Geddy Lee

Few hard rock bassists have been as influential as Rush's Geddy Lee. Born Gary Weinrib on July 29, 1953, in Toronto, his parents migrated from Europe to Canada and got his nickname "Geddy" from when his mother would try to pronounce "Gary" in her accent. Taking up bass as a teenager and influenced by the likes of the Who's John Entwistle, Cream's Jack Bruce, and Led Zeppelin's John Paul Jones, Lee hooked up with guitarist Alex Lifeson and drummer John Rutsey to form the hard rocking trio Rush (Lee would also serve as the band's lead vocalist). Although the band would eventually find success and fortune as a progressive hard rock band, early on they were highly derivative of blues rock/Led Zeppelin, as their self-titled 1973 debut proved.