Arlen's best guitar-slinging buddies, such as DANNY GATTON, BRIAN SETZER, DUANE EDDY, ALBERT LEE, JERRY DOUGLAS, DUKE ROBILLARD, SAM BUSH and a vocal with BILL LLOYD. This new release will also include an all-new DVD on "The Making Of" the album, with lots of exciting and rare footage in the studio, including some great segments with 'Cowboy" JACK CLEMENT in Nashville. There are also some great solo pieces by AR as well, such as "Whiter Shade of Pale", "I Can't Stop Loving You", and his classic "When a Man Loves a Woman", called by Guitar Player "likely the most intense workout ever recorded on a Telecaster". Don't miss this classic in all it's new glory! A MUST for all guitar lovers!

Johnny Cash (as Frank James), lead vocal
Rosanne Cash (as Ma Samuel), lead vocal
Doniwan Cowart (as Bob Ford), vocal/engineer
Martin Cowart (as Charley Ford), vocal
Rodney Crowell (as The Officer), lead vocal
Charlie Daniels (as Cole Young), lead vocal/fiddle/slide guitar
Jesse Ed Davis, slide guitar/electric guitar
Nick De Caro, accordion/arrangements
Sean Fullan, engineer
Emory Gordy, bass
Tim Gorman, piano
Emmylou Harris (as Zerelda James), lead vocal/acoustic guitar
Levon Helm (as Jesse James) lead vocal/drums/harmonica
Glynn Johns, producer/engineer
Paul Kennerley (as Sheriff Timberlake), lead vocal/writer/composer/guitars
Bernie Leadon, banjo/acoustic guitar
Albert Lee (as Jim Younger), lead vocal/guitars/mandolin
Jody Payne (as Doc Samuel), lead vocal
Doug Sax, engineer

Chris Farlowe (vocals)
Albert Lee (guitar)
Pat Donaldson (bass)
Jean Roussel (keyboards)
Chris Mercer (sax)
Ron Carthy (trumpet)
Madeline Bell (backing vocals)
Joanne Williams (backing vocals)
Gerry Conway (drums)
Dec. 1975

LUIS CONTE -- percussion & vocals
ABRAHAM LABORIEL -- bass
Jeff Richmann-- rhythm guitar, lead guitar DAVE WECKL -- drums
PETER WOLF -- keys & organ, associate producer
Luis Conte Jr. -- additional percussion (3)
Robben Ford -- lead guitar (8)
Eric Gales -- lead guitar (3)
Frank Gambale -- lead guitar (7)
Eric Johnson -- lead guitar (6)
Albert Lee -- lead guitar (9)
Pat Martino -- lead guitar (5)
Coco Montoya -- lead guitar (10)
Vinnie Moore -- lead guitar (1)
Mike Stern -- lead guitar (4)
Paul Ericksen -- engineer, mixing
Richard Mullen -- engineer
Paul Tavenner -- overdub engineer
Ken Wallace -- overdub engineer
Gary Novak -- overdub engineer
Alfonso Rodenas -- overdub engineer
Chris Swenson -- overdub engineer
Mike Varney -- executive producer
Max Crace, Lisa Moore, Steve Jennings

CD  Albert Lee & Hogan's Heroes  - "Like This"
released:  March 2008,  Label: Heroic

Tracklist:
1 Skip Rope Song , 2 Can your grandpa rock and roll like this, 3 Leave my woman alone, 4   On the verge,  5  I'm coming home,  6   Runaway train, 7  I'll never get over you,  8   Barnyard boogie,   9 Two step too ,10 Why me, 11  Pearl of the quarter, 12  Breathless, 13  Crying in the rain, 14  Rad Gumbo.

CD Albert Lee & Hogan's Heroes - "In between the cracks" 
 released March 2007, Label: Heroic
 Track list:  1. That is Rock and Roll, 2. Everytime I roll the dice, 3. Hangin' on,
 4. I can't quit you, 5. Brand new heartache, 6. Pulling it off, 7. Fool's gold,
 8. I am a man of constant sorrow, 9. Don't, 10. Before I grow too old,
 11. Only with you, 12. She's so hot, 13. Wake up screaming,
14. Sleepless nights

Singer/bassist Doug Phelps and singer/guitarist Ricky Lee Phelps first started performing together in their teens, learning to harmonize like the Everly Brothers. After leaving the Kentucky Headhunters in 1992, they formed their own project, Brother Phelps, which contrary to appearances was actually their minister father's nickname.

CD Albert Lee - MCA  - October 25, 1990Track listing: Flowers of Edinburgh; Don't Let Go; Midnight Special; Tiger Rag; Forty Miles of Bad Road; Fun Ranch Boogie; Walkin' After Midnight; Schoen Rosmarin; Country Gentleman; Monte Nido; Oklahoma Stroke

Anyway The Wind Blows
Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings
Record Label: BMG / RCA Victor
Release Date: 23 February 1999

Albert Lee Track listing: T-Bird To Vegas; Bullish Boogie; Seventeenth Summer; Salt Creek; Arkansas Traveller; Cannonball; Romany Rye; Erin

With a Little Help from My Friends (April 1969)
Joe Cocker - Lead Vocals
Chris Stainton - Organ, Bass, Piano, Keyboards
Denny Cordell - Producer
Henry McCullough - Guitar
Mike Kellie - Drums
David Cohen - Guitar
Albert Lee - Guitar
Jimmy Page - Guitar
Tony Visconti - Guitar, Mixing
Carol Kaye - Bass
Steve Winwood - Keyboards
Tommy Eyre - Keyboards
Matthew Fisher - Organ
Artie Butler - Piano
Clem Cattini - Drums
Laudir DeOliveira - Percussion
Paul Humphrey - Drums
Kenny Slade - Drums
B.J. Wilson - Drums
Madeline Bell - Vocals
Merry Clayton - Vocals
Sue Glover - Vocals
Rosetta Hightower - Vocals
Brenda Holloway - Vocals
Patrice Holloway - Vocals
Sunny Leslie - Vocals
Sunny Wheetman - Vocals

 

Stingray (April 1976)
Patti Austin - Vocals
Bonnie Bramlett - Vocals
Eric Clapton - Guitar
Joe Cocker - Lead Vocals
Cornell Dupree - Guitar
Gordon Edwards - Bass
Felix "Flaco" Falcon - Percussion
Flaco - Conga
Steve Gadd - Guitar, Drums
Eric Gale - Guitar, Arranger
Lani Groves - Vocals
Gwen Guthrie - Vocals
Albert Lee - Guitar
Phyllis Lindsay - Vocals
Sam Rivers - Saxophone, Sax (Soprano)
Richard Tee - Organ, Arranger, Keyboards, Associate Producer
Brenda White - Vocals
Maxine Willard - Vocals
Deniece Williams - Vocals 


 

LP Polydor (August 1982)  POLS1067 Sweet Little Lisa, Radio Girl, Your Boys, So Sad (To Watch Good Love Go Bad),Rock 'n' Roll Man,Real Wild Child, On The Boulevard, Pink Bedroom, The Best I Can,One Way Rider

1984 with Lawrence Juber and Dorian Michael

Personnel includes: Bill Wyman (bass); Albert Lee (vocals, guitar); Georgie Fame (vocals, piano, organ); Gary Brooker (vocals, organ); Beverley Skeete (vocals); Terry Taylor, Tommy Emmanuel (acoustic & electric guitars); Martin Taylor (guitar); Mick Taylor (slide guitar); Dave Hartley (piano); Graham Broad (drums); Ray Cooper (percussion)

Personnel: Chet Atkins, Larry Coryell, Steve Morse, Albert Lee, Bucky Barrett (guitar); Buddy Emmons (pedal steel guitar, dobro); Bela Fleck (banjo); Buddy Spicher (fiddle); Charlie McCoy (harmonica); Brian Radford (trumpet); Herb Jervis (trombone); Bob Patin (piano); Craig Nelson (bass guitar); Kenneth Buttrey (drum).

Stormy

"Let The Good Times Roll"
features two full-length live performances from former Rolling Stone Bill Wyman's "roots" project, The Rhythm Kings, recorded on their January 2004 European tour. With a rock-solid band, Wyman performs some of the classics of early rock'n'roll.

CD Albert Lee - That's allright Mama      
(different release dates - cover is from the compilation)
Label: Castle: Release Date: 2003-09-30
Label: Castle US, Release Date: 2003-11-18 Track list: 1. That's allright Mama - Albert Lee,
2. Best I can  - Albert Lee, 3. Long gone - Albert Lee, 4. Too much of nothing - Albert Lee,
5. Only Daddy that'll walk the line  - Albert Lee,
6. Mama tried - Albert Lee, 7. Rocky top Tennessee - Albert Lee,
8. Country in Harlem  - Albert Lee, 9. Lay Lady Lay - Albert Lee,
10. Memphis Streets - Albert Lee, 11. Tears of Rage - Albert Lee,
12. Victim - Albert Lee, 13. Tonight I'll Be Staying Here With You - Albert Lee,
14.  Mama Come Get Your Baby Boy - Albert Lee,
15. Fool - Albert Lee, 16. Send Me Back to the Mines - Albert Lee,
17. Undiscovered - Albert Lee, 18. Across the Great Divide - Black Claw,
19. Good Times - Black Claw, 20. Sally - Black Claw,
21. I Can't Live Out the Day [#] - Black Claw, 22. Six Days on the Road - Black Claw,
23. Walkin' Shoes - Black Claw, 24. Around and Around - Black Claw,
25. St Louis - Black Claw, 26. Look Out Cleveland - Black Claw,
27. Brother Preacher - Black Claw

EC Band 1981

Struttin' Our Stuff (1998)

Time Step 1983. Producer:  T-Bone Burnett
Engineer:  Donivan Cowart
2nd Engineer:  Alan Vashon
Recorded at Magnolia Sound, North Hollywood, California
Mastered at Mastering Lab by Arnie Acosta

Leo Kottke:  12 string guitar and vocals
David Kemper:  drums
David Miner:  bass
Albert Lee:  6-string guitar on "Starving" and "Julie's House" and background vocals
Emmylou Harris:  background vocals
Don Heffington:  drums and percussion on "The Wrong Track"
Dennis Keeley:  percussion on "The Bungle Party" and "Running All Night Long"
Special Thanks to Brian Abern, Stuart Taylor, and Magnolia Sound
Management:  W.F. Leopold
Emmylou Harris courtesy Warner Brothers Records
Albert Lee courtesy Polygram Records

CD Albert Lee - Hiding/Albert Lee [ 2f or 1]
 (first release 1979 bzw 1982)
 Digitally remastered - 2 classic solo albums on the one CD for the first time.

Track list: 1.Country Boy; 2.Billy Tyler; 3.Are You Wasting My Time,
4.Now and Then It's Gonna Rain; 5.On a Real Good Night, 6.Setting Me Up;
7.Ain't Livin' Long Like This, 8.Hiding; 9.Hotel Love;
10.Come Up and See Me Anytime; 11.Sweet Little Lisa, 12. Radio girl
13. Your Boys, 14. So Sad, 15. Rock'n Roll man, 16. Real Wild Child,
17. On the boulevard, 18. Pink bedroom,
19. Best I can,  20. One way rider,
21.Blue Side of town [*bonus track] Japanese Version

1988

Grammy Award winner

CD Albert Lee - "Real Wild Child"
 Track list same as "Albert Lee"
 plus "Ain't got no reason"

At the Sportatorium on June 30, Clapton performed "I Shot the Sherif" and "Blow Wind Blow" with  Muddy Waters. It was the great man's last live apearance: he died in the following April in Chicago,

Tear It Up 2002. On the Cover, Alberts Father and Grandfather having much Fun   CD Albert Lee & Hogan's Heroes - Tear it up
Label: Heroic - May 27, 2003

Track list:  I'm ready; Rock around with Ollie Vee; Take your time; Back in the USA;
Last date; On the rebound; Jitterbug boogie; If you see me getting smaller;
Gone too long; Luxury liner; Country comfort; Singing the blues; 'Til I gain control again;
Tear it up; Down to the wire

with his Cousine Vikki Lee

18.10.1994 Liner notes by Sonny Curtis.
Whatever your musical tastes are, I think you will love this album. I certainly do.
The music you are about to hear has a great feel, tremendous excitement and
a spontaneity that is typical of Albert Lee and Hogan's Heroes.
The modern recording studio is a great tool and well planned records can be very nice.
However, If one is not careful in the studio, complex arrangements, too much overdubbing,
noise reduction and things of that nature can make the music sound sterile and spoil
the record. That does not happen here.
This is a "live" album in the truest sense of the word.
What occurred on stage is what you're gonna hear. I've had the honour to play with all
of these guys. Albert and I were in the Crickets together and we've both served,
at different times, as lead guitarist for the Everly Bros. I'm sure you will agree that
Albert Lee is a trailblazing, trend setting guitar player and his great singing style has
a unique quality that is all his own. Gerry, Brian, Pete and Mike have backed me
on concert tours and, believe me, my music never sounded so good.
I have enormous respect for this band. Each member is great, but as far as
I'm concerned, when you put them all together,they're a musical miracle.
If you get the chance to see Albert Lee and Hogan's Heroes in person, please do so.
It is an experience you will enjoy immeasurably. In the meantime, listen to this.
It will do you right."

Practise-Video

2004 Grammy Nominee!

Nominated for best country instrumental performance: "Billy in the Low Ground," Asleep at the Wheel; "Puppies 'N Knapsacks," Sam Bush; "Luxury Liner," Albert Lee, Vince Gill and Brad Paisley; "Earl's Breakdown," Nitty Gritty Dirt Band featuring Earl Scruggs, Randy Scruggs, Vassar Clements and Jerry Douglas; and "Bowtie," Mark O'Connor, Chris Thile, Bryan Sutton and Byron House.
With his first US studio release in 15 years, British country guitar master Albert Lee sings and plays a personal tribute to his former Hot Band boss Emmylou Harris. These rollicking renditions of both familiar classics and lesser known gems from the Harris songbook are polished by a star-studded cast of guest musicians who complement Albert's own stellar guitar playing and yearning, rock-tinged vocals. Vince Gill, Brad Paisley, Earl Scruggs, Rodney Crowell, Jerry Douglas, Patty Loveless, John David Souther, Buddy Miller, and Maura O'Connell lend their talents, with liner notes by Emmylou Harris.

"This album celebrates ... Albert's extraordinary gifts as a singer, song stylist and brilliant guitar player." --from liner notes by Emmylou Harris

"I couldn't play the guitar the way I do, if it wasn't for Albert Lee." --Vince Gill

Heartbreak Hill is unique in as much as every composition on it emanates from Emmylou Harris‘ songbook. As such it is a quasi tribute to his former boss, who wrote the sleeve notes. In addition, the album features the creme de la creme of American country musicians. The guest list includes: steel guitar whiz Buddy Emmons (on 6 of the 10 tracks), Willie Nelson‘s harmonica player Mickey Raphael (on 3 cuts), dobro maestro Jerry Douglas, banjo legend Earl Scruggs and Vince Gill and Brad Paisley duelling guitars with Lee on the showpiece instrumental, Gram Parsons‘ Luxury Liner. Lending a hand in the vocal harmony department are: Rodney Crowell, J. D. Souther, Patty Loveless, Buddy Miller and Maura O‘Connell. Lee himself sings and plays guitar on every cut, adding the odd piano and mandolin track. It‘s not all wham, bam, thank you Mam, though a lot of it is certainly breakneck (Albert‘s preferred pace !). But for all of its instrumental and vocal harmony brilliance, Heartbreak Hill is disappointingly devoid of excitement and emotion.

Albert Lee’s new album Road Runner - the follow-up to his GRAMMY®-nominated album Heartbreak Hill - embodies LEE's distinctly unmatched abilities!
5-Time Guitar Player Magazine's "Best Country Guitar Picker".
One of the best guitar pickers Nashville has produced is of course an Englishman, and his name, as many know, is Albert Lee. I first became aware of Lee from reading the credits on Dave Edmunds classic album Repeat When Necessary and soon picked up his first solo album back in the 80's. While I enjoyed the sideman's playing, and his choice of material, he didn't sound quite ready for the solo spotlight. Fast forward to 2006 and a more confident, mature vocalist emerges, one with the same great taste in material and some unparallel guitar pickin'. There's lots to like on Lee's latest release, especially the opening title tune which turns an old soul classic into a country barn burner. And the energy never flags, with excellent versions of John Hiatt's "Rock of Your Love" and the Delbert McClinton chestnut "Livin' It Down". Add in tunes from Jimmy Webb, Leo Kottke and Richard Thompson and you have a work that stands along with Edmunds best albums and has touches of influence from the Everlys, Rodney Crowell and mid period Emmy Lou to boot. A very fine ride. reviewed by Michael Meehan

On December 1st, 2003, Albert Lee & Hogan's Heroes appeared before an ecstatic crowd at the legendary New Morning in Paris. Fortunately, cameras were there to record the event, and Live In Paris is a full record of that magical evening. Here you'll find the complete show, as played on the night by Albert and the guys, and featuring some of the most dazzling guitar work you'll ever hear or see. So if you're ready for a two-hour-long feast of rip-roaring rock'n'roll and cutting-edge country music, as served up by the acknowledged master of the art and his great band. Tracklist:
01 I'm Ready 02 Let It Rock 03 Rock Around With Ollie Vee
04 On The Boulevard 05 Restless 06 Take Your Time 07 Tiger Rag
08 Last Date 09 On The Rebound 10 Highwayman 11 Real Wild Child
12 Just Because 13 Evangelina 14 Pink Bedroom
15 If Your See Me Getting Smaller 16 Country Comfort
17 One Way Rider 18 Singin' The Blues
19 'Til I Gain Control Again 20 Country Boy
21 So Sad 22 Tear It Up

Synopsis
Best known for his unique musical style and blindingly fast hybrid picking technique, English guitarist Albert Lee is often referred to within the music industry as the "guitar player's guitar player," renowned for his work across several genres of music and for the respect that he has garnered from other industry giants. This comprehensive biography tells the entire story of Lee's long career and personal experiences, beginning with his upbringing in south London and his early experimentations with skiffle music (the British equivalent of American rockabilly). The story continues into the 1960s, through Lee's career in Chris Farlowe's Thunderbirds and the British rock and country group Heads, Hands, and Feet before covering Lee's move to the United States in the 1970s and his subsequent work with Eric Clapton, the Crickets, Emmylou Harris and the Hot Band, the Everly Brothers, and, more recently, with Bill Wyman and with Hogan's Heroes.Throughout the work, the author sets Lee's career against the background of changes in popular music and assesses how Lee, as a British artist with nomadic Romany roots, has impacted traditionally "American" musical genres. The work includes 66 photographs, many from Lee's personal collection, two appendices, and an extensive bibliography.

Over the last thirty years, Albert Lee has emerged as the superior Country guitarist. Although not born in the U.S., his early love for American and particularly Country music has made him the player that all others try to emulate. Albert was born into a musical family; his father played piano and accordion in the local pubs. At the age of 7, Albert started piano lessons and formally studied for two years, mixing the classics with Rock’n’Roll, and developing a love for the music of Jerry Lee Lewis. In 1958, he got his first guitar, a Hofner President acoustic arch-top. His liking for Buddy Holly and the Crickets resulted in him learning all of their material from their records. Soon he acquired the nearest thing to a Fender Stratocaster that he could afford, a Czechoslovakian copy called a Grazioso. Albert assiduously listened to the recordings of Jimmy Bryant, Cliff Gallup (Gene Vincent and the Blue Caps’ lead guitarist), the Louvin Brothers, James Burton (then Ricky Nelson’s lead player) and most especially, the Everly Brothers. However, it was listening to Hank Garland’s groundbreaking album, Jazz Winds From A New Direction, in 1960, that really turned his head around. Albert played in various locals groups and first appeared on a recording in 1963, playing on the Bo Diddley EP, Hey Bo Diddley. In 1964, he joined the seminal R & B/Rock group, Chris Farlowe and the Thunderbirds. He stayed with the group for four years, touring and recording two albums, Chris Farlowe & The Thunderbirds (Columbia, 1966) and Stormy Monday (CBS, 1966). Albert’s influence was felt on up-and-coming players like Jimmy Page, who would go on to lead Led Zeppelin and Steve Howe, who would go on and play with Yes and Asia. During 1968 through 1970, Albert played with various bands including formative British Country group, Country Fever, who supported various U.S. Country artists on tour in the U.K., Neil Christian’s Crusaders and the Flintlocks. He also recorded with Joe Cocker on With a Little Help from My Friends, in 1968, with Green Bullfrog, which would later become Deep Purple and with Poet & the One Man Band, in 1969, a band that included Tony Colton on vocals. Colton would eventually move to Nashville and become an established Country songwriter. Albert then went on to help form Heads Hands & Feet, a U.K. band that blended Rock and Country. Among the members were Colton, Pete Gavin (drums), Chas Hodges (bass, guitar, fiddle), and Ray Smith (guitar, bass). Hodges would go on to become the "Chas" of Chas & Dave, who would have a lot of success in the late 70’s and early 80’s. The band’s self-titled debut album was released in 1971 and included the original recording of the Lee-Colton-Smith Country classic, Country Boy, which would be a No.1 hit for Ricky Skaggs in 1985. However, the group was light years ahead of its time and after the 1972 album, Tracks and the 1973, offering, Old Soldiers Never Die, the band folded. The Tracks album, featured U.K. steel guitar guru, Gerry Hogan. During his time with Heads Hands & Feet, Albert also played on other albums. These included Jon Lord’s Gemini Suite (1971) and Jackson Browne’s eponymous album (1972). Just after HH&F’s end, the rhythm section was retained to back Jerry Lee Lewis on his London Session album, in 1973. That year, Albert began touring and recording with his old idols, the Crickets. He can be heard on their Remnants album (1973) and Long Way From Lubbock (1974). In 1974, Albert Lee moved to Los Angeles and tried unsuccessfully to tour. He found that he received his rewards when he got into the L.A. session world. Through his work with the Crickets, he met his other idol, Don Everly and they became and remain firm friends. At that time, Everly was playing at the Sundance Saloon in Calabasas, near L.A.. Albert was invited by Don to join him and master steel guitarist, Buddy Emmons. The playing of the three proved to be very popular and resulted in the Don Everly album, Sunset Towers, in 1974. During that year, Albert played guitar on Jazz flautist Herbie Mann’s London Underground album, proving his diversity of style. In addition, he toured with Joe Cocker in Australia and as a direct result of that connection with Cocker, Albert was signed as a solo artist to A & M. However, before Albert could finish his debut album, keyboardist Glen D. Hardin, with whom he had worked in the Crickets, asked him to join Emmylou Harris’ Hot Band as a replacement for yet another hero, James Burton. The position was at first temporary, but in 1976, Albert became permanent, playing both guitar and mandolin. During that "temporary" period, Albert played on albums by Lindisfarne’s Alan Hull (Squire, 1975), Jackson Browne (The Pretender, 1976) and Joe Cocker (Stingray, 1976). Even while playing with Emmylou, Albert was still guesting on other artists’ albums. He turned up as one of the superpickers on the King of Skiffle, Lonnie Donegan’s marvelous Puttin’ On The Style album (1977) and Jonathan Edwards’ Sailboat, the same year. In 1977, Albert recorded his first album with Emmylou, Luxury Liner. During 1978, he appeared on Guy Clark’s self-titled album, fellow Hot Bander Rodney Crowell’s debut album, Ain’t Living Long Like This and Nicolette Larsen’s Nicolette album. Albert made a second album with Emmylou entitled, Quarter Moon In A Ten Cent Town. By the end of 1978, Albert left the Hot Band for a solo career. In 1979, with the assistance of Emmylou’s then husband, Brian Ahern, Albert finished and released his debut album, Holding, which featured a new recording of Country Boy. Although Albert had left the Hot Band, he continued to contribute to Emmylou’s albums including Blue Kentucky Girl (1979), Evangeline
and Cimarron (both 1981) and The Ballad Of Sally Rose (1985).
Albert continued to play on other albums and these included Marc Benno’s Lost in Austin, Chas & Dave’s Don’t Give A Monkeys, Juice Newton’s Take Heart, Dave Edmunds & Rockpile’s Repeat When Necessary and Ricky Skagg’s Sweet Temptation, all in 1979. Albert was placed No.3 in the "Best Country Guitarist" category in Guitar Players’ Readers’ Poll in 1980. During that year, he went on the road with the legendary Eric Clapton and recorded the live album, Just One Night, with Clapton. He also appeared on Rodney Crowell’s second album, But What Will The Neighbors Think. He was still with Clapton in 1981 and recorded a second album with him, Another Ticket.
He also appeared on Rodney Crowell’s self-titled album and This Old House by Britain’s Rockabilly King, Shakin’ Stevens. Every year between 1982 and 1986, Guitar Player's Readers Poll voted Albert "Best Country Guitarist" and he was permanently inducted into the magazine’s "Gallery of the Greats." During 1982, Albert released his self-titled album for Polydor as well as appearing on albums by Gary Brooker (ex-Procol Harum) (Lead Me To The Water) and Dave Edmunds & Rockpile’s DE7. When the Everly Brothers reunited in 1983, Albert Lee was the centerpiece of the new band. In addition, he cut another album with Eric Clapton, Money & Cigarettes and played on Leo Kottke’s Time Step. In 1985, Albert left Clapton and a year later released the instrumental album, Speechless, as part of the MCA Master Series. The album was nominated for a Grammy Award as the "Best Country Instrumental Performance." That year, his playing graced the million-selling album, Trio, which featured Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris. In 1987, Albert released his second album for MCA, the delicious, Gagged But Not Bound. Nowadays, Albert continues to be as busy as ever. He has appeared in his own right at the prestigious Wembley Festival in England, he plays with a group of friends as Biff Baby’s All Stars and he continues to add magic to other artists’ albums. He is renowned for his speed playing but unlike some Rock guitarists who are all technique, Albert adds substance and feeling to his playing and he is adept at all of his instruments and no mean singer. At the 1997 British Country Music Awards, Albert received the "Achievement Award."

With his new G# Electric Ukulele in Norway

AL&HH 2006

Gipsy Man

Australia Tour 1975

Old Soldies Never Die

Bob Xavier and the Jury, eine der ersten Bands, in denen Albert spielte.

Jackie Lynton, Chas und Dave

Chas & Dave with Teresa Brewer

Guitar Player magazine's prestigious "Best Country Guitarist" award and "Gallery of the Greats" inductee. Albert's dazzling picking style keeps him in constant demand. Recording and touring credits include Jackson Browne, the Everly Brothers, Joe Cocker, Emmylou Harris, Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, Eric Clapton, Rosanne Cash, Rodney Crowell, Dave Edmunds, Ricky Skaggs, Carlene Carter, Patty Loveless, Steve Wariner, Vince Gill and Sweethearts of the Rodeo.

A little part of Alberts Axes 1984

04.05.2007  100 Club London playing with his old "Telly"

On the way back home

George Harrison, Jim Keltner, Robben Ford in concert

Royal Albert Hall, 29. November 2002

 Henry Spinetti - Drums
 Chris Stainton - Keyboards
 Scott Thurston - Guitar, Harmonica
 Ryan Ulyate - Mixing, Supervising Engineer
 Geoff Foster - Post Production Mix
 Paul Nickson - Engineer
 Clive Arrowsmith - Photography
 Klaus Voorman - Bass
 Marc Mann - Guitar (Electric), Mixing, Music Editor
 Will Shapland - Engineer 
 Joe Brown - Vocals / Ukulele
 Steve Hall - Mastering
 London Metropolitan Orchestra
 Dhani Harrison - Guitar
 Richard Matthews - Photography
 Gary Brooker - Keyboards
 Andy Fairweather-Low - Guitar
 Jim Keltner - Drums
 Paul Theroux - Liner Notes
 Benmont Tench - Keyboards
 Ron Blair - Bass
 Dave Bronze - Bass
 Phil Capaldi - Drums
 Eric Clapton - Musical Director
 Ray Cooper - Percussion
 English Chamber Choir
 Steve Ferrone - Drums
 Jim Horn - Sax (Alto)
 Katie Kissoon - Vocals (Background)
 Jim Capaldi - Drums
 Albert Lee - Guitar
 Jeff Lynne - Producer, Mixing
 Michael Kamen - String Arrangements, String Conductor
 Tom Scott - Sax (Tenor)
 Sam Brown - Vocals
 Anoushka Shankar - Sitar / Conductor

29. November 2002 - Concert for George - Royal Albert Hall - Tribute to George Harrison

Andy Fairweather Low, Sir Paul McCartney, Albert     

Credits:

  Pete Wingfield Organ (Hammond), Wurlitzer, Piano 
  Chris Thomas Producer 
  Klaus Voormann Drawing 
  Norman Hathaway Design 
  Richard Haughton Photography 
  Dave Mattacks Drums, Percussion 
  Aleen Toroyan Drawing 
  Paul McCartney Guitar (Bass), Main Performer, Guitar (Electric), Percussion, Vocals, Producer 
  Paul Hicks Engineer 
  David Gilmour Guitar (Electric), Vocals (Background), Guitar (Steel) 
  Mike Owen Photography 
  Chris Hall Accordion 
  Ian Paice Drums, Percussion 
  Geoff Emerick Engineer 
  Steve Rooke Mastering 
  Mick Green Guitar (Electric

Wembley Arena 2004, 50 Jahre Fender Stratocaster: Albert spielt zwar keine Strat, dafür hat er jahrelang die Telecaster berühmt gemacht.

The Fender Strat 50th Bash

Albert at Wembley Arena 2004

The Fender Strat 50th Bash Hank Marvin & Son

Ronny Wood (mid)

Special language

Copredy Festival 2003: Brian, Albert, Gerry

Albert with Hogan's Heroes & Sonny Curtis

Spring Fever, Dorset 2005

Mike Berry, Albert Lee, Mirande Festival

28.07.2006

Emmylou, Albert, Nancy at Midlands Music Festival.

Arlen Roth, Albert Lee, Les Paul & Tramps

Trevor Wilkins & Robert Plant, Trevor Runs Tightdigital Music Services and is an experienced live sound engineer, technician and performer. Past tours and gigs cover the full range of venues from small bars to outdoor festivals including working alongside artists such as Albert Lee, Scotty Moore, Bill Wyman, Ronnie Wood, Mark Knopfler, David Gilmour, Styx, Robert Fripp, Tom Robinson, Martin Taylor, Steve Howe, Alexander O’Neal, Uriah Heep, Peter Andre and many more. He has worked at top-flight venues such as Abbey Road, The Royal Albert Hall, St Paul’s Cathedral and The Cavern and spends much of his time on the road touring. He has also written for Future Music and Computer Music magazines and owns a recording studio. 

Mai 1972 Germersheim, Pfalz

Steve Vai und Fender Dual Showman vor einigen Jahren

Biff Baby Allstars

Biffbaby's All-Stars:

Biffbaby's All-Stars:

Albert Lee is the five-time (consecutive) winner of Guitar Player magazine's
prestigious "Best Country Guitarist" award and permanent "Gallery of the Greats" inductee. Grammy Award winner 2003. Albert's dazzling picking style keeps him in constant demand. Recording and touring credits include Jackson Browne, the Everly Brothers, Joe Cocker, Emmylou Harris, Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, Eric Clapton, Rosanne Cash, Rodney Crowell, Dave Edmunds, Ricky Skaggs, Carlene Carter, Patty Loveless, Steve Wariner, Vince Gill, and Sweethearts of the Rodeo.

Steve Lukather's two solo albums, plus the eight albums recorded as a member of the band Toto, have sales in excess of twenty million copies worldwide. Steve's guitar and vocal studio work can be heard on hundreds of other million selling hit recordings from a list of artists that include Michael Jackson, Peter Frampton, Warren Zevon, Joe Cocker, George Benson, Bob Seger, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Elton John, Don Henley, George Harrison,and Paul McCartney.

Vinnie Moore first achieved acclaim with the 1987 release of Mind's Eye that earned him "Best New Talent" honors in the reader's polls of Guitar Player and Guitar World magazines. Vinnie's next two albums, Time Odyssey and Meltdown, cemented his position as one of today's leading instrumental guitar-rock stylists. Each of Vinnie's albums has sold over 100,000 copies. Out of Nowhere, his first album for Mayhem Records, was released in December 1995. He has presented over 150 clinics worldwide. His two instructional videos have sold over 25,000 copies.

Blues Saraceno was the guitar whiz kid who graced the cover of Guitar Magazine and released his first solo album at age 16 and two more before his 23rd birthday. He's been called a child prodigy, a guitar hero, and a small-town "boy makes good" success story. And, he's been called upon by the likes of Cream's Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker, Cher, Dweezil Zappa, and even the WWF for his guitar playing.

Jim Cox is one of the world's most gifted and sought after keyboardists. His touring and recording credits include Elton John, Barbara Steisand, Aerosmith, Pink, Henry Mancini, Neil Diamond, Ringo, George Straight, Linda Ronstandt, Rodney Crowell, and B.B. King.

John Ferarro's drumming has been heard by tens of millions on CDs, radio, TV, and live. His recording and performance credits include Larry Carlton, Tamara Walker, Barry Manilow, Lion King and Fraser.

Sherwood Ball's vocal credits, both singing and voice-over.

Sterling "Biffbaby" Ball - In addition to his day job as president of Ernie Ball Music Man, Sterling's credits include performances with Albert Lee, Steve Morse, Steve Lukather, Vinnie Moore, Tony Levin, John Petrucci, Dweezil Zappa, Rodney Crowell, Rosanne Cash, T-Bone Burnett, and Spinal Tap.

Sterling Ball und 4 seiner besten Pferde im Stall, (v.l.n.r.) John Petrucci, Vinnie Moore, Steve Morse und Steve Lukather

Jaco Pastorius was a meteor who blazed on to the scene in the 1970s, only to flame out tragically in the 1980s. With a brilliantly fleet technique and fertile melodic imagination, Pastorius made his fretless electric bass leap out from the depths of the rhythm section into the front line with fluid machine-gun-like passages that demanded attention. He also sported a strutting, dancing, flamboyant performing style and posed a further triple-threat as a talented composer, arranger and producer. He and Stanley Clarke were the towering influences on their instrument in the 1970s.

Attila Cornelius Zoller was born on June 13, 1927 in Visegrad, Hungary and died on January 25, 1998 in Townshend, VT. 

Small town near Salzburg, Austria

The Offbeats withDanny Gatton 1954

Guitar virtuoso Danny Gatton was known for the incredibly wide stylistic range of his playing; based in rockabilly, Gatton's musical vocabulary included R&B, pop, country, rock, and jazz, all of which he could play effectively. Gatton began playing at age nine, joining his first band, the Lancers, three years later. In 1960, Gatton pursued a jazz direction when he joined the Offbeats, where pianist/organist Dick Heintze proved to be one of Gatton's biggest influences. The band broke up four years later, and Gatton moved to Nashville to get into session work; there he met Roy Buchanan, who briefly became his roommate and taught him more about his instrument of choice. Eventually, Gatton built a reputation as a top-notch guitarist around his native Washington, D.C., area through his club performances. He recorded an album with his backing band the Fat Boys titled American Music in 1975 and followed it with Redneck Jazz in 1978. The band on the latter featured steel guitarist Buddy Emmons, drummer Dave Elliott, and eventual longtime cohorts Evan Johns on vocals and rhythm guitar and John Previti on bass.
Gatton's albums led to offers from other musicians to join their bands. Lowell George extended an invitation after leaving Little Feat, but was found dead two days later. Gatton wound up touring with country singer Roger Miller and rockabilly artist Robert Gordon, giving him national exposure and a growing cult among guitar fans, who traded bootlegs of Gatton concerts. Gatton returned to Washington, D.C., to be near his friends and family while playing up and down the East Coast with several bands and doing session work. When Gatton purchased an old farmhouse in need of expensive renovations in 1988, he decided to pursue his music career more seriously. He released his first solo album since 1978 the next year, Unfinished Business, which drew notices from several guitar-oriented magazines as well as Rolling Stone. Elektra Records signed him during the summer, and he made his major-label debut in 1991 with the tremendously varied instrumental album 88 Elmira St. 1992 saw Gatton's first straight-ahead jazz album, New York Stories, recorded for none other than Blue Note. Gatton toured the nation solo for the first time in 1993 in support of Cruisin' Deuces, but its lack of success, coupled with the departure of A&R man Howard Thompson from Elektra, spelled the end of Gatton's association with the label. Gatton returned to session work to pay the bills, but sustained a further blow when rhythm guitarist Billy Windsor died of a heart attack early in 1994. Gatton collaborated with organ virtuoso Joey DeFrancesco on Relentless in May and toured Europe during the summer. Sadly, on October 4, 1994, Gatton locked himself in his garage and shot himself. He left behind no explanation.

At a time when rock was evolving further and further away from the forces that had made the music possible in the first place, Creedence Clearwater Revival brought things back to their roots with their concise synthesis of rockabilly, swamp pop, R&B, and country. Though CCR was very much a group in their tight, punchy arrangements, their vision was very much singer, songwriter, guitarist, and leader John Fogerty's. Fogerty's classic compositions for Creedence both evoked enduring images of Americana and reflected burning social issues of the day. The band's genius was their ability to accomplish this with the economic, primal power of a classic rockabilly ensemble.

1968

No late-60s American group ever started with as much musical promise as Blood, Sweat & Tears, or realized their potential more fully - and then blew it all in a series of internal conflicts and grotesque career moves. It could almost sound funny, talking about a group that sold close to six million records in three years and then squandered all of that momentum. Then again, considering that none of the founding members ever intended to work together, perhaps the group was "lucky" after a fashion.

Die US-Stadt San Francisco ehrte Jerry Garcia. Ein Amphitheater wurde nach dem Ex-Gitarristen von The Grateful Dead benannt. Die 600-Plätze umfassende Venue liegt in dem Stadtteil, in dem Jerry Garcia aufwuchs und wurde am 29. Oktober mit Auftritten von Jefferson Starship und David Gans eröffnet. Eine Ausstellung mit Zeichnungen des legendären Gitarristen ist im Rathaus der Stadt zu sehen. Garcia starb im August 1995. 

Grateful Dead 1969

1967

Roy Buchanan's Telly

As the lead singer of the Animals, Eric Burdon was one of the British Invasion's most distinctive vocalists, with a searingly powerful blues-rock voice. When the first lineup of the group fell apart in 1966, Burdon kept the Animals' name going with various players for a few years. Usually billed as Eric Burdon and the Animals, the group was essentially Burdon's vehicle, whom he used to purvey a far more psychedelic and less R&B-oriented vision. Occasionally he came up with a good second-division psychedelic hit, like "Sky Pilot"; more often, the music was indulgent, dating almost immediately. Burdon's real triumphs as a solo artist came at the beginning of the '70s, when he hooked up with a bunch of L.A. journeyman soul/funksters who became his backing band, War. Recording three albums worth of material in the year or two that they were together, the Burdon/War records could ramble on interminably, and would have benefited from a lot of editing. But they contained some spacey funkadelia of real quality, especially their number three hit single "Spill the Wine," which was almost recorded as an afterthought in the midst of sessions dominated by exploratory jams. The band was already big stars on record and stage when Burdon, for reasons unclear to almost everyone, quit the band in 1971. War defied expectations and became even bigger when left to their own devices; Burdon, after recording an album with veteran bluesman Jimmy Witherspoon, cut a series of generally desultory solo albums. He recorded off and on after that, at times with the Animals, but has never come close to reaching the heights of his work with the early Animals and War.

Eigentlich kennt jeder ihren größten Hit "Gamma Ray", wer oder was aber sich hinter dem Bandnamen versteckt, ist den meisten in den letzten dreißig Jahren entgangen. Ja, so lange gibt es die Band schon. Sogar bis ins Revoltenjahr 1968 reicht die Geschichte von Birth Control zurück, gegründet in Berlin aus den Bands Earls und Gents Birth Control. Zunächst spielen sie Coverversionen wie viele andere Combos auch, und denken nicht im Traum daran, einmal Karriere zu machen.
Zu siebt waren sie damals am Start. Bernd (nicht Inge!) Koschmidder (Bass), Reinhold Sobotta (Orgel), Rolf Gurra (Saxophon, Gesang), Fritz "Little Lord" Gröger (Gesang), Klaus Orso (Gitarre), Reiner Borchert (Gitarre) und Hugo Egon Balder (Schlagzeug, ja, der Alles, Nichts, Oder und Tutti Frutti-Balder) spielen sich durch die Clubs der damaligen Enklave und machen sich so einen Namen. Schließlich erhält die Band eine Einladung, durch den Libanon (sic!) zu touren. In Beirut spielen sie vor ständig ausverkaufter Hütte im "Les Caves du Roy" im Hotel Excelsior. Hugo Egon muss die Band verlassen, weil seine Eltern ihm verbieten, weiter mitzuspielen.
Nach der Rückkehr und einigen Umbesetzungen beginnen Birth Control eigene Stücke zu schreiben. Dass die Band am Hungertuch nagt, erweist sich im Nachhinein als Glücksfall, dadurch laufen sie nie Gefahr, sich die Rübe mit allerlei Psychedelika vollzupumpen und es bleibt im Oberstübchen genug Platz für die Passion Musik. Erster Achtungserfolg der jungen Band, die ihr ältestes Mitglied - Bruno Frenzel - schon mit 25 Jahren zärtlich "Opa" nannte, ist 1970 der Auftritt in der Deutschlandhalle zu Berlin als Support von Jimi Hendrix, Ten Years After, Cold Blood, Procol Harum und Cat Mother.
1972 erscheint das Album "Hoodoo Man" und die Single "Gamma Ray". Der Song soll zu einem der meist gespielten der Krautrock-Ära avancieren und hat bis heute in den Dissen des Landes kaum von seiner Ausstrahlung verloren. Die Zeichen für Birth Control stehen recht günstig. 1975 werden sie hinter Silver Convention und Kraftwerk auf den dritten Platz der beliebtesten Live-Band gewählt. Mit dem 1976er Album Backdoor Posibilities verändern sie aber ihren Stil und spielen ähnlich wie ihre Vorbilder Genesis, King Crimson und Yes, Artrock mit vertrackten Kompositionen und jazzigen Anleihen. Das kommt bei den Fans weniger gut an, war ist von ihnen doch geradlinigen Heavyrock gewohnt. Die Rückbesinnung auf ebenjenen erfolgt 1978 mit dem Album "Titanic" und die Konzertsäle werden wieder voller. 1983 stirbt Gründungsmitglied und Bandopa Bruno Frenzel an den Nachwirkungen eines heftigen Stromschlages, den er 1975 bei einem Konzert bekommt. Dies und der ausbleibende Erfolg des guten Albums "Bäng" münden darin, dass Bandleader "Nossie" Noske Birth Control auf Eis legt.

1968

The Allman Brothers Band have sure had their share of ups and downs throughout the years. The band was formed by guitarist Duane Allman after a short spell as a session man for several artist including Aretha Franklin and Wilson Pickett. Duane had first been in a few bands with his brother, vocalist and keyboardist Gregg Allman. They first formed a garage rock n roll band called the Escorts in 1966, they then became a blues band and were called the Allman Joys. After that they formed a soul group called Hour Glass in '67 and recorded and released two albums. Even though these albums got good reviews they didn't sell and the band broke up in '68. After his gig playing sessions, Duane formed the Allman Bros. in 1969 with fellow guitarist Richard 'Dickie' Betts, bassist Berry Oakley, and two drummers, Butch Trucks and Jai Johanny Johanson. But the band was in need of a lead singer and after several months Gregg agreed to join the rest. They then signed a record deal with Capricorn records.

NY & Crazy Horse at Bonnaroo Festival 2004

After Neil Young left the Californian folk-rock band Buffalo Springfield in 1968, he slowly established himself as one of the most influential and idiosyncratic singer/songwriters of his generation. Young's body of work ranks second only to Bob Dylan in terms of depth, and he was able to sustain his critical reputation, as well as record sales, for a longer period of time than Dylan, partially because of his willfully perverse work ethic. From the beginning of his solo career in the late '60s until the late '90s, he never stopped writing, recording, and performing; his official catalog only represented a portion of his work, since he kept countless tapes of unreleased songs in his vaults. Just as importantly, Young continually explored new musical territory, from rockabilly and the blues to electronic music. But these stylistic exercises only gained depth when compared to his two primary styles: gentle folk and country-rock, and crushingly loud electric guitar rock, which he frequently recorded with the Californian garage band Crazy Horse. Throughout his career, Young alternated between these two extremes, and both proved equally influential; there were just as many simpy singer/songwriters as there were grunge and country-rock bands claiming to be influenced by Neil Young. Despite his enormous catalog and influence, Young continued to move forward, writing new songs and exploring new music in his fourth decade as a performing artist. That restless spirit ensured that he was one of the few rock veterans as vital in his old age as he was in his youth.
Born in Toronto, Canada, Neil Young moved to Winnipeg with his mother following her divorce from his sports-journalist father. Young began playing music in high school. Not only did he play in garage rock outfits like the Esquires, but he also played in local folk clubs and coffeehouses, where he eventually met Joni Mitchell and Stephen Stills. During the mid-'60s, he returned to Toronto, where he played as a solo folk act. By 1966, he joined the Mynah Birds, which also featured bassist Bruce Palmer and Rick James. The group recorded a couple of singles for Motown, which were ignored. Frustrated by his lack of success, Young moved to Los Angeles in his Pontiac hearse, taking Palmer along as support. Shortly after they arrived in L.A., they happened to meet Stills, and they formed Buffalo Springfield, who quickly became one of the leaders of the Californian folk-rock scene. Despite the success of Buffalo Springfield, the group was plagued with tension, and Young quit the band several times before finally leaving to become a solo artist in May of 1968. Hiring Elliot Roberts as his manager, Young signed with Reprise Records and released his eponymous debut album in early 1969. By the time the album was released, he had begun playing with a local band called the Rockets, which featured guitarist Danny Whitten, bassist Billy Talbot, and drummer Ralph Molina. Young renamed the group Crazy Horse and had them support him on his second album, Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, which was recorded in just two weeks. Featuring such Young staples as "Cinnamon Girl" and "Down by the River," the album went gold. Following the completion of the record, he began jamming with Crosby, Stills & Nash, eventually joining the group for their spring 1970 album, Deja Vu. Although he was now part of Crosby, Stills & Nash, Young continued to record as a solo artist, releasing After the Gold Rush at the end of the year. After the Gold Rush, with its accompanying single "Only Love Can Break Your Heart," established Young as a solo star, and fame only increased through his association with CSN&Y.
Although Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young were a very successful act, they were also volatile, and they had split by the spring 1971 release of the live Four Way Street. The following year, Young had his first number one album with the mellow country-rock of Harvest, which also featured his first (and only) number one single, "Heart of Gold." Instead of embracing his success, he spurned it, following it with the noisy, bleak live film Journey Through the Past. Both the movie and the soundtrack received terrible reviews, as did the live album Time Fades Away, a record recorded with the Stray Gators that was released in 1973.
Both Journey Through the Past and Time Fades Away signaled that Young was entering a dark period in his life, but they only scratched the surface of his anguish. Inspired by the overdose deaths of Danny Whitten in 1972 and his roadie Bruce Berry the following year, Young wrote and recorded the bleak, druggy Tonight's the Night late in 1973, but declined to release it at the time. Instead, he released On the Beach, which was nearly as harrowing, in 1974; Tonight's the Night finally appeared in the spring of 1975. By the time of its release, Young had recovered, as indicated by the record's hard-rocking follow-up Zuma, an album recorded with Crazy Horse and released later that year.
Young's focus began to wander in 1976, as he recorded the duet album Long May You Run with Stephen Stills and then abandoned his partner midway through the supporting tour. The following year he recorded the country-rock-oriented American Stars 'n Bars, which featured vocals by Nicolette Larson, who was also prominent on 1978's Comes a Time. Prior to the release of Comes a Time, Young scrapped the country-rock album Homegrown and assembled the triple-album retrospective Decade. At the end of 1978, he embarked on an arena tour called Rust Never Sleeps, which was designed as a showcase for new songs. Half of the concert featured Young solo, the other half featured him with Crazy Horse. That was the pattern that Rust Never Sleeps, released in the summer of 1979, followed. The record was hailed as a comeback, proving that Young was one of the few rock veterans who attacked punk rock head-on. That fall he released the double album Live Rust and the live movie Rust Never Sleeps.
Rust Never Sleeps had restored Young to his past glory, but he perversely decided to trash his goodwill in 1980 with Hawks & Doves, a collection of acoustic songs that bore the influence of conservative, right-wing politics. In 1981, Young released the heavy rock album Re*Ac*tor, which received poor reviews. Following its release, he left Reprise for the fledgling Geffen Records, where he was promised lots of money and artistic freedom. Young decided to push his Geffen contract to the limit, releasing the electronic Trans, where his voice was recorded through a computerized vocoder, later that year. The album and its accompanying, technology-dependent tour were received with bewildered, negative reviews. The rockabilly of Everybody's Rockin' (1983) was equally scorned, and Young soon settled into a cult audience for the mid-'80s.
Over the course of the mid-'80s, Young released three albums that were all stylistic exercises. In 1985, he released the straight country Old Ways, which was followed by the new wave-tinged Landing on Water the following year. He returned to Crazy Horse for 1987's Life, but by that time, he and Geffen had grown sick of each other, and he returned to Reprise in 1988. His first album for Reprise was the bluesy, horn-driven This Note's for You, which was supported by an acclaimed video that satirized rock stars endorsing commercial products. At the end of the year, he recorded a reunion album with Crosby, Stills & Nash called American Dream, which was greeted with savagely negative reviews.
American Dream didn't prepare any observer for the critical and commercial success of 1989's Freedom, which found Young following the half-acoustic/half-electric blueprint of Rust Never Sleeps to fine results. Around the time of its release, Young became a hip name to drop in indie rock circles, and he was the subject of a tribute record titled The Bridge in 1989. The following year, Young reunited with Crazy Horse for Ragged Glory, a loud, feedback-drenched album that received his strongest reviews since the '70s. For the supporting tour, Young hired the avant-rock band Sonic Youth as his opening group, providing them with needed exposure while earning him hip credibility within alternative rock scenes. On the advice of Sonic Youth, Young added the noise collage EP Arc as a bonus to his 1991 live album, Weld.
Weld and the Sonic Youth tour helped position Neil Young as an alternative and grunge rock forefather, but he decided to abandon loud music for its 1992 follow-up, Harvest Moon. An explicit sequel to his 1972 breakthrough, Harvest Moon became Young's biggest hit in years, and he supported the record with an appearance on MTV Unplugged, which was released the following year as an album. Also in 1993, Geffen released the rarities collection Lucky Thirteen. The following year, he released Sleeps With Angels, which was hailed as a masterpiece in some quarters. Following its release, Young began jamming with Pearl Jam, eventually recording an album with the Seattle band in early 1995. The resulting record, Mirror Ball, was released to positive reviews in the summer of 1995, but it wasn't the commercial blockbuster it was expected to be; due to legal reasons, Pearl Jam's name was not allowed to be featured on the cover.
In the summer of 1996, he reunited with Crazy Horse for Broken Arrow and supported it with a brief tour. That tour was documented in Jim Jarmusch's 1997 film The Year of the Horse, which was accompanied by a double-disc live album. In 1999, Young reunited with Crosby, Stills & Nash for the first time in a decade, supporting their Looking Forward LP with the supergroup's first tour in a quarter century. A new solo effort, Silver & Gold, followed in the spring of 2000. In recognition of his 2000 summer tour, Young released the live album Road Rock, Vol. 1 the following fall, showcasing a spectacular two-night account of Young's performance at the Red Rocks Amphitheater in Morrison, CO, in September 2000. A DVD version titled Red Rocks Live was issued that December, including 12 tracks initially unavailable on Road Rock, Vol. 1. Young's next studio project was his most ambitious yet, a concept album about small-town life titled Greendale that he also mounted as a live dramatic tour and indie film. In early 2005 he was diagnosed with a potentially deadly brain aneurysm. Undergoing treatment didn't slow Young down as he continued to write and record his next project. The acoustically-based Prairie Wind appeared in the fall with a concert film based around the album and directed by Jonathan Demme promised for 2006. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

Über 1000 Konzerte im In- und Ausland haben Frank Diez und Colin Hodkinson in den letzten Jahren gegeben. Es hagelte Preise und Auszeichnungen. Als gern gesehene Special-Guests tourten sie mit John Mayall durch Europa und begeisterten 90.000 Zuschauer beim Peter Maffay Konzert in Leipzig 1990. Weitere Tourneen mit Konstantin Wecker, Joan Baez, Mercedes Sosa, Miller Anderson, Tony Ashton, Cozy Powell, Spencer Davis und John Pearson folgten. Fünf Tonträger wurden bislang produziert, darunter eine Live-CD mit der Bigband des Hessischen Rundfunks.

His ferocious soul-drenched vocals belying his tender teenage years, Stevie Winwood powered the Spencer Davis Group's three biggest U.S. hits during their brief life span as one of the British Invasion's most convincing R&B-based combos.
Guitarist Davis formed the band with Winwood on organ, his brother Muff Winwood on bass, and drummer Peter York. Signing on with producer Chris Blackwell, the quartet got their first hit (the blistering "Keep on Running") from another of Blackwell's acts, West Indian performer Jackie Edwards. After topping the British charts in 1965, the song struggled on the lower reaches of the US Hot 100.
The group's two hottest sellers were self-penned projects. "Gimme Some Lovin'" and "I'm a Man" were searing showcases for the adolescent Winwood's gritty vocals and blazing keyboards and the band's pounding rhythms. Although they burned up the charts even on the other side of the ocean in 1967, the quartet never capitalized on their fame with an American tour. At the height of their power, Winwood left to form Traffic, leaving Davis without his dynamic frontman. The bandleader focused on producing other acts, including a Canadian ensemble called the Downchild Blues Band during the early 80s.

1964, Freddy and the Dreamers at Abbey Road Studios

1966 San Francisco

The Dave Clark Five started out life as a backing group for Stan Saxon, a North London Singer. The line up then included Chris Wells and Mick Ryan as well as Dave Clark. Chris and Mick left and Dave Clark along with Mike Smith, Dennis Payton, Rick Huxley and Lenny Davidson formed the DC5. The reason for the formation of the Band was to raise funds for the Tottenham Hotspurs (Spurs) Football Club in London. The date was January 1962, the place The South Grove Youth Club, the result one of the best known and loved British Bands of the Sixties.
One of their first attempts at releasing a single did not meet with the success that they had hoped. Both the DC5 and Brian Poole and the Tremeloes released a remake of the Contours "Do You Love me" at the same time, with Brain Poole "beating" them out. This in turn was to make a major turn for the band as they then decided to record their own material.
Here is where the genius that was Dave Clark started to flourish. Right from the beginning he held ownership of all the DC5 masters( finished recordings) and to this day is receiving royalties. Management was also an internal affair giving the band more control but also in some ways hurting them. Some people within the music business thought that this move may have shortened the life of the band but at the time it seemed to be the way to go for the DC5.
The Clark/Smith composition "Glad All Over" was released in the late 1963 and by January 1964 was number 1 on the British Pop Charts, replacing the Beatles " I Want To Hold Your Hand" which had been number 1 for six weeks. This song has become one of the most recognizable "Beat Era" hits and still enjoys a major amount of air play today; again showing the genius of Dave Clark who still collects royalties on DC5 songs. Toppling the Beatles brought some major press for the group and they took advantage of this with the release of "Bits and Pieces" which reached number 2 on the British Charts.

Ten Years After is a British blues-rock quartet consisting of Alvin Lee (b. Dec 19, 1944), guitar and vocals; Chick Churchill (b. Jan 2, 1949), keyboards; Leo Lyons (b. Nov 30, 1944) bass; and Ric Lee (b. Oct 20, 1945), drums. The group was formed in 1967 and signed to Decca in England. Their first album was not a success, but their second, the live Undead (1968) containing "I'm Going Home," a six-minute blues workout by the fleet-fingered Alvin, hit the charts on both sides of the Atlantic. Stonedhenge (1969) hit the U.K. Top Ten in early 1969. Ten Years After's U.S. breakthrough came as a result of their appearance at Woodstock, at which they played a nine-minute version of "I'm Going Home." Their next album, Ssssh, reached the U.S. Top 20, and Cricklewood Green, containing the hit single "Love Like a Man," reached number four. Watt completed the group's Decca contract, after which they signed with Columbia and moved in a more mainstream pop direction, typified by the gold-selling 1971 album A Space in Time and its Top 40 single "I'd Love to Change the World." Subsequent efforts in that direction were less successful, however, and Ten Years After split up after the release of Positive Vibrations in 1974. They reunited in 1988 for concerts in Europe and recorded their first new album in 15 years, About Time, in 1989.
- William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide -

The Small Faces were the best English band never to hit it big in America. On this side of the Atlantic, all anybody remembers them for is their sole stateside hit, "Itchycoo Park", which was hardly representative of their psychedelic sound, much less their full musical range - but in England, the Small Faces were one of the most extraordinary and successful bands of the mid-60s, serious competitors to the Who and potential rivals to the Rolling Stones.

Formed by tenor saxophonist Johnny Paris (1940, Walbridge, Ohio, USA), this instrumental group went through a series of line-up changes from 1957-63. With bass player Lionel "Butch" Mattice and drummer Tony Kaye, the group recorded the single "Crossfire" under the name the Orbits in 1959. Under the name Johnny And The Hurricanes, they released the riveting "Red River Rock", which featured the trademark sound of rasping saxophone, combined with the swirling organ of Paul Tesluk. After enlisting new drummers Don Staczek and Little Bo Savitch along the way, the group continued the hit run in the USA and UK with such instrumentals as "Reveille Rock", "Beatnik Fly", "Down Yonder", "Rocking Goose" and "Ja-Da". In 1963, an entirely new group of Johnny Paris-led Hurricanes toured the UK comprising Eddie Wagenfeald (organ), Billy Marsh (guitar), Bobby Cantrall (bass) and Jay Drake (drums). By this time, however, their instrumental sound was becoming anachronistic and they were soon consumed by the beat boom, which swept the UK and USA. Various line-ups of Hurricanes continued for live performances and cabaret.

 

Although they're best known today for their lush, lyrically and musically profound (some would say bombastic) psychedelic-era albums, the Moody Blues started out as one of the better R&B-based combos of the British Invasion. The Moody Blues' history began in Birmingham, England, where one of the more successful bands during that time was El Riot & the Rebels, co-founded by Ray Thomas (harmonica, vocals) and Mike Pinder (keyboards, vocals). Pinder left the band, first for a gig with Jackie Lynton and then a stint in the Army. In May of 1963, he and Thomas reunited under the auspices of the Krew Cats. Following some success in Germany, Thomas and Pinder decided to try turning professional, recruiting members from some of the best groups working in Birmingham, including Denny Laine (vocals, guitar), Graeme Edge (drums), and Clint Warwick (bass, vocals). The Moody Blues, as they came to be known, made their debut in Birmingham in May of 1964, and quickly earned the notice and later the services of manager Tony Secunda. A major tour was quickly booked, and the band landed an engagement at the Marquee Club, which resulted in a contract with England's Decca Records less than six months after their formation. The group's first single, "Steal Your Heart Away," released in September of 1964, didn't touch the British charts.

Backstage Pass 1967

As far as most record buyers were concerned Mike Berry burst on to the scene with his "Tribute To Buddy Holly" in 1961. Fans of the legendary Texan rock and roller loved and hated the record in equal measure. There is no doubt now that the song was very much a tribute because Mike and his producer, Joe Meek were Buddy Holly fanatics, but many of the late singer's followers thought it was just exploiting Buddy's name for profit. It wasn't a unique tribute; there had been the rather mawkish 'Three Stars' from Tommy Dee which had been a chart hit in the UK for Ruby Wright in 1959. Incidentally, a version was also recorded by Eddie Cochran- though, ironically, few people heard it until after Eddie's own death a few months later. 'Tribute To Buddy Holly' was a good deal closer to the style adopted by Holly on his early singles and featured a prominent drum driven rhythm not dissimilar to that on 'Peggy Sue'.
Joe Meek had tried out Mike Berry a few weeks earlier with his version of the Shirelles' 'Will You Love Me Tomorrow'- a song with lyrics that seem quite unsuitable for a male singer to tackle. Mike was backed by the Outlaws, a band already recorded by Meek as instrumentalists, so Berry's first two singles were not the band's first outing on record. The same musicians regularly did sessions at Meek's Holloway Road studio where they were used to back other singers- Freddie Starr, Glenda Collins and John Leyton among others. Billy Kuy, Reg Hawkins, Chas Hodges and Bobby Graham were the original 'Outlaws', but as personnel changes took place by 1964 they had evolved to Ken Lundgren, Ritchie Blackmore (later with Rainbow), Chas Hodges (who became half of Chas & Dave), and Mike Underwood. They had originally called themselves the Stormers, but were renamed by Meek who thought it a good idea to promote them with a 'Wild West' image- the group dressed accordingly. Joe also thought of the name Mike Berry because it had closer 'Buddy Holly' connotations than the name previously adopted by the artist, 'Kenny Lord'. Mike's third release featured the Outlaws, but actually credited 'The Admirals'- an incident that infuriated Meek allegedly caused by a misheard telephone conversation.

1961

An important, underappreciated figure of early British R&B, Graham Bond is known in the U.S., if at all, for heading the group that Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker played in before they joined Cream. Originally an alto sax jazz player -- in fact, he was voted Britain's New Jazz Star in 1961 -- he met Bruce and Baker in 1962 after joining Alexis Koerner's Blues Incorporated, the finishing school for numerous British rock and blues musicians. By the time he, Bruce, and Baker split to form their own band in 1963, Bond was mostly playing the Hammond organ, as well as handling the lion's share of the vocals. John McLaughlin was a member of the Graham Bond Organization in the early days for a few months, and some live material that he recorded with the group was eventually issued after most of their members had achieved stardom in other contexts. Saxophonist Dick Heckstall-Smith completed Bond's most stable lineup, who cut a couple of decent albums and a few singles in the mid-60s.

1977 NICE PRICE

Nominally, The Police were punk rock, but that's only in the loosest sense of the term. The trio's nervous, reggae-injected pop/rock was punky, but it wasn't necessarily punk. All three members were considerably more technically proficient than the average punk or new wave band. Andy Summers had a precise guitar attack that created dense, interlocking waves of sounds and effects. Stewart Copeland could play polyrhythms effortlessly. And Sting, with his high, keening voice, was capable of constructing infectiously catchy pop songs. While they weren't punk, the Police certainly demonstrated that the punk spirit could have a future in pop music. As their career progressed, the Police grew considerably more adventurous, experimenting with jazz and various world musics. All the while, the band's tight delivery and mastery of the pop single kept their audience increasing, and by 1983, they were the most popular rock & roll band in the world. Though they were at the height of their fame, internal tensions caused the band to splinter apart in 1984, with Sting picking up the majority of the band's audience to become an international superstar.

In the chaotic world of rock'n'roll, in which the lifespan of most bands can be measured in terms of a few years or a few months, John Kay and Steppenwolf have emerged as one of rock's most enduring and respected bands, delivering hard-hitting, personally-charged music for more than three decades.

Remembered chiefly as proto-punkers who reached the top of the charts with the "caveman rock" of "Wild Thing" (1966), the Troggs were also adept at crafting power pop and ballads. Hearkening back to a somewhat simpler, more basic British Invasion approach as psychedelia began to explode in the late '60s, the group also reached the Top Five with their flower-power ballad "Love Is All Around" in 1968. While more popular in their native England than the U.S., the band also fashioned memorable, insistently riffing hit singles like "With a Girl Like You," "Night of the Long Grass," and the notoriously salacious "I Can't Control Myself" between 1966 and 1968. Paced by Reg Presley's lusting vocals, the group -- which composed most of their own material -- could crunch with the best of them, but were also capable of quite a bit more range and melodic invention than they've been given credit for.

The Nashville Teens were one of a brace of British acts competing for attention in the booming days of the early British Invasion and its early purely English phenomenon, the British beat boom. They were distinguished from most of the others by scoring a memorable and serious hit, "Tobacco Road." This put them on the map internationally (even getting them into an American jukebox movie, Beach Ball, that also featured the Supremes) before they gradually faded away in popularity. The sextet first got together in Weybridge, Surrey, in 1962 with Art Sharp and Ray Phillips on vocals, John Hawken on piano, Pete Shannon on bass, Michael Dunford on guitar, and Barry Jenkins on drums. In those days, they played basic American rock & roll with perhaps a bit more abandon even then than their competition.

Colston Hall Bristol

One of the most successful rock acts of the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, Genesis enjoyed a longevity exceeded only by the likes of the Rolling Stones and the Kinks, in the process providing a launching pad for the superstardom of members Peter Gabriel and Phil Collins.

The group had its roots in the Garden Wall, a band founded by 15-year-olds Peter Gabriel, Tony Banks, Johnny Trapman, Chris Stewart and Rivers Job in 1965 at Charterhouse School in Godalming, Surrey, where fellow students Anthony Phillips, Robert Tyrell, Rivers Job, Michael Coleman and Richard McPhaeil were members of another group called Anon. Mike Rutherford was in The Climax, with Chris Stewart (drums), Chris Pigott (bass guitar), Duncan James (lead guitar) and Tim Hobart (vocals). The Scarlet and Black group included Toby Ward (drums), Guy Ross-Lowe (bass guitar), Michael Slack (piano), Mark Weeks (piano and guitar), Richard Apley (saxophone), Andrew Bruce (trombone) and Paul Gabriel (vocals).The groups initially merged out of expediency as the older members of each graduated; Gabriel, Banks, Rutherford, Phillips, and drummer Chris Stewart soon joined together as the New Anon, and recorded a six-song demo featuring songs primarily written by Rutherford and Phillips. The Charterhouse connection worked in their favor when an ex-student, recording artist and producer Jonathan King, heard the tape and arranged for the group to continue working in the studio, developing their sound. It was also King who renamed the band Genesis.

The heavy, psychedelic acid rock of Iron Butterfly may seem dated to some today, but the group was one of the first hard-rock bands to receive extensive radio airplay, and their best-known song, the 17-minute epic "In A Gadda Da Vida", established that more extended compositions were viable entries in the radio marketplace, paving the way for progressive AOR. The track was written by vocalist, organist, and bandleader Doug Ingle, who formed the first incarnation of Iron Butterfly in 1966 in San Diego with drummer Ron Bushy.

Guitarist, composer, arranger, and songwriter Doug Sahm was a knowledgeable music historian and veteran performer equally comfortable in a range of styles, including Texas blues, country, rock & roll, Western swing, and Cajun. Born November 6, 1941 in San Antonio, Texas, he began his performing career at age nine when he was featured on a San Antonio area radio station, playing steel guitar. Sahm began recording for a procession of small labels (Harlem, Warrior, Renner and Personality), in 1955 with "A Real American Joe" under the name Little Doug Sahm. Three years later he was leading a group called the Pharoahs. Sahm recorded a series of singles for Texas-based record companies including "Crazy Daisy" (1959), "Sapphire" (1961), and "If You Ever Need Me" (1964). After being prompted in 1965 to assemble a group by producer Huey Meaux, Sahm asked his friends Augie Meyers (keyboards), Frank Morin (saxophone), Harvey Kagan (bass) and Johnny Perez (drums), if they would join him. Meaux gave the group the name the Sir Douglas Quintet. The group had some success on the radio with "The Rains Came," but Sahm later moved to California after the group broke up, where he formed the Honkey Blues Band. He reformed his Quintet in California and recorded a now-classic single, "Mendocino." The resulting album was a ground-breaking record in the then-emerging country-rock scene. The Sir Douglas Quintet followed Mendocino with Together After Five, another album that led them to a larger fan base.

Lovin' Spoonful

Small Faces on RSG 1964

The rare, sole, and self-titled album by Eclection was one of the finer overlooked folk-rock recordings of the 1960s, and perhaps the best relatively unknown British folk-rock LP of its time. The band had a great deal going for them: four strong singers, rich multipart harmonies, strong original material by two composers, deftly textured mixes of electric and acoustic guitars, and tasteful orchestration that gracefully enhanced the soaring bittersweet melodies and male-female vocal blends. They were also one of the few British acts signed to Elektra Records, the hippest American independent label of that era.
None of this translated into high sales or wide renown. Eclection, so full of promise on this 1968 album, had split up by the end of 1969, never having issued another full-lenght release.
The simple label of "British folk-rock band" applies to Eclection as much as any description could. Upon closer scrunity, that term fails to capture the complexities of this enigmatic group. For this British band had but one actual British member, the rest of the group hailing from Norway, Australia, and Canada; for that matter, when one of the Australians left, she was replaced by an American. The group are closely connected to the Fairport Convention family tree via the presence of two future members of the band, yet neither of them wrote material or took prominent lead vocal roles on the Eclection album. Despite the Fairport connection, the folk background of some of the members, and the obvious vocal and instrumental folk-rock elements, they didn't think of themselves as folk-rock.
Too, this British album, recorded in London by mostly non-British musicians, sounded more like a product of California than anything else, despite the absence of any Americans on the recording. Tying it all together was the unlikely figure of producer Ossie Byrne, most known for overseeing the first international hits of the Bee Gees. Byrne, of course, was not British either, hailing from Australia.
Eclection was an apt name for a group originating from such disparate regions. Georg Hultgreem, who wrote nine of the twelve songs on the album and handled twelve-string electric and acoustic guitars, was born in Norway. The son of Russian prince Paulo Tjegodiev Sakonski and Finnish sculptress Johanna Kajanus, he moved to Paris just before entering his teens. Shortly afterwards he moved with his family to Quebec, where he learned English, and worked as a stained glass window designer before ending up in England. Michael Rosen, who wrote the remaining three songs on the LP and played trumpet in addition to six-string acoustic and electric guitars, came from Canada.
Singer Kerrilee Male, an Australian, had in the mid-1960s sung in Dave's Place Group; that outfit was featured on the Australian folk music television show Dave's Place, featuring ex-Kingston trio guitarist Dave Guard, who had somehow ended up living in Sydney. Fellow Australian Trevor Lucas had the most on-record experience of any member of Eclection, having released a couple of rare folk albums, as well as contributing to the EP The Folk Attick Presents, singing backup vocals on British folk legends A.L. Lloyd's Leviathan, and appearing on the soundtrack to Far from the Madding Crowd.
Completing the unlikely quintet was their sole British member, drummer Gerry Conway, who was just leaving his teens. Conway had been playing in the group of musical giant Alexis Korner, whose band was famous for helping train numerous future British rock stars, including members of the Roling Stones, Cream, and Led Zeppelin. If it seems like an unlikely transition from a blues-oriented ensemble such as Korner's to the pop-folk-rock of Eclection, it should be remembered that Korner's band had also given apprenticeship to Danny Thompson and Terry Cox, the rhythm section of one of the most successful British folk-rock groups, Pentangle.
Conway remembers that the other four members of Eclection had already been writing and rehearsing when he was recommended to the band and went to a London apartment to meet them, subsequently joining the lineup. He doesn't characterize their sound as folk-rock, but rather as "progressive". As he observes, "I don't think at the time we were thinking we were in any one vein or another. But as I recall, we were kind of labelled as a progressive rock band. Which was a bit thin on the ground in England when we started."
Elektra at the time had issued few recordings by British artists, the most notable exception being LPs by the Incredible String Band. "It was pretty unsual for an English band to be on Elektra," concurs Conway. "I think we felt quite sort of chuffed about it." Conway was also chuffed that, as Eclection's manager worked for Elektra, the band was able to rehearse extensively at one of the Elektra warehouses: "I remember racks of records everywhere, especially Blue Note jazz records. I remember asking [him] eventually if I could have some," he laughs. "He gave me some of these, so I was very pleased at all this."
The recording of the actual album at IBC Studios in London, as Conway recalls, was quite straightforward, the songs laid down "just as we rehearsed them. There was no complicated procedure, [though] I'm sure that all the harmonies were overdubbed later." As were the crafty orchestral arrangements, done by Phil Dennys, who had undertaken the same tasks in the early Bee Gees records that Byrne produced. "It was always the exciting part of making albums, to go in later and hear the strings put on the rhythm tracks that we'd done," enthuses Conway. "It was sort of the icing on the cake."
The combination of male-female harmonies, optimistic lyrics with shades of romantic psychedelia, folk-rock melodies, acoustic-electric six- and twelve-string guitar, combinations, and stratospheric orchestration couldn't help but bring to mind similar Californian folk-pop-rock of the mid-to-late 1960s. If so, says Conway, it was "a happy coincidence," particularly as the band never played in the Stated.
"It was quite a musical adventure of its day, radically different to other band that were around," he continues. "The lineup was quite drastically different to what was going in those days, having a sort of electric twelve-string with another electric guitar. Mike played trumpet as well. Kerrilee was a very strong, good singer, always very prominent in things." It was her voice that was the most distinctive in Eclection, recalling the female parts in West Coast harmony folk-rockers like the We Five and the early Jefferson Airplane, as well as the Seekers, though placed in hipper and more ambitious contexts than the We Five or the Seekers. ("Her voice cuts into the brain like a carving knife," wrote Lilian Roxon at the time, in her typically blunt entry for Eclection in her Rock Encyclopedia.) The male-female vocal interactions wove adroit patterns that were sometimes in the mold of the Mamas and the Papas, achieving a classical grandeur on the glorious fade to "Still I Can See" in particular, and a round-like quality on the scat sections of "In Her Mind".
Fairport Convention fans aware of the album primarily due to the participation of bassist Trevor Lucas might be surprised by the relatively subdued role he takes on the record. He had just one lead vocal on "In The Early Days", and wrote none of the song. Most of the male lead vocals went to Rosen, though Hultgreen had his own lead feature spot on "Morning Of Yesterday". While it might seem logical to view Hultgreen as the prime creative figure of Eclection, as he penned most of their songs -- "Georg was quite a prolific songwriter, he just wrote all the time" notes Conway -- Gerry nonetheless feels that Lucas "had a strong presence in the group. I think people looked upon him as the leader."
Eclection were a popular live act on the college / university circuit. Conway remembers Rosen's "Nevertheless" -- the obvious choice for a first single with the California sunshine pop / Mamas and the Papas similarities at their strongest -- getting quite a bit of airplay in Britain, although it didn’t chart. Gerry cites another Rosen song "St. Georg And The Dragon (Up The Night)", as one which went down particularly well with concert audiences. Yet the album -- complete with a gatefold sleeve boasting full lyrics and a groovy, psychedelic cover photo (by Joel Brodsky, noted for his pictures on early Doors sleeves) with mannequins, including some provocatively nude female ones -- did not sell all that well. In the US especially, it's quite a feat to find an original copy in the used bins.
"I loved that group," declares Elektra president and founder Jac Holzman. "They were a fascinating group, a wonderful band, and I thought the records were wonderful. I think our mistake was not bringing them to the States, because they really needed to get out of England. There was too much other stuff competing in England, and in the States, we might have had an easier time. I don't know why we didn't bring 'em. I think, had we got 'em the right venues and gotten them some help with their show, it would have worked."
Another major blow to Eclection's longecity was the departure of Male in late 1968. "Once we started playing live it was very soon apparent that Kerrilee didn't want to stay with it," says Conway. "I think she decided she didn't want to be in the music world. Once she had left, the band slowly but surely changed, with different members leaving. We ended up sort of half a million miles away from what we started with."
Male's replacement was Lucas' friend Dorris Henderson, a black Californian who had moved to England in the mid-1960's. She had already established herself as a noted folk singer, particularly with her first album, 1965's There You Go!, a collaboration with top British guitarist John Renbourn. The new lineup did cut one single, "Please (Mark II)", a soulful cover of a song by the Californian psychedelic band Kaleidoscope. "But as time passed, it was no longer a progressive rock band," feels Conway. "At the end of its days, it was more of a kind of a jazzy, bluesy band." After several personal changes -- one addition was percussionist / vocalist Poli Palmer, formerly in the fine psychedelic cult band Blossom Toes, and later to join Family -- "we just decided, eventually, that we weren't really going anywhere. Not where we wanted to go, anyway." After about a year of gigging with post-Kerrilee Male lineups, Eclection broke up in late 1969 (though Henderson did head a revamped version of the band in the 1970s). Lucas and Conway formed the rhythm section of Fotheringay, featuring Trevor's girlfriend (and, later, wife) Sandy Denny, who had just established herself as the finest British folk-rock singer as part of Fairport Convention. Fotheringay made a fine folk-rock album in 1970 before Denny left for a solo career. Lucas and Denny would play together again in Fairport Convention in the mid-1970s, though Denny died tragically young in 1978, while Lucas passed away in 1989. Conway's long career took in stints in Jethro Tull and Pentangle, as well as recordings with John Cale, Sandy Denny, Joan Armatrading, the Everly Brothers, Cat Stevens, Richard Thompson, Al Stewart, and many others. He's now, in 2001, the drummer in Fairport Convention, an institution that's still going strong more than thirty years after their formation.
As for the others, Hultgreen, under the name of Georg Kajanus, joined SAILOR, who had a couple of Top Ten British singles in the mid-1970s. An accomplished artist as well as a musician, he is now, believes Conway, living in Paris. Rosen later played with obscure early 1970s progressive rockers Mogul Thrash, which also included Family / King Crimson / Asia member John Wetton. Gerry last saw Michael in the early 1980s in Canada while touring with Richard Thompson, "and as far as I know, he was working in his uncle's steel mill." Conway's lost all contact with Kerrilee Male, whom he believes went back to Australia after quitting Eclection. "As it started it finished, I suppose," he chuckles. "Everybody disappeared back in the four corners of the earth."
Richie Unterberger 


 

Charly Daniels

The Connors of Waycross:  Gram Parsons

Parsons was born Ingram Cecil Connor III in Waycross, Georgia on November 5, 1946. His mother Avis came from the prosperous Snively family, whose orange groves made them millions by the mid '50s, when Snively Groves was the largest shipper of fresh fruit in Florida. The Snivelys later owned an interest in Cypress Gardens, the popular tourist attraction built on part of the Snivelys' land in Winter Haven, Florida.
His father, Cecil "Coon Dog" Connor, Jr., was the son of a wealthy salesman from Columbia, Tennessee. During World War Two, Coon Dog Connor was a major in the Army Air Force and flew over fifty combat missions. By 1946 he was running a box-making factory in Waycross, Georgia, owned by his new in-laws, the Snivelys. The Connors lived in a comfortable home in the nicest section of town.
By age nine, Gram Connor was taking piano lessons and listening to country music. By 1956, early rock and roll had captured his interest. He was partial to Jerry Lee Lewis, Buddy Holly and Carl Perkins, but nobody made a greater impression on him than Elvis Presley. The nine-year-old fan saw Elvis perform in Waycross in February 1956, when he opened for Little Jimmie Dickens -- only weeks before "Heartbreak Hotel" made Presley a star. He got Elvis's autograph, and soon was lip-synching Elvis numbers on his front stoop for the neighborhood kids. Those young friends remember Gram Connor as smart, charismatic, and prone to spinning wild tales.
The next year Avis Connor sent her son to the Bolles School, a military prep school in Jacksonville, Florida. His stay was interrupted when his father killed himself with a .38 caliber bullet to the head in December of 1958. Coon Dog Connor had grown to feel trapped in his job with the Snively family business, and perhaps in his marriage as well. His son was seriously shaken; within a few months, he was kicked out of Bolles because of disciplinary problems.
He returned to Winter Haven, where his mother had married Robert Ellis Parsons, described by sources of Fong-Torres as a transparent fortune hunter.* Bob Parsons immediately adopted Gram Connor and his little sister Avis as his own children, which his wife's family regarded as part of an effort to get hold of the Snively fortune.
Gram Parsons, by 1959 a thirteen-year-old ladykiller, became more interested in music. Elvis's career was in eclipse, and Philadelphia pretty boys like Bobby Vee and Bobby Vinton dominated radio. Parsons had no use for the American Bandstand brigade; he still preferred the first-generation rockers and the R&B bands that toured the Southern frat-party circuit.


The Pacers

In 1960, the eighth-grade Parsons joined his first band, the Pacers. He was the lead singer; the others were older guys from Winter Haven High. The Pacers covered Elvis songs to the delight of the local high school girls. After a year with the clean-cut Pacers, Gram defected to a rival local band that had several promising musicians.


The Legends

Parsons became the lead singer for the Legends, another rock and roll cover band. Other members included Jim Carlton on upright bass, Lamar Braxton on drums, and future hitmaker Jim Stafford on lead guitar. The Legends covered Ray Charles and Chuck Berry, Little Richard and the Everly Brothers, Duane Eddy and the Ventures. It was a loose aggregation; later members included Jon Corneal on drums, Jesse Chambers on guitar, and Kent LaVoie, who also achieved fame in the early '70s as Lobo. The Legends earned a decent living for a high school band, playing gigs in Winter Haven and around Florida. They even earned a regular slot on a local TV dance show.
By 1962, Parsons had involved himself in several musical side projects while still a member of the Legends. He sometimes sat in on keyboards with Kent LaVoie's full-time band, the Rumors. As the folk music boom filtered onto the charts, Parsons also started dabbling in that genre. Occasionally he would play solo gigs with an acoustic guitar. With Legends bassist Jim Carlton, he worked up a folk and comedy duo in the style of the Smothers Brothers. Next, Parsons put together the Village Vanguards, a folk trio patterned after Peter, Paul & Mary that featured Parsons, his girlfriend Patti Johnson, and his friend Dick McNeer. For the most part, the Vanguards played during intermissions at shows by the Legends.
Meanwhile, Avis Parsons had given birth to a daughter by her new husband, but before long Bob Parsons was spending an unseemly amount of time with their 18-year-old babysitter. Avis Parsons in turn became increasingly dependent on alcohol and on the pharmacopoeia she had accumulated with the help of a neighboring doctor. Gram Parsons began to sample from her medicine cabinet as well.
With music, girls and pills to distract him from his schoolwork, he failed his junior year at Winter Haven High. Patti Johnson's father prevented an attempted elopement with Parsons that summer, incidentally putting an end to the Vanguards. Family friends pulled strings, and in fall of 1963, Parsons returned to the Bolles School, now a college prep school with no military ties, to repeat his junior year. Without Parsons, the Legends dissolved.


The Shilos

Greenville, South Carolina was the home of Buddy Freeman, an old family friend who began to manage Parsons. Freeman had no prior music experience but threw himself into the job with enthusiasm. As a result, the young singer developed a following in Greenville. In 1963, Parsons played a teen music show there on local television. An area deejay saw the program and asked Parsons to judge a talent contest and sing a couple numbers.
Before the show, Parsons met two-thirds of a singing trio from the area called the Shilos. They discovered a mutual appreciation for the Journeymen and ran through one of their songs backstage. The resulting harmony impressed them all. The next night Parsons chose the Shilos as the winners of the contest and the prize money, after which the group joined him onstage to perform. (Remarkably, none of the other contestants protested.)
Before long, the 17-year-old Gram Parsons was a member of the Shilos. The other members -- Paul Surratt, Joe Kelly, and George Wrigley -- were also in high school, but the addition of Parsons and the hustling of Freeman led to impressive success for the band. The Shilos played dances, coffee houses, colleges, and TV shows; in time they commanded several hundred dollars per performance.
In the summer of 1964, the Shilos spent a month a New York City. They played often at the small Café Rafio, but also performed at more prestigious venues like the Bitter End and Café Wha. They managed to ingratiate themselves with their idols the Journeymen, so much so that Dick Weissman and Parsons recorded some tracks together -- tracks which are now, sadly, lost. John Phillips even brought the Shilos to the office of Albert Grossman, Bob Dylan's manager. A Grossman underling was intrigued, but balked when he learned the Shilos were all too young to sign a contract.
The Shilos returned South. In March of 1965, they recorded nine tracks at the radio station of Bob Jones University, a Greenville religious college (which became famous in the '80s for refusing to integrate). These tracks surfaced many years later on Gram Parsons: The Early Years, Volume I (1963-1965) (Sierra, 1979). Among the songs were two by Journeyman Dick Weissman, and most interestingly, a version of Pete Seeger's "Bells of Rhymney" that predates the Byrds' version by several months.


The Early Years: 1963-1965.
Courtesy Sierra Records.

The record shows a young group very much fixated on the sound of the Journeymen and the Kingston Trio. But by early 1965, that form of folk music was being drowned out by Beatlemania -- and soon it would be displaced by the folk rock of Dylan and the Byrds. Not surprisingly, the group's attempts to generate record company interest in the demo proved fruitless.
Parsons's high school graduation arrived in June of '65. That same morning he learned that his mother had died of alcohol poisoning after a period of hospitalization. Aside from her husband's conduct, Avis Parsons had other troubles: she had been embroiled in a bitter internecine legal struggle over her brother's management of the Snively businesses -- a struggle that helped cause the loss of the entire family fortune by 1974. These emotional strains worsened her substance abuse so much that her death was no surprise to the family.
Bob Parsons soon moved to Florida and married the family's babysitter, though she was only a few years older than the teenaged Gram. Despite considerable strain in their relations, Bob Parsons helped his step-son wangle a draft deferment (on the grounds that he was supposedly 4-F), and encouraged him to apply to Harvard.
"I did a back-dive into Harvard," Parsons said in a 1972 Warner/Reprise PR bio. "They were looking to break out of their traditional mold of choosing students, and I was way out of the traditional mold."* His grades and test scores were unimpressive, so his own assessment seems plausible: "I guess they figured they had enough class presidents and maybe they needed a few beatniks."* The young singer arrived in Cambridge in the fall of '65.

As Little Feat was disbanding in late 1978, their lead guitarist/songwriter Lowell George recorded a solo album, Thanks I'll Eat It Here, that sounded as loose and funky as the band in their prime. After its release the following year, he set out on tour to support the album. Sadly, George died of a heart attack while on the road; he left behind a body of gritty, eclectic, and funky rock & roll. On the first five Little Feat albums, his songwriting and instrumental talents are more apparent than on his solo effort, yet that doesn't detract from the record's pleasures. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide 

 

Country Joe Mc Donalds

Country Joe and the FishCountry Joe and the Fish came about as part political device, part necessity, and part entertainment. In the Fall of 1965, the remnants of the FSM (Free Speech Movement) on the Berkeley Campus were organizing a series of demonstrations against the war in Vietnam at the Oakland Induction Center. Drawing on the experience of the Civil Rights Movement, the anti-war organizers always provided entertainment either before or after the march -- to hold people's attention. This was the era of the folk revival starting to turn into the San Francisco rock scene and "bands" were starting to appear all over the place. Joe McDonald had been editing a magazine he had founded, Rag Baby, and, as the story goes, ran out of material. He got the idea of doing a talking issue and through various devices and favors wound up having an EP pressed; it was an extended-play disc with four songs on it: two by a group called Country Joe and the Fish and two by another local folk singer, Peter Krug. This disc is considered to be the first self-produced recording to be used by a band as a form of promotion. It contained the original recorded version of the so-called anthem of the sixties "I Feel Like I'm Fixin' To Die Rag" and Joe's satire of President Lyndon Johnson, "Superbird." The group was a loose collection of friends and acquaintances, performing mostly jug band-flavored material, most of it Joe's. After a brief period of what could be called indecision, Joe and Barry Melton earnestly put together a rock band, called it Country Joe and the Fish and started working at music on a rather full-time basis.

The Yardbirds are mostly known to the casual rock fan as the starting point for three of the greatest British rock guitarists: Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Jimmy Page. Undoubtedly, these three figures did much to shape the group's sound, but throughout their career, the Yardbirds were very much a unit, albeit a rather unstable one. And they were truly one of the great rock bands; one whose contributions went far beyond the scope of their half dozen or so mid-60s hits ("For Your Love," "Heart Full of Soul," "Shapes of Things," "I'm a Man," "Over Under Sideways Down," "Happenings Ten Years Time Ago"). Not content to limit themselves to the R&B and blues covers they concentrated upon initially, they quickly branched out into moody, increasingly experimental pop/rock. The innovations of Clapton, Beck, and Page redefined the role of the guitar in rock music, breaking immense ground in the use of feedback, distortion, and amplification with finesse and breathtaking virtuosity. With the arguable exception of the Byrds, they did more than any other outfit to pioneer psychedelia, with an eclectic, risk-taking approach that laid the groundwork for much of the hard rock and progressive rock from the late '60s to the present.

The origins of Fleetwood Mac can be traced from a number of greater, lesser, and simply unknown bands that roamed England in the early and mid-1960s. These bands provide something of a musical pedigree for the three nuclear members of what was to become Fleetwood Mac (all of whom were to be credited in the band's name on the first album): Peter Green (born October 29, 1946), Mick Fleetwood (born June 24, 1947), and John McVie (born November 26, 1945). It was these three men who worked together for the first time in 1967 that formed the spark that ignited Fleetwood Mac.

EC with the Yardies

Detroit 1968

EC gigging wit Tom McGuinnes and R&B Band "The Roosters"

All dates refer to 1969; the entire history of the band can be encompassed in this one year.
February 8
Eric Clapton and Ginger Baker, remaining together after the demise of Cream in Nov 1968, join with Steve Winwood, who has just quit Traffic, at the Berkshire Downs cottage at Aston-Tirrold for preliminary jams and rehearsals. (Clapton, according to another source, was ‘induced in a moment of weakness’ into joining the group. Winwood himself recalls that he and Clapton rehearsed together for 2 weeks at Clapton’s house in Surrey before Baker was invited to join; and Baker was invited over Clapton’s objections.)
May 3
Ric Grech joins the still-unnamed group, leaving the group Family during their US tour to do so.
The name “Blind Faith” is announced. The music press dubs the line-up an ‘instant supergroup’; their name is apparently an anticipatory response to this.
June 7
After recording an album, the band makes its live debut in Hyde Park, London; a crowd estimated at 100,000 - 150,000 watch for free. (Tapes of this show are in circulation.)
June 22
The group’s one and only album, Blind Faith, is released on the Polydor label in the UK and the Atco label in the US. It includes the songs Had To Cry Today, Can’t Find My Way Home, Well All Right, Presence of the Lord, Sea of Joy, and Do What You Like. The original UK sleeve with a picture of a nude 11-year-old girl holding a ‘phallic’ model airplane is considered too controversial for use in the US and is replaced by a group photograph.
July 11
The US live debut at Madison Square Garden, NY, is the start of a sell-out two-month US stadium tour, once called ‘one of the tackiest rock circuses of all time’, which earns a fortune, yet convinces band members that Blind Faith is musically unsatisfying. Winwood later describes the tour as “vulgar, crude, disgusting” and “lacking in integrity”.
September 19
Blind Faith is awarded a Gold Album.
September 22
Blind Faith hits #1 on both the US and UK pop charts and stays there for 2 weeks.
September 29
The band completes the US tour in Hawaii.
October 8
It is announced that Clapton, having already lost interest, will carry on touring with Delaney and Bonnie. Grech will stay with Baker in Airforce at the end of 1969, while SW will work solo before re-forming Traffic early in 1970. Blind Faith does not play together again. 

 

 

1966

Derek & the Dominos was a group formed by guitarist/singer Eric Clapton (born Eric Patrick Clapp, March 30, 1945, Ripley, Surrey, England) with other former members of Delaney & Bonnie & Friends, in the spring of 1970. The rest of the lineup was Bobby Whitlock (b. 1948, Memphis, TN) (keyboards, vocals), Carl Radle (b. 1942, Oklahoma City, OK -- d. May 30, 1980) (bass), and Jim Gordon (b. 1945, Los Angeles) (drums). The group debuted at the Lyceum Ballroom in London on June 14 and undertook a summer tour of England. From late August to early October, they recorded the celebrated double album Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs (November 1970) with guitarist Duane Allman sitting in. They then returned to touring in England and the U.S., playing their final date on December 6.

The Spotnicks was formed in Göteborg, Sweden, in 1957, by guitarist and undisputed bandleader Bo Winberg. The other members were guitarist and singer Bob Lander, drummer Ove Johansson, and bassist Björn Thein, several of whom had already played together in local rock & roll bands like the Blue Caps, Rock Teddy, and the Rebels. The first year, they performed under the name the Frazers, but soon changed it to the Spotnicks. In 1961, they were signed by Karusell and released their first singles containing mostly instrumental covers of famous songs. The selection of songs was as varied as the performance was homogenous, including titles like "Hava Nagila" and "Johnny Guitar." Later the same year, the Spotnicks toured Germany, France, and Spain and in 1962, they released the debut album The Spotnicks in London, recorded on their first trip to England. Featured on this tour were the space suits that the band would wear on-stage until 1969. "Hava Nagila" became a hit in England in 1963 and the same year, Johansson left and was replaced by Derek Skinner. The rest of the '60s meant increasing success in Europe, the U.S., and Japan, and the band even managed to compete with themselves on the Japanese charts when the Spotnicks' song "Karelia" took the first position from the Feenades' "Ajomies." The song was the same, just recorded under different titles. The Feendes were a Finland-based side project to the Spotnicks, built on Winberg and Peter Winsnes, who had joined the Spotnicks in 1965. Winberg also released less successful recordings under the name the Shy Ones. Compared to the following decades, the '60s were a relative stable period for the group when it came to the lineup. Some new members were recruited though, like drummer Jimmie Nicol, bassist Magnus Hellsberg, and drummer Tommy Tausis, who had earlier played with Tages.

The Shadows:
Hank B. Marvin - lead guitar (born Brian Rankin, 28th October 1941, Newcastle)
Bruce Welch - rhythm guitar (born 2nd November 1941, Bognor Regis, Sussex)
Jet Harris - bass guitar (born Terence Harris, 6th July 1939)
Tony Meehan - drums (born 2nd March 1942, London)

Originally Cliff Richard's backing band, the British quartet the Shadows began recording on their own in 1960 and had a major hit with the instrumental "Apache." They were built around guitarists Hank Marvin and Bruce Welch, with an ever-changing rhythm section (Terry "Jet" Harris and Tony Meehan, the original bassist and drummer, were the most famous, and went on to success on their own in the early '60s); originally dubbed "the Drifters," they adopted their more famous moniker during their first tour with Richard to avoid confusion with the popular American R&B group of the same name. Often erroneously thought of as England's answer to the Ventures, the Shadows' sound was polished, crisp, clean, and metallic, making up for its inherent sterility and lack of soul thanks to a knack for drawing out melodies in their most haunting form; their biggest hit was "Apache," but they also scored with smash singles including 1960's "Man of Mystery" and 1961's "Kon-Tiki." By 1962, both Harris and Meehan had exited, and the remaining duo of Marvin and Welch continued backing Richard in his many film roles, adopting a distinctively exaggerated brand of choreography widely imitated by other guitar-based groups of the era. Subsequent chart-toppers including 1963's "Wonderful Land" and 1963's "Foot Tapper" followed, and although the Shadows were largely lost in the shuffle of the British Invasion they continued backing Richard until 1968, at which time Welch quit. Many more reunions and breakups were to follow in the coming decades, and in one form or another the Shadows continued to record well into the 1990s.

In Order of the British Empire -
Brian Benett und Bruce Welch, The Shadows

First songbook of The Shadows

The Shadows hießen vorher The Drifters

The Drifters were born in the 2 I's Coffee Bar in Soho, London in 1958. Hank Marvin and his friend Bruce Welch were signed up there by Cliff Richard's Manager, to be the backing group for Cliff on his forthcoming UK tour. The other two members were shortly to join them - Ian Samwell and Terry Smart. In October 1958 bassist Ian Samwell left and was replaced by Jet Harris and in February 1959, drummer Terry Smart left to be replaced by Tony Meehan. In July 1959 whilst on a tour of the US, they had to change their name due to the prior presence of a black vocal group called The Drifters

 Cliff Richard, a British pop culture phenomenon,(born Harry Webb in Lucknow, India on 14 October 1940) has been a celebrity since 1958, a pop icon and an enigmatic figure, a tabula rasa on to which an audience can write what it desires. His credentials as an early rock-and-roller, modelled on Elvis, lasted only from 1958 to 59; clearly his heart wasn't in it. His first film appearance was as a juvenile delinquent in Serious Charge (d. Terence Young, 1959), followed by his celebrated performance of 'Turn Me Loose', with menacing leer, on TV's Oh Boy! (ITV, tx. 30/5/1959), an image soon abandoned in favour of blander pop that appealed to both teenagers and their grannies.
Both The Young Ones (d. Sidney J.Furie, 1961) and Summer Holiday (d. Peter Yates, 1962) were top UK box-office attractions of their time. The former drew on the 'Hey, guys, Let's put on a show!' ethos of the Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland films such as Babes on Broadway (US, d. Busby Berkeley, 1941), and Summer Holiday even had Cliff and the gang Viennese-waltzing. With his limited acting range, his films became even dumber, with diminishing box-office returns.
Following his religious conversion in 1965, he appeared in Two a Penny (d. James F.Collier, 1967), which is ironic in hindsight, as a number, 'Shrine on the Second Floor', in Expresso Bongo (d. Val Guest, 1959) had earlier satirised pop singers and religiosity. Whenever his name is invoked today it is inevitably with a heavy sense of post-modern irony; except, of course, by his ever-loyal (mainly female) fans, like the two middle-aged women reported as sleeping eight nights in a car to ensure being first in the ticket queue for his 2002 Bournemouth performance. He was knighted in 1995 for charitable works.


 

Jack Good, producer of the BBC's 'teen' series Six-Five Special (1957-58), had tried to persuade the broadcaster to play down the show's sports and general interest content and focus more on music, rightly believing that this was what its audience wanted. The BBC's rejection of the proposal frustrated Good, who resigned at the start of 1958, taking his programme concept with him to ITV, where he met a warmer reception.
The resulting show, Oh Boy!, initially appeared as two trial broadcasts in the Midlands region, before getting a network slot early on Saturday evening. It quickly confirmed that Good was right - its speed and energy proved extremely popular with an audience that had experienced nothing quite like it before.
The chance to see as well as hear top British stars such as Cliff Richard, Marty Wilde and Billy Fury was a major part of Oh Boy!'s success, and the fact that it was broadcast live added an extra energy to the proceedings. The programme also attracted some top US acts including The Inkspots, Conway Twitty and Brenda Lee, who helped up its cachet with an audience increasingly familiar with American music.
Jazz critic Tony Hall, who alternated as presenter with Jimmy Henney, told TV Times in 1958: "I saw the two trial shows and thought they were the most exciting things I've ever seen on television. The lighting, the camera work was great, and I thought the music was swinging more than most of TV's attempts to present jazz."
Backing for the performances was provided by Lord Rockingham's XI - of which there were 13 members - a group put together specially for the show by Good and music arranger Harry Robinson, who named the band as a play on the words 'rocking 'em'. Before confirming the line-up of musicians, Robinson locked himself away in a seaside caravan with a pile of American records in an attempt to understand and replicate their sound. His efforts paid off; Lord Rockingham's XI sounded authentic and their muscular performances helped add to Oh Boy!'s appeal.


 

SATURDAY 14th Nov. 1959
'OH BOY!' SHOW # 27  (Compered by Jimmy Henney)
RESIDENT WEEKLY BAND & PERFORMERS:
Red Price, The Dallas Boys,
Neville Taylor & The Cutters, Cherry Wainer, The Vernons Girls.
THIS WEEK'S SPECIAL GUESTS:
Bill Forbes
Billy Fury
Chris Andrews
Don Lang
Peter Elliott
Teddy & Freddy
Tony Sheridan
Billy Fury and Tony Sheridan both make their second of six appearances in the series.
Newcomer Chris Andrews makes his debut appearance. He would also appear in show 30 (4th April 1959) singing a cover of Cliff Richard’s “Move It.” Teddy and Freddy make their one and only appearance in the series.

Edition originally transmitted on 30/5/1959

Main title. Spotlight on stage, curtains open, a man and backing group comprising, Cliff Richard, Marty Wilde, Dickie Pride and Billy Fury sing 'At the Hop' (lyrics changed for show); The Vernon Girls sing 'Rip it up' (01:10); four men, from the Dallas Boys, sing 'Lonesome Traveller', everyone joins in including, at the end, Tony Hall. Presenter Jimmy Henney on stage, introduces show and tries to sing, interrupted by Tony Hall who introduces Lord Rockingham's XI. The band perform 'Ra Ra Rockingham'. Brief shots of Red Price and Benny Green. Cuddly Dudley sings 'Let's Rock Baby, Let's Roll'. Billy Fury sings 'Don't Want You Anymore', backed by the Vernon Girls. Lord Rockingham's XI perform 'Hey Hey Loobey Do' (?). Marty Wilde sings 'All American Boy'. Dickie Pride sings 'Slippin' and a Slidin'' (?). Peter Elliott sings 'When I Grow too Old to Dream'. Lord Rockingham's XI perform 'When the Saints Go Marchin' in' joined by Dallas Boys and Vernon Girls, then by Cliff Richard and Marty Wilde.
Dallas Boys and Vernon Girls sing and dance to an unidentified song. Unidentified singer sings 'Water, Water, She Gave Me Water Not from the Well' (16:36). Mike Preston performs 'Dirty Old Town'. Cliff Richard sings 'Turn Me Loose'. Neville Taylor and The Cutters perform 'She's A Good Good'. Comic song 'Percy Green' performed by Don Lang. Cliff Richard, Marty Wilde and Dickie Pride sing 'Three Cool Cats' - three Vernon Girls dance to the song. Jimmy Henney finishes his song, Tony Hall takes over says its the last show of the season and thanks lighting man Jimmy Boyers (?), says goodbye. Marty Wilde sings a song and is joined by Cliff Richard and Lord Rockingham's XI; credits roll over song.

 

news 1963

Sir Cliff Richard & Joe Brown 2002

Sir Cliff & Chas Mc Devitt

Mike Warner, Albert Lee, Barry Jenkins

Barry Jenkins, Wilhelmstübchen Wuppertal 1963, Drummer u. a. bei den Nashville Teens, Jerry Lee Lewis, Ray Charles, den Animals usw.

Telly Masters, Jerry Donahue & James Burton

Sonny James, The Southern Gentleman

Jimmy Bryant
 
 

 
 

It’s not difficult to imagine the huge impact that Jimmy Bryant’s explosive guitar style had on his fellow guitarists of the 1950s. Listen to his music today and you’ll get that tingle down your spine that Danny Gatton, Albert Lee and all those hot Telecaster players experienced when they first heard Bryant blasting through classics like Red Headed Polka and Stratosphere Boogie. Bryant’s gift for melody, and his sense of humor that shines from every cut, is timeless. Always performing with a swagger that made even the most complicated techniques look ridiculously easy, Bryant was the fastest player that anyone had ever heard, raising the bar for guitarists forever. Also worth remembering is the fact that, in an era when amplifier distortion was still considered a ‘fault,’ he played every note clean, with absolute precision. He was also an accomplished songwriter, penning the Waylon Jennings classic, The Only Daddy That’ll Walk The Line. Just how Jimmy Bryant came to be a guitar player in the first place is a classic tale of one man’s triumph over tragedy and great adversity.
Jimmy Bryant was born Ivy. J. Bryant Jr on March 5, 1925 in Moultrie, Georgia, into a poor farming family. Like many families caught in this relentlessly tough existence, the Bryant’s enjoyed the welcome relief that performing music could bring. Jimmy’s musician father instilled the joy of playing a musical instrument in his young son and pretty soon the boy was a fiddle-playing prodigy supplementing the family’s income by playing for tips on the Courthouse Square of Moultrie. As he grew Bryant honed his fiddle skills by playing with local bands and performing at the Saturday night barn dances that were popular at that time. Even though opportunities were few, Jimmy had no desire to follow in his parent’s footsteps, working the fields of Georgia. As it turned out he needn’t have worried. In addition to his incredible talent, this young man had fate on his side…
In 1943, the 18-year old Bryant was drafted into the US Army. While he was fighting in Germany he was critically injured by an exploding grenade, sustaining head injuries that would see him hospitalized for several months. While recuperating in hospital he taught himself to play guitar, applying his lightning fiddle skills to the six-string instrument, and that explosive guitar style was born.
When Jimmy Bryant passed away on September 22, 1980 he left behind an incredible body of recorded work. In addition to the countless sessions he’d played on, for various pop and country artists over the years, he released some of the most important instrumental guitar music ever committed to tape. From his first self-composed recording, Bryant’s Boogie, to his final solo sessions in the late 60s, Bryant never disappointed his fans, always breaking the rules with his usual style. Check out the ringing harmonics of Liberty Bell Polka, the complex picking of Yodelling Guitar, and the earliest use of that country music staple, chicken picking on the aptly named Pickin’ The Chicken. Some of his most awe-inspiring work can be found on his The Fastest Guitar in the Country album. Recorded in 1967 the album features Jimmy’s breakneck speed rendition of the classic Sugar Foot Rag. Incidentally, every guitarist should own a copy of Frettin’ Fingers; the Lightning Guitar of Jimmy Bryant, a 3-CD boxset packed full of Bryant’s finest moments. Speaking of which…
Probably Jimmy Bryant’s best-loved recordings are those that he made with steel guitarist Speedy West. The pair played together on sessions backing singers such as Tennessee Ernie Ford and Kay Starr but soon began working on their own material. It was a match made in heaven. Their melodic, fast guitar lines intertwined with each other creating an exciting brand of music that nobody had ever heard before. Between 1950 and 1956 Bryant and West recorded an incredible amount of material including the now legendary Stratosphere Boogie. Both men entered the studio in the mid 70s to record a reunion album. Unfortunately, the results of the sessions wouldn’t be released until 1990, ten years after Bryant’s death.
Although Bryant used many different guitars in the course of his career he will always be best remembered as a pioneer, the first endorsee, of Fender’s legendary Telecaster model. While some players of the day were reluctant to replace their ageing hollow-body guitars with this ‘new-fangled’ solid-body instrument, Bryant instantly warmed to the guitar’s unique playability and lively tone. The story goes that in 1950, Leo Fender, and his engineering consultant George Fullerton, visited Bryant at the Riverside Rancho, a Western music nightclub in Glendale, California. After handing Jimmy his new Broadcaster – later renamed the Telecaster  Leo and George watched as the guitarist caused such a sensation with the groundbreaking guitar that the crowd in the club gathered around him to watch him play. Apparently, even the band performing onstage at the time stopped playing to catch Bryant’s impromptu show! In 2003, Fender released its Jimmy Bryant Tribute Telecaster, produced with the input of Jimmy’s son, John. With its ash body, white blonde finish and hand-tooled leather pickguard, the guitar is a fitting tribute to a true pioneer of the Telecaster, and the electric guitar in general.
Of course, as well as his awesome guitar playing, it should be mentioned that Jimmy Bryant had that all-important ‘cool’ element that all guitar heroes should effortlessly possess. Always dressed to the teeth in a sharp suit or decorative country shirt, with hair slicked back, and that handsome face, it’s easy to see why the sight of Jimmy with his radical new Fender guitar was such an inspiration to guitarists, and music lovers, of the 1950s. It’s still a powerful image today.
- Ed Mitchell -

Sherwood Ball mit der Band von Jay Graydon

Sterling Ball, Präsident von Music Man, Sohn von Ernie Ball

Ernie Ball is no stranger to adversity. From the very beginning in the 1950s, founder Ernie Ball and son Sterling, the current president and CEO of the San Luis Obispo, Calif.-based company, have managed to turn obstacles into opportunities while steadily growing its product line and overseas market share in a highly competitive industry.
Ernie Ball was the first to open a store in the U.S. that sold only electric guitars. "It was the first of his three failures. He got it right the fourth time," Sterling Ball says. "He had a relationship with all the professional musicians. They would come to his store and have him work on their guitars and buy his guitars." During that time, there were very limited options as to the type of guitar strings available. "You had no control over the thickness of the guitar strings or the combination. It was like the Model T Ford-you could get it in any color as long as it was black," Ball says.
"So, my Dad went to Leo Fender and asked him if he would make strings in gauges so you could put your sets together, and package a set for rock and roll, because rock and roll was coming and [guitarists] needed to be able to bend the strings and they needed to be more flexible," Ball says. "Well, Leo Fender wouldn't do it, Gibson wouldn't do it. So, my Dad did it and he called them Slinkys. That was in 1962."
Word of mouth and coverage in industry magazines like Guitar Player increased the popularity of the strings, while the rise of guitarists like Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page together with bands like Cream and Led Zeppelin also helped. "The magazines couldn't think of anything to ask these bands," Ball says. "So, they asked them what kind of strings they used and they all said Ernie Ball."

Sterling auf der Namm 2004 mit seinem Bongo Bass

San Luis Obispo, CA (August 20, 2002): Guitar junkies won't want to miss the Ernie Ball Biffbaby's All Stars concert, Friday, August 30 at 7 p.m. The world-renowned musicians will kickoff the California Mid-State Rally at the Mid-State Fairground's Frontier stage in Paso Robles. For more than 20 years, Biffbaby's has been rocking audiences in the US, Europe, Australia and Japan with spontaneous no-hype, in your face, let's party entertainment. Music fans will have a chance to have fun and boogie to the sounds of Biffbaby's heavy-hitters including Guitar Player magazine's "Best Country Guitarist" and Grammy award winner Albert Lee, recording artist Vinnie Moore, guitar legend Blues Saraceno, Grammy award winner Steve Lukather, gifted keyboardist Jim Cox, drummer John Ferraro, president of the Ernie Ball company, Sterling Ball, and his brother, vocalist Sherwood Ball.

Les Paul has had such a staggeringly huge influence over the way American popular music sounds today that many tend to overlook his significant impact upon the jazz world.
Before his attention was diverted toward recording multi-layered hits for the pop market, he made his name as a brilliant jazz guitarist whose exposure on coast-to-coast radio programs guaranteed a wide audience of susceptible young musicians.

Clarence Leonidas Fender was born on August 10, 1909 on his parent's ranch in their barn.
The Fender ranch and orange groves, produced the area's most viable cash crop. Although the ranch straddled the border between Fullerton and Anaheim, on what is now La Palma Avenue, Leo and his sister went to Fullerton schools. He considered Fullerton his home town. At thirteen, Fender took up electronics as a hobby. He told a group of former classmates at a high school reunion: I had an uncle who ran an auto-electric shop in Santa Maria. On Christmas of 1921 he sent me a package containing a storage battery and a lot of discarded auotmobile electronic parts. Leo visited Santa Maria in 1922 and saw a homemade radio his uncle had put on display in front of the shop. The loud music from that speaker made a lasting impression on the lad from Fullerton.
He began building and repairing radios in his shop at home for fellow students. Leo graduated from Fullerton Union High School in the spring of 1928, entered Fullerton Junior College that fall, and majored in accounting. contrary to several published stories and the impressions of some close associates, Leo received no formal trainin