Born in New York City and raised in Texas, Lee comes from a musical
family. His grandmother was a church organist and pianist. "My mother
played the piano. My earliest memories are of lying under the piano
and listening to them play duets." Rick Lee has been a mainstay of
the New England folk scene since moving to Boston in 1963.
"Lee has a weathered Yankee voice, sounding at times like a less
polished but more rootsy Dave Mallett, adding practiced accompaniment
on frailed banjo and electric piano. He's one of the rare performers
who has successfully adapted electric keyboards to this type of
music." -Tom Nelligan, Dirty Linen
(Swift River Music)
Lee's version of "True Thomas," set to a tune called "The Langour of
Love" brushes the dust off this
astonishing medieval Scottish ballad; "The Gypsy Laddies/Blackjack Davy" appears here
as "The Lady and the Gypsy," building to a parting as merciless as it is touching.
Lee excells at leading a listener into the heart of a story - you hear and see
the world beyond the words when he sings. The old country song "Look What Thoughts
Will Do" by Lefty... More>>>
There's Talk About A Fence
is brimful of story songs old and new, with the conflict between new and old
ways represented by Chuck Brodsky's song about "The Come Heres and The Been
Heres" coexisting fitfully in a North Carolina town. Jerry Bryant's "Harbo and
Samuelsen" tells the inspiring true story of two oystermen who rowed from New
York to France at the turn of the last century. Lee has resurrected a priceless
piece of Irish poetry by Sigerson Clifford, the riveting "The... More>>>
"Lee has a weathered Yankee
voice, sounding at times like a less polished but more rootsy Dave Mallett,
adding practiced accompaniment on frailed banjo and electric piano. He's one
of the rare performers who has successfully adapted electric keyboards to this
type of music." -Tom Nelligan, Dirty Linen
Natick, Rick Lee's first solo recording, updates the folk tradition with fine
musicianship, a superb selection of 15 songs, some history and high spirits.
Lee performs... More>>>
