Albert Lee Talks Music, Mentorship, and Making It Last

Few guitarists have left as distinctive a mark on modern music as Albert Lee. Widely celebrated as one of the finest country-rock and rockabilly players of all time, Lee’s dazzling speed, melodic touch, and inventive style have earned him the nickname “Mr. Telecaster.” Over the decades, he has worked alongside an extraordinary roster of artists including Eric Clapton, Emmylou Harris, the Everly Brothers, and Jerry Lee Lewis, to name just a few. From session work in London’s 1960s scene to gracing some of the biggest stages in the world, his career spans both legendary collaborations and acclaimed solo projects. When he visited Barnoldswick Music & Arts Centre, we had the privilege of sitting down with him to talk about his remarkable journey, his craft, and the stories behind the strings.

This exclusive interview, filmed late last year, has just been released today. With Albert Lee currently touring the USA and set to return to the UK for a series of shows in October, we felt now was the perfect time to share it. Albert Lee is also set to return to Barnoldswick Music & Arts Centre next month on the 19th October.

You can also watch the interview below.

MT: Hi Albert, lovely to meet you. Thanks for joining us post— is it the second show out of three at Barnoldswick Music and Arts Centre?

Albert: That’s right, yeah.

MT: How do you find these small shows compared to bigger shows you’ve done? Do you prefer them, or do you prefer bigger shows?

Albert: Well, this is a bit small really, you know. It is a bit small out there, yeah, we’re tripping over each other, you know. It would have been nice with a bit more room, but, you know, it’s worth it if the people come in and they enjoy it, you know. It came as a surprise to do three nights here, you know, but here you go.

MT: It’s a bit odd for me this, because I play guitar myself and obviously not on the kind of level like you, but I’ve always heard of your name, kind of thing. But when I was actually introduced to your kind of playing was through a Rockschool Grade 7 piece. Were you aware of the syllabus Rockschool? They do grades 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 on guitar.

Albert: Oh really?

MT: And they’ve created a piece called Natchez Trace which was based on your guitar playing, and that’s where I learnt about your guitar playing.

Albert: That’s a new one to me, thanks.

MT: You need to check it out.

Albert: Yeah.

MT: Because it’s all based on your playing, so it’s called Natchez Trace, and I thought, I wonder if he knows about that tonight? when we should have a chat to you.

MT: At MusicTalks.com, what we always like to try and get artists and people to do is use it as an opportunity to either get a message out there directly to your fans or share any words of wisdom. Have you got anything you’d like to say to your fans out there?

Albert: Well, I always tell people that, you know, you can only get so far when you’re sitting in your bedroom, you know.

Albert: You’ve got to play with other players, and you’ve got to learn to play off of each other, you know. Not just concentrating on what you’re doing yourself. I think it’s really important, you know, to get with a band and to play, you know. But, you know, practice is good too, you know. I don’t practise much anymore, and I should.

Albert: After tonight I think I will, because it was a bit sticky up there tonight and I was missing notes and I thought, what’s going on here? you know. And I’ve had a cold too, you know, but that’s my excuse.

MT: To be fair, I thought your singing was really good. To say you then said a few songs in there that you had a cold, I thought it sounded really good.

Albert: I couldn’t hit a lot of the high notes. I’m pretty good at, you know, circumventing the melodies.

MT: Another thing I was going to ask, because obviously you’re playing tonight under your name and you’re like the centre of attention. But in the past you’ve done a lot of playing with other people and not being the centre of attention.

MT: Do you prefer to be the centre of attention or the more background guy?

Albert: Well, the background guy sometimes can pay a lot more money, you know. But I like— no, I really like being able to do my own gigs, you know.

Albert: It’s good, you know. It doesn’t make a fortune but I’m able to keep doing it, so that’s good. I’m just about to be 81, you know, so I’ll keep doing it while I can, you know.

MT: Hey, thank you very much for having a chat with us anyway, much appreciated. All the best for the rest of the tour.

Albert: Thanks a lot.

MT: Cheers.