RIP Alvin Lee

Larry Miller · Post by **Larry Miller** » 6 Mar 2013 10:06 am

http://todayentertainment.today.com/_ne ... at-68?lite

Mark Eaton · Post by **Mark Eaton** » 6 Mar 2013 10:14 am

Sad to hear this, something went awry after a "routine" surgical procedure.

He was a fine player, but I've always thought it was kind of a shame that he's known by most people for the solo on "I'm Goin' Home" at Woodstock. That one never did a thing for me.

“The solo on the movie sounds pretty rough to me these days,” Lee told Guitar World last summer. “But it had the energy, and that was what Ten Years After were all about at the time.”

James Quackenbush · Post by **James Quackenbush** » 6 Mar 2013 10:27 am

How many times I would catch him back in the day at the Philmore East in NYC !!.....Ahhhhh, the good ole days !!.....RIP Alvin .....Wake em up up there !!.....Jim

Doug Beaumier · Post by **Doug Beaumier** » 6 Mar 2013 10:27 am

Sad news. I saw him play a couple of times, including at Woodstock, and I always enjoyed his playing, his energy. Rest in peace Alvin Lee.

James Quackenbush · Post by **James Quackenbush** » 6 Mar 2013 10:27 am

How many times I would catch him back in the day at the Philmore East in NYC !!.....Ahhhhh, the good ole days !!.....RIP Alvin .....Wake em up up there !!.....Jim

Herb Steiner · Post by **Herb Steiner** » 6 Mar 2013 10:41 am

"Routine surgery" is generally a medical procedure that happens to someone else. When it's you getting cut open, it's anything but "routine."

Joachim Kettner · Post by **Joachim Kettner** » 6 Mar 2013 11:03 am

He was one of my guitar heroes. RIP Mr. Lee.

Alan Brookes · Post by **Alan Brookes** » 6 Mar 2013 11:39 am

Sad news indeed. 68 is much too young to go. I wonder what thr routine surgery was.

Chris Boyd · Post by **Chris Boyd** » 6 Mar 2013 1:43 pm

What sad news..he was absolutely one of my guitar heroes as a teenager..I still have an old 60's ES335 due to his influence..May he RIP...

Rick Stratton · Post by **Rick Stratton** » 6 Mar 2013 5:52 pm

At Woodstock, he announced "This one's called- I'm Going Home", and then as kind of an aside he said "by helicopter".
I have a friend, who after seeing this performance, decided he wanted to hear "the original version" and proceeded to scour all the local record shops looking for a band called "Helicopter"!
Of course, what he meant was he was going to play the song and then get the hell out of there- by helicopter!

Great player and very sad day.
My old band used to play "Me and my Baby" and I tried hard to capture his "Jazzy / Bluesy" feel.

Hope he had a good life. At least he didn't OD in his 20's.....

Will Houston · Post by **Will Houston** » 6 Mar 2013 7:09 pm

Bummer indeed. Always really liked the "Undead" live album recorded in a small club in London 1968. Great jazz/blues sound.Saw them once.

Steve Hitsman · Post by **Steve Hitsman** » 7 Mar 2013 4:39 am

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ss91kzcI4D8

Steve Atwood · Post by **Steve Atwood** » 7 Mar 2013 6:30 pm

He was the Michael Jordan of guitarists, IMO - the fastest, trickiest, and had the most moves. The greatest rock and roll song ever - Choo Choo Mama, best rock and roll album - Detroit Diesel. Great songwriter and creator of unique sounds like Spider in My Web, Standing at the Station. There was something pure and natural about his playing - smooth like Benny Goodman, going from one great riff to the next seamlessly. Wasn't afraid to make statements and write about strong emotions - Real Life Blues, The Bluest Blues:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5GS0Gsde0k

Tony Glassman · Post by **Tony Glassman** » 7 Mar 2013 8:12 pm

I forgot what a great player he was.

Zachary Walters · Post by **Zachary Walters** » 8 Mar 2013 7:31 am

In the mid 90s I was a teenager cutting my teeth on videos and CDs of 60s rock. The Blockbuster nearby had the Woodstock movie and I pretty much kept it. If ever there was a memory seared into my brain, it was Ten Years After's "I'm Going Home." It was the blues, it was rock n roll, it was shredding, it was immolation by guitar-solo. Yea eventually I learned about the greats before and after Alvin Lee, but his performance was singular and defining.

Much respect for the life and legacy of Alvin Lee.

Fred Glave · Post by **Fred Glave** » 12 Mar 2013 10:09 am

The only show I saw was the 10 years After fairwell tour stop in Chicago. "I'd like to change the World". I haven't heard his music in almost 40 years but I still have his guitar licks running around in my head from time to time.

HowardR · Post by **HowardR** » 12 Mar 2013 1:28 pm

For 43 years he was going home.....and now he's Gone Home.....

RIP Alvin Lee.......

William Fraser · Post by **William Fraser** » 16 Mar 2013 5:30 am

I think the 1st time I saw Alvin , they opened for Country Joe & the Fish , the Raw emotion on Help Me , & Spoonfull sent me home with my head reeling , he was more than Fast , just not marketed properly , so if you were at Woodstock what was the dominant guitar brand & model , & how many Strats did you see $:\$ Sir William the Mostly elegant