biography of Geddy Lee
biography of Geddy Lee
|
Birth name |
Gary Lee Weinrib |
|---|---|
| Born | July 29, 1953 North York, Ontario, Canada |
| Genres |
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| Occupations |
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| Instruments |
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| Years active | 1968–present |
| Labels |
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| Formerly of |
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| Spouse |
Nancy Young
(m. 1976) |
Geddy Lee Weinrib
(/ˈɡɛdi/; born Gary Lee Weinrib, July 29, 1953) is a Canadian musician, best known as the lead vocalist, bassist, and keyboardist for the rock band Rush. Lee joined the band in September 1968 at the request of his childhood friend Alex Lifeson, replacing original bassist and frontman Jeff Jones Lee's solo effort, My Favourite Headache, was released in 2000.
Lee's style, technique, and skill on the bass have inspired many rock musicians such as Cliff Burton of Metallica; Steve Harris of Iron Maiden John Myung of Dream Theater; Les Claypool of Primus; Steve Di Giorgio of Sadus, Death and Testament; and Tim Commerford of Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave. Along with his Rush bandmates – guitarist Alex Lifeson and drummer Neil Peart – Lee was made an Officer of the Order of Canada on May 9, 1996. The trio was the first rock band to receive this honor.In 2013, the group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame after 14 years of eligibility. In 2006, Lee was ranked 13th by Hit Parader on their list of the 100 Greatest Heavy Metal Vocalists of All Time.
Early life
He was born Gary Lee Weinri on July 29, 1953, in Willowdale, Toronto, to Morris Weinrib (born Moshe Meir Weinrib; 1920–1965) from Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski, Poland; and Mary "Manya" Rubinstein (born Malka Rubinstein; 1925–2021),[16][17] who was also from Poland: born in Warsaw and later raised in Wierzbnik.[18][19][20][21][22] 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.[19][20] They were in their teens when they were initially imprisoned at Auschwitz. "It was kind of surreal pre-teen shit", says Lee, describing how his father bribed guards to bring shoes to his mother. After a period, his mother was transferred to Bergen-Belsen and his father to Dachau. When the war ended four years later, and the Allies liberated the camps, Morris set out in search of Manya and found her at a Bergen-Belsen displaced persons camp. They married there and eventually emigrated to Canada.
When Lee started school, his name was incorrectly registered. As a result, Lee grew up thinking his middle name was "Lorne". As a teenager, he saw a copy of his birth certificate and discovered that his middle name was "Lee".
Lee's father died young, which forced Lee's mother to work to support their three children by running the Newmarket, Ontario, variety store that her husband had owned and managed. Lee has suggested that his father's death was probably a factor in his becoming a musician: "It was a terrible blow that I lost him, but the course of my life changed because my mother couldn't control us." He has said that losing his father at such an early age made him aware of how "quickly life can disappear", which inspired him from then on to get the most out of his life and music.
Lee turned his basement into practice space for a band he formed with high school friends. After the band began earning income from small performances at high school shows or other events, he decided to drop out of high school and play rock and roll professionally. His mother was devastated when he gave her the news.
All the shit I put her through, on top of the fact that she just lost her husband. I felt like I had to make sure that it was worth it. I wanted to show her that I was a professional, that I was working hard, and wasn't just a fuckin' lunatic.
featured Lee's reflections on his mother's experiences as a refugee and on his own Jewish heritage. Lee's name, Geddy, was derived from his mother's 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 (excising his surname, leaving his middle name as his surname) and later his legal name, Geddy Lee Weinrib : 10:58 (replacing his first name).
After Rush had become a widely recognized rock group, Lee told the group's drummer and lyricist, Neil Peart, about his mother's early life. Peart then wrote the lyrics to "Red Sector A", which was inspired by her ordeal. The song, for which Lee wrote the music, was released on the band's 1984 album Grace Under Pressure. The lyrics include the following verse:
I hear the sound of gunfire at the prison gate
Are the liberators here?
Do I hope or do I fear?
For my father and my brother, it's too late
But I must help my mother stand up straight.
SONG :
Unique stage equipment
In 1996, Lee stopped using traditional bass amplifiers on stage, opting to have the bass guitar signals input directly to the touring front-of-house console to improve control and sound definition. He began using Tech 21 SansAmp units after experimenting with one in the studio intended for Alex Lifeson's guitar and eventually received signature models from the company, most notably the GED-2112 rackmount.
Faced with the dilemma of what to do with the empty space left behind by the lack of large amplifier cabinets, Lee chose to decorate his side of the stage with unusual items. The Snakes & Arrows Tour prominently featured three Henhouse brand rotisserie chicken ovens on stage complete with an attendant in a chef's hat and apron to "tend" the chickens during shows.
Awards
- 1990: The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada named Asteroid (12272) Geddylee
- 1994: With Rush, inducted into the Juno Hall of Fame
- 1996: Officer of the Order of Canada, along with bandmates Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart
- 2007: Best Album for Bass (Snakes & Arrows) – Bass Player magazine
- 2010: With Rush, Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
- 2012: Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal
- 2013: With Rush, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee
- 2021: Lifetime Achievement Award for his philanthropic work at the Artists for Peace and Justice (APJ) annual gala
Personal life
Lee married Nancy Young in 1976. They have a son and a daughter. He takes annual trips to France, where he indulges in cheese and wine. In 2011, a charitable foundation he supports, Grapes for Humanity, created the Geddy Lee Scholarship for winemaking students at Niagara College. Lee has described himself as a Jewish atheist, explaining to an interviewer, "I consider myself a Jew as a race, but not so much as a religion. I'm not down with religion at all. I'm a Jewish atheist, if that's possible.
MINI BIO :
Geddy Lee is best known as the vocalist, bassist, and keyboard player for the rock group Rush, which also features drummer Neil Peart and guitarist Alex Lifeson. Rush is the most successful Canadian music group in history, and is the third most prolific seller of consecutive (American) Gold and Platinum Records and videos, behind only the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. Lee's spectacular bass-playing ability has earned him a reputation similar to that of his bandmates. All three share the distinction of being among the most highly influential virtuosos in their crafts. Geddy Lee is a natural overachiever when it comes to the production and performance of his music. He is equally well known for his wizard-like bass-playing ability as he his for his magical juggling of bass, singing, playing keyboards, and triggering his own pre-recorded accompaniments during live performances, all while maintaining his trademark enthusiasm as Rush's "frontman". Geddy has, in the past carried the dubious distinction of a hard-rocking,
if somewhat unnatural, high-pitched singing voice. This has matured over the course of Geddy's career into a voice that is more widely accepted outside of Rush's original core hard-rock following, and shines most especially on recent Rush albums such as 2002's "Vapor Trails", and Geddy's polished 2000 solo album, "My Favorite Headache". After their longest break from recording and touring, A highly successful 2002 tour brought Rush back to the United States, Canada, and Mexico, to the great anticipation of fans. Rush ended their 2002 tour with their first-ever shows in Brazil, where they played to 125,000 fans in three nights. The final performance of the 2002 tour was captured on DVD as Rush in Rio (2003), which was certified double-platinum within weeks of its release. Geddy is the son of Polish parents who were survivors of the Nazi concentration camps. In addition to his composing, arranging, and performing duties for Rush, Geddy has produced albums for various other bands, including Rocket Science.
TRIVIA :
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