When Geddy Lee was almost kicked out of Rush
Every great rock and roll band normally comes down to the chemistry between every single member. While it’s easy to think that one person is the most essential element of a group while everyone watches from the sidelines, it takes every piece of the puzzle to turn a decent musical act into one of the biggest bands in the world. Although each member of Rush contributed to them becoming the greatest progressive band on Earth, there was a good chance that Geddy Lee wouldn’t be a part of it at first.
Before Neil Peart joined, the common bond in Rush had always been between Lee and Alex Lifeson. After coming together as best friends in school, the pair initially bonded over their goofy sense of humour before considering putting a band together. Once one of Lifeson’s bandmates called out sick from a gig, Lee was convinced to bring his bass along for a show, after which magic struck.
Forming with their original drummer, John Rutsey, the band’s initial vision was to play a stadium-sized take on blues rock, informed by the sounds of their favourite bands like Led Zeppelin and Humble Pie. While Lee may have had to pull double duty as the lead singer and bass player, one fateful day saw him nearly getting kicked out of the group.
After hiring manager Ray Danniels, Lee sensed the trio becoming distant before Lifeson said that they would no longer be making music together. While Lee thought it meant the band was breaking up for good, he was shocked to see the band undergoing rehearsals with someone else without telling him.
As Lee recalled, it was Rutsey’s idea to fire him in the first place, recalling in My Effin’ Life, “Ray had offered to manage them but made it clear he didn’t think I was right for the band. It’s important to say, however, that it turns out it wasn’t his idea in the first place. I’ve been informed some fifty years later that it was Rutsey’s. [Alex] said that the decision to replace me was driven by John, who was keen to reinvent the image of the band and wanted someone hipper . . . whatever that meant”.
Looking to be a part of a meat-and-potatoes rock and roll band, Rutsey wasn’t interested in exploring any areas of progressive music, which was quickly becoming the dominant force for Lee and Lifeson. After Rutsey had to be taken off the road because of complications from juvenile diabetes, the band got a reinvention when Neil Peart joined the group, bringing an intellectual side to their lyrics and earning his place among the greatest drummers to ever live.
Even though Lee would become one of the driving forces behind the band’s melodic side, that didn’t stop critics from tearing into the group because of his voice. Throughout the band’s glory years, many naysayers would cite Lee’s squawky delivery as the primary reason why they didn’t like them, being compared to Mickey Mouse on helium and a hamster with a blowtorch up its ass.
Over time, though, Lee went from being part of one of the most uncool bands in the world to a progressive rock legend responsible for some of the most forward-thinking rock music of the 1970s and beyond. Lee may not have seemed like the best fit for the group in their early days, but his voice and bass playing have become an indelible part of rock and roll folklore.
