Sacred Steel movers and shakers The Lee Boys specialize in holy demolition. Even as kids, church walls couldn’t stand up to their foundation-shaking efforts. “In middle of the offering, we might perform a Stevie Wonder tune or a Michael Jackson tune,” Alvin Lee says, laughing at the memory. “My father, who was the minister, was a little bit more lenient toward us throwing in things, but sometimes when we were playing in the big state assembly, some of the older Saints would say, ‘Whoa, what’s that?’ But the other kids went ‘Yeah!’ cause they were familiar with it.”
In those days, the world at large wasn’t familiar with the custom of Sacred Steel. Even though the tradition of replacing a piano or organ with a steel guitar as the sole instrument in a church service has been around since the 1930s — introduced by guitarist Willie Eason into the African-American House of God Church — it had stayed in the confines of the church up until 1994, when Florida minister Aubrey Ghent played the National Folk Festival in Chattanooga.
Eason took his sound to the secular world, recording Sacred Steel: Traditional Sacred African American Steel Guitar Music in Florida for Arhoolie in ’95. Two years later, the Campbell Brothers emerged with their mix of secular and sacred steel music. Soon afterwards, steel guitarist Robert Randolph followed, taking the genre into Hendrix and beyond.
The Lee Boys came a bit late to the table. “Those are our big brothers,” Lee says of the Campbells. “We’re more of a mix between the Campbell brothers and Robert Randolph. We’re a little funkier, got a little more get-up-and-go music.” He describes their sound as “old Allman Brothers,” but the Lee’s sound has a funky undertone.
And even though their music has a bluesy tone to it, The Lee Boys are clear about its origins. “We keep it real far as the spiritual side, as far as where the music came from,” says Lee, calling en route to a blues festival in Arkansas.
The band will hold fast to that principle while playing with Oteil and the Peacemakers the following night, then playing a BBBQ (bikers barbecue) festival in Arkansas the next. “We still are true sacred steel artists,” Lee says.
Although they were raised in the church, Alvin and brother Glenn, who Alvin calls a master of the pedal steel, considered themselves rebels. But the rebellious sound was confined to the church until 2000, the year Alvin lost both Glenn and their father Rev. Robert E. Lee. “That’s what inspired me,” Lee says. “I just wanted to keep our tradition going.” Lee gathered up his other brothers, Derrik and Keith, recruited a trio of nephews and hit the road. “The Campbell Brothers was already doing it and Robert Randolph, Aubrey Ghent; so they helped me say ‘You’ve got to take it out too.'”
What they took out still sounds churchy, like souped-up hymns. The vocal on “I’m So Glad I Found Jesus” sounds like Stevie Wonder. That’s brother Derrick.
When it comes time for a little harder treatment, like Wilson Pickett’s “Everybody Needs Somebody To Love,” another brother steps up. “My brother Keith got that strong, kinda preaching James Brown/James Cleveland mix working,” Lee says.
But even when they do secular music of the soul, its still wrapped up in the church. “We really don’t do the whole song, just insert that into songs we’re doing,” Lee explains. Pickett’s “Everybody Needs Somebody” is tucked into “Don’t Let The Devil Ride.” The Campbell Brothers do the song as well, but The Lee Boys’ version is more of an up-tempo blues shuffle. “Then we go into that ‘Everybody needs Somebody,’ I usually tell my nephew, ‘Gimme little bass line to make it feel a little bluesy,’ and that’s really one of the crowd’s favorites,” Lee says.
Robert Randolph’s high profile has made him the artist everybody in the genre is compared to, but Lee says there’s a big difference in their backgrounds.
“The Lee Boys are the originals. Robert was one of the steel players that came up, but he was just a young kid who could play the steel and came out.” Lee maintains that his family played a lot of the same original material they’re doing now in the church. “We’ve always incorporated blues, jazz, funk within our music.”
Now they want to share their music with the world. “We have a mission,” Lee says. “If we can touch one person through our music, our job is done.”
The Lee Brothers play the Double Door on October 19. Call (704) 376-1446 for times and prices.
This article appears in Oct 17-23, 2007.
