40 Years After

Last night I read the sad news of the passing of Alvin Lee, the hard rocking guitarist and front man for the band Ten Years After.

Back around forty years ago, when I was a long haired teen back home in the red dirt country, rock and roll guitar players were some of my biggest heroes and influences. FM radio was free form style and some times played whole album sides of music without interruption. FM was what satellite radio is today, there was just less of them around. I first heard Ten Years After play "Goin Home" on WRAS radio out of Georgia State University in Atlanta and was blown away. It is wise to point out at this point the music scene in Atlanta was very progressive and very exciting. Atlanta was still called Atlanta, and not referred to as the ATL, after all we were the "Phoenix City Of The South", but I digress.

Alvin Lee was also touring and recording with a local Atlanta gospel singer, and sometimes rocker, Mylon LeFevre. Their album "On The Road To Freedom" is a must hear for any Lee fan. It was also in Atlanta that I first saw the movie "Woodstock", which has the amazing footage of Ten Years After playing "Goin Home". This is also a must see. His red guitar , his lighting fast fingers on the neck, the jutting chin and general tough attitude, had me hooked. Today I have his music on my I-Pod and my sons love it as well.

Ironically, Lee's greatest commercial success with Ten Years After, was a song called "I'd Love To Change The World". It is also the only Ten Years After Song I mastered on guitar. It fueled a rage for some in my age group to try and change things. Vietnam ended, Nixon left, and some of us cut our hair and spent 32 years fighting for our country and for freedom, but look out, were not done yet!

Alvin, rest in peace, my brother, in your own way you did help change the world.

Old Captain sends.