Lee's performance at the Woodstock Festival was captured on film in the documentary of the event, and his 'lightning-fast' playing[2] helped catapult him to stardom.

[6] In late 1975, he played guitar for a couple of tracks on Bo Diddley's The 20th Anniversary of Rock 'n' Roll all-star album.

He ended the 1970s with an outfit called Ten Years Later,[6] with Tom Compton on drums and Mick Hawksworth on bass, which released two albums, Rocket Fuel (1978) and Ride On (1979), and toured extensively throughout Europe and the United States.

The 1980s brought another change in Lee's direction, with two albums that were collaborations with Rare Bird's Steve Gould and a tour for which the former John Mayall and Rolling Stones guitarist Mick Taylor joined his band.

Leo Lyons called him "the closest thing I had to a brother", while Ric Lee (no relation) said "I don't think it's even sunk in yet as to the reality of his passing".

Billboard highlighted such landmark performances as "I'm Going Home" from the Woodstock festival and his 1971 hit single "I'd Love to Change the World".