Geddy Lee is a musician, singer, and songwriter who began his career in the music industry in 1968. He is probably best known as a member of the Canadian rock group Rush, for which he is a vocalist, bassist, and keyboardist. However, he has also had a solo career and collaborated with other artists. Due to the success of his music career, Geddy Lee’s net worth is $40 million, and here is how he accrued his wealth.
Geddy Lee’s Early Life
Born as Gary Lee Weinrib in Toronto on July 29, 1953, Geddy Lee is the son of Polish Holocaust survivors who emigrated to Canada. His father was a talented musician, although he died when Lee was young, forcing his mother to find work outside the home. Lee first began playing music when he was around ten. His first instruments included the clarinet, trumpet, or drums. When he was 14, he got his first acoustic guitar and began playing the piano. While his mother was absent from the house, Lee would practice music in the basement with a band that he had formed. Lee and his band began to earn some money from high school performances and local gigs, so he decided to drop out of school, against the wishes of his mother. He later said that it inspired him to make a success of his music career, to prove to his mother that it was the right decision, and to make up for the distress that he had caused her during his teens.
His Music Career
In 1968, Geddy Lee joined the band Rush after his friend, Alec Lifeson, asked him to replace the band’s original frontman, Jeff Jones. The third member of the group is Neil Peart. A year later, the band was playing professionally at various recreational events, for high schools, and at coffeehouses. They then began opening performances for the New York Dolls at the Victory Burlesque in Toronto. It led to the group gaining recognition, and they began opening for acts such as Kiss, Aerosmith, and Blue Oyster Cult. By 1972, Rush was performing full-length concerts. Rush released their self-titled debut album in 1974. The following year, they released two albums, ‘Fly by Night’ and ‘Caress of Steel.’ Following the release of these albums, Rush’s popularity continued to soar, and they began touring worldwide. They released three further albums in the 1970s; ‘2112,’ ‘A Farewell to Kings,’ and ‘Hemispheres.’ Throughout the early 1980s, Rush continued to write, record, and release music. The band’s next three albums were ‘Permanent Waves,’ ‘Moving Pictures,’ and ‘Grace Under Pressure.’ By now, Rush was one of the biggest rock band’s in the world, and their tours continued to sell out across the globe. In the late 1980s, Rush released the albums ‘Power Windows’ and ‘Hold Your Fire.’ During the 1990s, they released the albums’ Presto,’ ‘Roll the Bones,’ ‘Counterparts,’ and ‘Test for Echo.’ The band took a five-year hiatus from the music industry before releasing ‘Vapor for Trails’ in 2002. Five years later, they released ‘Snakes & Arrows.’ Their most recent studio album was ‘Clockwork Angels,’ which they released in 2012. The music career of Rush spans six decades, so it is hardly surprising that they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2013. Geddy Lee and both his bandmates have also been made Officers of the Order of Canada in recognition of their contribution to the Canadian music industry. Lee is also ranked as one of the best rock vocalists of all time. Both Lee and his band have received multiple awards and honors throughout their career.
Lee’s Solo Career and Other Ventures
Geddy Lee also had a brief solo career. In 2000, he released his first and only album, titled ‘My Favourite Headache.’ Lee has also collaborated with other artists on a variety of musical ventures. He was the featured guest for the McKenzie Brothers comedy album in 1981, and he produced the only album released by the Canadian new wave band Boy’s Brigade in 1985. Geddy Lee has also provided vocals for charity singles, recorded a song for the soundtrack of the 1999 film ‘South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut,’ was a guest musician on the Max Webber single ‘Battlescar,’ and appeared in a music video for a Broken Social Scene single. Outside of his career in the music industry, Geddy Lee has also appeared on television on multiple occasions. He has appeared in many episodes of the VH1 Classic series ‘Metal Evolution,’ and he was interviewed for the documentary films’ Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage’ and ‘Metal: A Headbangers Journey.’ Some of the television series in which Geddy Lee has made a cameo appearance include ‘How I Met Your Mother’ and ‘Chicago Fire.’ Another venture of Geddy Lee’s was publishing a book called ‘Geddy Lee’s Big Beautiful Book of Bass.’ In the book, he highlights his personal collection of more than 250 bass guitars. The book also contains interviews with some of the world’s best bass players.
Geddy Lee’s Net Worth
According to Classic Rock World, Geddy Lee’s net worth is $40 million. He predominantly made this money as the lead singer and frontman of the Canadian rock band Rush. However, he has also had a brief solo career and collaborated with other artists, and this work has also contributed to Lee’s wealth.
His Personal Life
In his personal life, Geddy Lee has been married to Nancy Young since 1976. Together, the couple has a son, Julian, and a daughter, Kyla. One of Lee’s hobbies is wine collecting, and it is believed that he has more than 5,000 bottles of wine in his collection. He also likes to travel to France each year to sample wines and cheese. Geddy Lee is also a baseball fan, and he supports the Detroit Tigers and the Toronto Blue Jays. Due to his passion for baseball, Lee has a huge collection of baseball memorabilia, and he once donated part of his collection to raise money for charity
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