The musician Geddy Lee called “central” to his career
There seems to be no direct lineage as to where Rush’s music comes from. Even though there may be traces of progressive rock giants like Yes or Pink Floyd in their delivery, the music emanating from the Canadian power trio throughout their career has always felt wholly insulated, with Geddy Lee performing some of the most daring feats on the bass guitar that anyone ever attempted. While Lee can create symphonies on the four-string, he considered one bassist a staple of his upbringing.
For all of the great basslines that he has created, though, Lee was initially asked to join Rush by chance when he was still in his teens. Having been lifelong friends with Alex Lifeson, Lee was known for playing bass around town when he got a call to fill in for one of Lifeson’s shows on the four-string.
After getting a taste of that audience interaction, Lee and Lifeson set about becoming the biggest rock band in the world. Although the band would make various strides with drummer John Rutsey, it wasn’t until Neil Peart stepped behind the kit that they embraced their progressive tendencies.
Since most of their material centred around hard rock in the vein of Led Zeppelin, Lee would start pulling from more adventurous bass players like Chris Squire from Yes, who introduced him to the magic of the Rickenbacker bass guitar. Although other ferocious bass players like John Entwistle were responsible for Lee getting his signature bass tone, his true inspiration returned further.
Before hard rock had a proper name, The Rolling Stones were already paving the way for a heavier brand of traditional rock and roll. Moulded as the dark answer to acts like The Beatles, Mick Jagger, and Keith Richards, it helped pen some of the most menacing tracks the world had ever known, all while Bill Wyman laid down a tight groove in the back.
Despite being the mildest-mannered member of the group, Lee was enthralled by how Wyman approached the bass. Constantly straying away from the typical root notes, Wyman’s abilities had much more to do with putting a melodic spin on the traditional low end of the guitars, which would become a foundation of Lee’s playing later.
Even when putting together his love letter to the instrument in Geddy Lee’s Big Beautiful Book of Bass, Lee would recall feeling intimidated by Wyman, saying, “I was a bit nervous because he was such a central figure to me when I first started playing. The very first song I had to sort of learn to be accepted in my local group of garage band players was a Rolling Stones song called ‘2120 South Michigan Avenue.’ And if you could learn that Bill Wyman bass part, then you were considered worthy.”
Throughout Rush’s career, Lee would carry on Wyman’s tradition of melodic bass playing, putting together basslines that became unique hooks for songs like ‘YYZ’ and ‘The Spirit of Radio’. While Wyman would eventually part ways with The Stones in their later years, his influence on Lee is still apparent whenever he goes on a melodic run during songs like ‘Red Barchetta’.
