Geddy Lee first appeared on the world music stage in the year 1968, when he joined a Canadian rock band called Rush. His childhood friend, Alex Lifeson, a member of that rock band, asked Geddy Lee to join as Jeff Jones, the front man at that time, was to be replaced. Geddy Lee soon assumed the front man part, as he became the lead vocalist, keyboardist and bassist of Rush. Since then, Geddy Lee made history in progressive metal music and influenced great rock players.
Progressive metal music has its origins in the progressive rock of the 1960s, but did not become a genre until the 1980s. This form of rock is a blend between the powerful guitar sound of heavy metal, intricate instrument playing and complex structures. Jazz and classical music also influenced progressive metal music. The duration of a progressive metal song is longer than a standard one. Rushs Geddy Lee was one of the first to introduce progressive rock to the world. Throughout the years, Rushs music combined different music styles and gave birth to new genres of rock, while Geddy Lee had a major impact on progressive metal music.
In the 1990s, MTV gave progressive metal music mainstream exposure by making Queensrche’s “Silent Lucidity a big hit. Although this was not exactly the song to represent metal music, it brought many progressive metal bands into the spotlight and made this rock genre more popular. Dream Theatre was next. This band truly represented progressive metal music. Even to this day, Dream Theatre is one of the most successful progressive metal bands and this success can be partially attributed to Geddy Lee. This band is most famous for their technical proficiency and Geddy Lee was their inspiration. Metallicas Cliff Burton or Iron Maidens Steve Harris were also inspired by the front man of Rush, so it is safe to say that this man had a big impact upon the development of progressive metal music.
Geddy Lee did not settle for playing with Rush. He has also produced many albums for other bands, and, in the year 2000, his solo was released. Progressive rock was now richer due to Geddy Lees contribution to this genre by every means possible. He composed songs and performed for Rush, he inspired many great artists, who successfully made a name for themselves, he produced albums for different other bands and he also released a solo.
Progressive metal music is as complex as Geddy Lees style. We can safely say that this prolific Rush member influenced many progressive metal artists, but he also added his touch to other music genres. Progressive metal music is a vast genre of rock because it can be broken down into numerous sub- genres, each of them corresponding to different music styles that artists have chosen as inspiration. Geddy Lee is an artist who, throughout the years, has looked for inspiration in many music styles and integrated them into his music. So the contribution Geddy Lee has had to progressive metal music is of great importance.