It's A Little Too Late - Lee Delray

With over a quarter of a century under his belt and 14 years fronting his own band, Lee is causing quite the buzz on a national and international level. In 2013, Lee Delray headlined the 4th Annual Blues Bash in Hackettstown, N.J., along with Blues/Rock Legend Johnny Winter. He was also invited on as supporting act for “Superharp” James Cotton at The Stanhope House, N.J. Lee’s cd “570-BLUES” is getting airplay in over 15 countries and over 40 US states, and rapidly building a worldwide fan base. Lee’s style has been called a ferocious mix of Albert King, Albert Collins, and Luther Allison. He has also been compared to more modern artists like Tommy Castro, Nick Moss, Joe Moss, Chris Cain, and Bryan Lee. If you enjoy any of these artists you will love Lee Delray. Born in Florida and raised in N.Y.C., Lee started playing guitar at age 11 after finding an old flat top in a back corner of his garage. Lee gave up the guitar one year later for the drums after seeing a Krupa/Rich showdown on The Johnny Carson Show, but that didn’t last too long. Lee was captivated by a performance he saw of Alvin Lee & Ten Years After doing “I’m Going Home” on PBS, and begged his dad to buy him an electric guitar. But that was not Lee’s earliest influence to perform. Delray remembers his dad taking him to see Pete Seeger perform on a Staten Island pier when he was about 7 years old. “ He seemed larger than life to me at that age”. “Actually… Pete seems larger than life to me at any age. Those concerts my dad took me to every year changed my life forever. I knew after seeing Pete for the first time that I wanted to sing and perform for people. He made people feel good. After all the pain I’ve been through in my life, that’s all I’ve ever wanted to do. Make people feel good”, says Lee. After spending his youth playing in bands ranging in styles from Rock-N- Roll to Punk, from Oldies to Country, Lee discovered the Blues. Or rather, the Blues discovered him via an old Muddy Waters Record given to him by a long time friend and fellow musician Duke Lee. Lee talks a little about “Street Credit” and how he feels he was destined for the “Blues Life”. “My family lived in Staten Island suburbia surrounded by PTA meetings, Tupperware parties, and Monday night Mah-jong. But I wasn’t down with that. I hung out in the Park Hill Projects and on the streets of the “City” at all hours of the night. I was in and out of group homes till the age of 17. I was a graffiti artist, and I was there when Rap music was born. I’ve been shot at in East New York. I played guitar on the ferry boat and in Battery Park for change. I’ve dragged a Marshall Half Stack to auditions on and off every train in NYC. I’ve hung out with the Panthers in Harlem. I watched a “Wise Guy” beat a man half to death with a baseball bat, and I’ve been stabbed in the stomach and face going into a gig. The song “Don’t Tell Me I Can’t Get the Blues” is just the tip of the iceberg. Needless to say, I have a lot more stories to tell, so stay tuned”. Delray notes his main influences in the Blues as…Albert King, B.B. King, Albert Collins, Jimmie Vaughan, Luther Allison, Jimmy Reed, Hound Dog Taylor, Eric Clapton, and Freddie King.. Lee also was very honored to have former bassist with The Mighty Bo Didley, Debby Hastings and Margo Lewis ( Bo Didley and founding member of Goldie and The Gingerbreads) as his “Showstopper” rhythm section. Lee toured with this lineup which also included “Papa” John Mole’ ( Otis Rush, Bill Perry Band) for 2 years. Since forming his own band in 1998 Lee has played with or shared the bill with some of the finest musicians in the world of Blues from NYC all the way to Austin Texas and back.

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