Geddy Lee 1976

Geddy Lee 1976, hand-drawn performing with Rush at the Civic Center in Springfield, MA, during their “All The World’s a Stage” tour, on Thursday December 9, 1976, age 23 with his modified Rickenbacker 4001.

Gary Lee Weinrib is a Canadian musician, singer, and songwriter. He is best known as the lead vocalist, bassist, and keyboardist for the Canadian rock group Rush.
Lee joined the band in September 1968, at the request of his childhood friend Alex Lifeson, replacing original bassist and frontman Jeff Jones.

Born near Toronto, Canada his parents were Jewish Holocaust survivors from Poland who had survived the ghetto in Starachowice (where they met), followed by their imprisonments at Auschwitz and later Dachau and Bergen-Belsen concentration camps during the Holocaust and World War II.
Lee’s name, Geddy, was derived from his mother’s heavy Polish accented pronunciation of his given first name, Gary. This was picked up by his friends in school, leading Lee to adopt it as his stage name and later his legal name.

His early bass influences included Jack Bruce of Cream.
Like Cream, Rush followed the model of a “power trio”, with Lee playing bass and singing. Lee’s vocals produced a distinctive, “countertenor” falsetto and resonant sound.
Lee possesses a three-octave vocal range, from baritone through tenor, alto, and mezzo-soprano pitch ranges.

After several early albums and increasing popularity, Rush’s status as a rock group soared over the following five years as they consistently toured worldwide and produced successful albums, including 2112 (1976), A Farewell to Kings (1977), Hemispheres (1978), Permanent Waves (1980), and Moving Pictures (1981); and have released 11 more studio albums since 1981.

Lee began adding synthesizers in 1977, with the release of A Farewell to Kings.
By the 1980s, Rush had become one of the “biggest rock bands on the planet”, selling out arena seats when touring.

In 2013, the group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame after 14 years’ eligibility.

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