Alvin Lee (born Graham Barnes, 19 December 1944, Nottingham, England) is an English rock guitarist and singer. He began playing guitar at the age of 13, and with Leo Lyons formed the core of the band Ten Years After in 1960.

Influenced by his parents’ collection of jazz and blues records, it was the advent of rock and roll that sparked his interest, and guitarists such as Chuck Berry and Scotty Moore provided his inspiration..

As with many of the other English beat groups of the ’60s, Alvin Lee cut his musical teeth in Hamburg, Germany in a band called the Jaybirds. By 1966, back in England, he had changed the name of his band to Ten Years After and was rapidly becoming a major attraction because of the virtuosity of his solo work. Most Americans first became familiar with Alvin Lee through his appearance at Woodstock,

Appearing at the Woodstock Festival, Lee’s performance was captured on film in the documentary of the festival and his playing helped catapult him into stardom. Soon the band was playing arenas and stadiums around the globe. Although Lee later lamented that he missed the intimacy of smaller venues, the impact the film made brought his music to a worldwide audience.

Lee’s most recent album, Saguitar, was released in September 2007

[lastfm link_type="artist_info"]Alvin Lee[/lastfm]     [lastfm link_type="artist_info"]Ten Years After[/lastfm]

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