One of my fave guitar pickers, Alvin Lee, died today from "complications following a routine surgical procedure." Ugh...and he was only 68?!?

In 1957, inspired by Elvis Presley and the rock and roll tidal wave that followed, Lee took up playing guitar; he was 13. Soon, after hooking up with pal Leo Lyons, he began forming groups, and in 1962 was playing with the Jaybirds; a local band with a solid reputation. The Jaybirds eventually scored a residency at the famed Star-Club in Germany, a residency which ended in 1966. Once back in England, after a line-up shift and name change to Ten Years After, they secured a residency at London's the Marquee Club and were signed to the Deram label. Within a few months Ten Years After shot to fame, well...underground fame. Like a lit fuse, they were off, constantly touring, they played Woodstock, Isle Of Wight and recorded, seriously, a near endless stream of albums!!

Tho' he was a proper English blues/boogie player, top English blues/boogie player no less, and TYA WAS a blues band, Lee could write proper lysergic groovers, glam anthems, AND longhaired radio-friendly rock. I was always stuck how he'd lay his leads/melody lines over powerful yet simple riffs and own 'em with such skill. I swear he turned heavy harshness into sweet melody with sheer force of will—all the while with his eyes shut, always with his eyes shut! In fact, their most commercial album A Space In Time is testimony to Lee's versatility. In 1974 Ten Years After split and Lee went "solo," kinda. He later formed Alvin Lee & Company, then Ten Years Later, he wanted to get back to the blues, you know...and there he stayed.