Guitar legend Albert Lee to play Saturday @ Hudson Falls’ Strand Theatre

Albert Lee will perform Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Strand Theatre in Hudson Falls, his third appearance in what has become an annual ritual.

Lee might not be as famous as Eric Clapton or the Everly Brothers, with whom he toured for 26 years, but Clapton called him “the ultimate virtuoso,” adding “his skill is extraordinary. His ear is extraordinary. And he’s gifted on just about every level.”  

Aside from being a spectacular guitarist, Lee is unusual in that as early as age 16 (in 1960) he was emulating American country and R&B artists while his contemporaries such as the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Animals and the Yardbirds three years later were more influenced by American blues artists such as Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf.

“I started buying records in the late ’50s,” Lee explained. “My first album was ‘Chirping Crickets.’ I was a big Buddy Holly fan. In fact, that was Eric Clapton’s first album, too, but I’d buy all kinds of things that you could buy in England. Not a huge selection and I really liked what I was listening to.

“I loved what Chet Atkins was doing on one of the country records, but in the ’60s I really got into Buck Owens,” Lee continued. “And I loved that country sound, that Bakerfield sound with the Telecaster, and I previously had been a fan of James Burton.” Burton was Rick Nelson’s first guitarist and backed Elvis Presley from 1969 until his death in 1977.

In this century alone, Lee has appeared at the Concert for George (Harrison); taken home a Grammy for Best Country Instrumental Performance; performed with Bill Wyman’s Rhythm Kings; and played at the renowned Crossroads Guitar Festival. At age 80, Lee shows no signs of slowing down on his current tour, which has him performing several nights a week in the states, with a British tour planned in March.

“I don’t really practice very much and the licks just come,” he said. “I know where I am on the fingerboard and it seems to fall into place. It’s a little different every night. The basics will be there, but it’ll never be exactly the same from one night to the next. There’ll be certain licks there, but they’ll be in a different order and I’ll finish things up in a different order. I might finish them up in a different way, which puts me somewhere else on the fingerboard. That inspires me, that that still happens. I’m not going through the motions.”

Lee still tours because he’s “still able to do it. As I say to many people, I’ve never really had great enough success where I could retire. So I’m very fortunate that I can still carry on doing it.”
I asked if his lack of superstar status bothers him.

“Yeah, when I look at it from that angle, I think I’m really happy with the way I play. And I’m really happy that I didn’t have a couple of big hits and then was forgotten about. I’ve just rolled along, maintained a following.”

Albert Lee and his band perform Saturday afternoon at the Strand Theater at 210 Main St. in Hudson Falls. Showtime is 1 p.m.