Exclusive Photo: Rush Rocker Geddy Lee, in Chicago for His ‘Big Beautiful Book of Bass’

Submitted by PatrickMcD on July 22, 2019 - 2:35pm

CHICAGO – He has THE distinctive rock voice among his generation of 1970s lead singers, and catapulted the group Rush into the stratosphere with hits like “Tom Sawyer,” “Fly by Night” and “Freewill.” He defies all bass player jokes in his years of playing and influencing with that rhythm instrument. Geddy Lee came to Chicago to promote his “Big Beautiful Book of Bass.”

Geddy Lee in Chicago, July 17th, 2019
Photo credit: Joe Arce of Starstruck Foto for HollywoodChicago.com

Geddy Lee was born in Canada and dropped out of high school to pursue music. The band Rush formed in 1968, and started playing out in Toronto. Their reputation began to heighten in the early 1970s, when they’d open for bands like Aerosmith and Blue Öyster Cult. The mid ‘70s brought mainstream success, as the classic albums “2112,” “A Farewell to Kings” and “Hemispheres” launched FM hits and solidified their hard rock legacy. As lead singer, Lee has a three octave vocal range, and has used that gift to magnificent effect, as much an instrument as Alex Lifeson on guitar and Neal Peart on drums, the classic power trio lineup … there is no band that sounds like Rush except Rush.

Over the years, he has indulged in side projects, including the song “Take Off (To the Great White North)” sung with the fictional SCTV characters Bob and Doug MacKenzie (Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas) on their “Great White North” comedy album in 1982. Ironically, the song peaked at #16 on the charts, higher than any Rush song in Geddy’s career. In 2013, Rush was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Geddy Lee’s ‘Big Beautiful Book of Bass’
Photo credit: Joe Arce of Starstruck Foto for HollywoodChicago.com

Photographer Joe Arce of HollywoodChicago.com took this Exclusive Photo of Geddy Lee, as fans and admirers lined up around the block at the Chicago Barnes & Noble bookstore on Webster Street, where the rocker promoted and signed his “Big Beautiful Book of Bass.”

“Geddy Lee’s Big Beautiful Book of Bass” is available at Barnes & Noble or wherever books are sold.