Alvin Lee

Alvin Lee is famous as the guitarist in the seminal seventies rock band Ten Years After. Born Graham Barnes on 19th December 1944, in Nottingham England, Alvin Lee took up guitar at the age of thirteen. By the age of fifteen he had formed the group Jaybirds. Following in the footsteps of earlier beat groups such as the Beatles, the Jaybirds played the clubs in Hamburg, Germany to great local acclaim. On returning to London in 1966, the group changed its name to Ten Years After.

Alvin Lee is famous as the guitarist in the seminal seventies rock band Ten Years After. Born Graham Barnes on 19th December 1944, in Nottingham England, Alvin Lee took up guitar at the age of thirteen. By the age of fifteen he had formed the group Jaybirds. Following in the footsteps of earlier beat groups such as the Beatles, the Jaybirds played the clubs in Hamburg, Germany to great local acclaim. On returning to London in 1966, the group changed its name to Ten Years After. Ten Years After scored hits with many albums and became a popular touring band.

The band gained note in America after their appearance at Woodstock in 1969. Lee's guitar work on ‘I’m Going Home’ on the 'Woodstock' album and film remains a standard for many rock guitarists to emulate. Ten Years After played a mix of rock and blues tinged with jazz. In 1973, Lee left Ten Years After to pursue a solo career. His first work was a collaborative effort with American gospel singer Mylon LeFevre on an album entitled On The Road To Freedom; other artists on the album included George Harrison, Mick Fleetwood and Steve Winwood. A year later he formed the band Alvin Lee & Company and released a double live album recorded at the Rainbow in London, In Flight. Lee continues to record albums and play live, still thrilling audiences with his guitar virtuoso and nimble fingered fret work.

Having recorded over twenty albums, some of the key works Lee has recorded are: 1974 In Flight 1978 Let it Rock 1978 Rocket Fuel 1986 Detroit Diesel 1994 Zoom 2004 In Tennessee 2007 Saguitar User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License and may also be available under the GNU FDL..