PBS North Carolina aired a documentary about his life in July 2024 made by Denver Hollingsworth titled "The Singing Senator".
After graduation he briefly attended James Sprunt Community College[3] and then joined the United States Air Force attaining the rank of Airman First Class.
[3] Albertson decided to run for the 10th North Carolina House of Representatives district seat in 1988.
The open seat was vacated by Wendell Murphy who chose to run for the 5th North Carolina Senate district that year.
[8] He defeated physician and Duplin County Republican Party chairman Corbett Quinn in the general election.
He beat marketing executive and former Lenoir County Schools board member, Republican Rich Jarman,[18] in the general election, 62%–38%.
[19] He again faced no primary challenge in 2006 and went on to defeat Republican Adrain Arnett in the general election, 64.5%–35.5%.
[27] He performed at many Democratic Party rallies and once wrote the theme song/jingle for the "Goodness Grows in North Carolina" program that the state promoted.
[5] In 2010, outraged over the citations in his district of members of Willie Nelson's band (which led to Nelson cancelling a concert there), Albertson wrote and recorded a song called "Leave the Man Alone" criticizing law enforcement for the incident.
[30] Albertson was a farmer and a retired Plant Protection and Quarantine officer with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, as well as a musician, songwriter, and publisher.
[33] He received an honorary induction into North Carolina State University's Gamma Sigma Delta honors society in 2000.
[32] The North Carolina Farm Bureau honored Albertson in 2010 with their President's Award of Excellence.