Albert Anderson (born October 11, 1950)Larkin, Colin (1998) ''The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae'', Virgin Books, , p.11 is an American-born

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...

and

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselv ...

. Anderson grew up in

Montclair, New Jersey Montclair () is a township in Essex County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Situated on the cliffs of the Watchung Mountains, Montclair is a wealthy and diverse commuter town and suburb of New York City within the New York metropolitan area. As ...

and attended Montclair High School where he learned to play the trombone, eventually picking up guitar & bass guitar. He later attended the

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cours ...

contemporaneously with

Pat Metheny Patrick Bruce Metheny ( ; born August 12, 1954) is an American jazz guitarist and composer. He is the leader of the Pat Metheny Group and is also involved in duets, solo works, and other side projects. His style incorporates elements of progre ...

and

Al Di Meola Albert Laurence Di Meola (born July 22, 1954) is an American guitarist. Known for his works in jazz fusion and world music, he began his career as a guitarist of the group Return to Forever in 1974. Between the 1970s and 1980s, albums such as ' ...

after working with an early version of

Aerosmith Aerosmith is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of Steven Tyler (lead vocals), Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry (guitar), Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton (bass), Joey Kramer (drums) and Brad Whi ...

in the Boston music scene. He joined The Centurions, which brought him to the attention of Chris Wood of

Traffic Traffic comprises pedestrians, vehicles, ridden or herded animals, trains, and other conveyances that use public ways (roads) for travel and transportation. Traffic laws govern and regulate traffic, while rules of the road include traffic ...

, who invited him to play on the band's next album. The Traffic album involvement never materialized, but led to Anderson becoming employed by Traffic's record label

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, anoth ...

, leading to him being asked to play lead guitar on Bob Marley & The Wailers' ''

Natty Dread ''Natty Dread'' is the seventh album by Bob Marley and the Wailers, released in 1974. Previously Marley had recorded with Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer as the Wailers, and this was his first record without them. ''Natty Dread'' was most popularly ...

'' sessions. Anderson played lead guitar on "Crazy Baldhead" and on the '' Live!'' album, remaining with the band until 1976, when he joined

Word, Sound and Power Word, Sound and Power are a Jamaican reggae band, formed in 1976 as Peter Tosh's backing band after Tosh left The Wailers. They toured with Tosh in America in 1976, Europe in 1978, and backed him at the One Love Peace Concert. For this concert, ...

, backing

Peter Tosh Winston Hubert McIntosh, OM (19 October 1944 – 11 September 1987), professionally known as Peter Tosh, was a Jamaican reggae musician. Along with Bob Marley and Bunny Wailer, he was one of the core members of the band the Wailers (1963� ...

on the albums ''

Legalize It ''Legalize It'' is the debut studio album by Jamaican singer-songwriter and former Wailer Peter Tosh, released in June 1976. It was recorded at Treasure Isle and Randy's, Kingston. ''Legalize It'' is one of the two solo albums released in 1976 ...

'' and '' Equal Rights''. He returned to Marley's band and played on the live album ''

Babylon By Bus ''Babylon by Bus'' is a live album released by Bob Marley and the Wailers in 1978. The tracks on this album are considered, with two exceptions, to be from the Pavillon de Paris concerts over 3 nights, 25–27 June 1978, during the Kaya Tour, ...

'' and the studio albums ''

Survival Survival, or the act of surviving, is the propensity of something to continue existing, particularly when this is done despite conditions that might kill or destroy it. The concept can be applied to humans and other living things (or, hypotheti ...

'' and ''

Uprising Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority. A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...

''. After Marley's death, Anderson continued to tour with

The Wailers Band The Wailers Band are a reggae band formed by Aston Barrett in 1989, one of several spinoffs from Bob Marley and the Wailers. History After the death of Bob Marley in 1981, the Wailers continued, led by Aston Barrett and Junior Marvin. The ban ...

. Anderson went on to record with

Ben Harper Benjamin Chase Harper (born October 28, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Harper plays an eclectic mix of blues, folk, soul, reggae, and rock music and is known for his guitar-playing skills, vocals, live perfo ...

('' Diamonds On the Inside'' (2003)) and

Lauryn Hill Lauryn Noelle Hill (born May 26, 1975) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, and record producer. She is often regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time, as well as being one of the most influential musicians of her generation. ...

on her multi-

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

winning debut ''

The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill ''The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill'' is the debut solo album by American singer and rapper Lauryn Hill. It was released on August 25, 1998, by Ruffhouse Records and Columbia Records. ''The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill'' is a neo soul and R&B album ...

'' (1998). He also produced and performed on an album for actor

Steven Seagal Steven Frederic Seagal (; born April 10, 1952) is an American actor, screenwriter and martial artist. A 7th-dan black belt in aikido, he began his adult life as a martial arts instructor in Japan and eventually ended up running his father-in-l ...

(''Songs from the Crystal Cave'' (2005)). In 2008 he formed the band

The Original Wailers The Original Wailers are a reggae group formed by Al Anderson and Junior Marvin in 2008. Both are best known as guitarists for Bob Marley and the Wailers as well as former members of The Wailers Band. In April 2011, Marvin departed the ban ...

with

Junior Marvin Junior Marvin (born Donald Hanson Marvin Kerr Richards Jr., June 22, 1949), also known as Junior Marvin-Hanson, Junior Hanson, Junior Kerr, and Julian Junior Marvin is a Jamaican-born guitarist and singer best known for his association with Bo ...

Tours with Bob Marley & The Wailers

* Jun–Jul 1975: Natty Dread Tour (U.S., Canada, England) * May–Aug 1978: Kaya Tour (U.S., Canada, England, France, Spain, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Netherlands, Belgium) * Apr–May 1979: Babylon by Bus Tour (Japan, New Zealand, Australia, Hawaii) * Oct–Dec 1979: Survival Tour (U.S., Canada, Trinidad & Tobago, Bahamas) * May–Sep 1980: Uprising Tour (Switzerland, Germany, France, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Belgium, Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Ireland, England, Scotland, Wales, U.S.)

References

1950 births Living people American reggae guitarists American male guitarists American rock guitarists Montclair High School (New Jersey) alumni People from Montclair, New Jersey The Wailers members Berklee College of Music alumni Guitarists from New York (state) 20th-century American guitarists {{US-rock-guitarist-stub