Al Anderson

Al Anderson, 1978

Albert "Al" Anderson (born October 11, 1950 in Jersey , New York , USA ) is an American guitarist . Alongside Junior Marvin, he was lead guitarist at Bob Marley & The Wailers and also the only American in the Wailers.

Anderson learned to play the trumpet in his youth before switching to electric bass and later to electric guitar . First he played with the Centurions . After Chris Wood from the band Traffic became aware of Anderson, he invited him to record in England with Island Records . Although the project eventually failed, Anderson was hired by Island Records. In 1974 he was called up for recordings for Bob Marley's album Natty Dread .

Anderson then stayed with the Wailers as lead guitarist until 1976, when he worked with Peter Tosh on the recordings for his albums Legalize It and Equal Rights . In 1978 he returned to the Wailers to play on their tours in Europe and the United States. From 1979 he alternately played lead guitar together with Marvin.

Even after Marley's death in 1981, Anderson remained with the Wailers, who are still on tour. He also performed together with Black Uhuru , Don Carlos, Derrick Simpson and Garth Dennis . Since the 1990s he has been making guest appearances on album recordings for other musicians. This is how guest appearances came about for Lauryn Hill and Ben Harper .

Albert Anderson lives in Los Angeles.