Geddy Lee

Gary Lee Weinrib

• Born July 29, 1953 in Willowdale, ON CAN

Biographical Information

Geddy Lee is the lead singer, bassist and occasional keyboardist for the Canadian rock band Rush, one of the most successful musical outfits ever to come out of the Great White North. He is also a passionate baseball fan, and can often be seen sitting behind home plate at Toronto Blue Jays home games, where he is a season-ticket holder.

Born in the suburbs of Toronto, ON, Lee was a baseball fan as a kid, but soon devoted all of his passion to music, forming what would become the band Rush in 1968 along with childhood friend guitarist Alex Lifeson (drummer Neil Peart was the third member of the band). After beginning by playing covers of current rock songs around southern Ontario, the group soon began playing its own songs and released its first self-titled album in 1974. They quickly became very popular and have been recording and touring ever since, although Peart's death in early 2020 ended that stage of Lee's career. He is known for his distinctive high-pitched singing voice, as described in the 1997 song "Stereo" by the band Pavement:

What about the voice of Geddy Lee

How did it get so high?
I wonder if he speaks like an ordinary guy?

(I know him and he does!)

Lee explains that he rekindled his love for baseball in the 1980s, when he was spending a lot of time in hotel rooms in strange cities while the band was on tour. He came into the habit of watching Chicago Cubs games on WGN and soon became passionate about the game again. As he explains: "Being a nerd that I am, I couldn't avoid the love of stats. I learned how to score the games and basically became a nut for the game." He became a collector of baseball memorabilia and has a museum-quality collection of items, with a particular focus on Negro Leagues greats. In December of 2023, he auctioned off some 300 items from his collection, including a number of baseballs signed by personalities inside and outside the game.

He became a close friend of pitcher and future Hall of Famer Randy Johnson, who he met while Rush gave a concert in Seattle, WA in the early 1990s. The two share a passion for photography, and a deep appreciation of each other's line of work. After retiring from baseball, Johnson has followed the band on tour as its official photographer.

Lee became a member of the Order of Canada in 1996.

Further Reading

• Alyson Footer: "On Their Game: Randy Johnson and Geddy Lee: Base to bass: Hall of Famers are friends, and Big Unit rocks as a photographer", mlb.com, May 22, 2015. [1]
• Brian Murphy: "Rock 'n' roll legend auctioning off his incredible baseball memorabilia", mlb.com, November 7, 2023. [2]