Eddie "Spanky" Alford

American three-time Grammy winning jazz guitarist. Born May 22, 1955 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Alford began his care as a guitarist for gospel quartets, including The Mighty Clouds Of Joy and The Truetones, and went on to become one of the secret weapons of the neo-soul movement, lending not only his musical skills, but spiritual guidance to albums by Raphael Saadiq, D'Angelo, and The Roots. One of Alford’s final projects was “Lay It Down” by the soul singer Al Green, which was produced by the Roots’ drummer Ahmir '?uestlove' Thompson. Alford died March 24, 2008, at the age of 52, in Huntsville, Alabama after a long battle with diabetes.