Geddy Lee of Rush is sharing some of his musical inspirations on the eve of the band’s induction into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame.
In a new Q&A with Billboard, Lee explains his original musical spark came from a rock classic
“The first song I heard that made me interested in music was 'Oh, Pretty Woman' by Roy Orbison,” says the bassist. “It was the guitar intro, that riff, that I just really liked and kind of made me listen in a different way.”
Lee developed his music skills by learning songs by others before writing his own.
“I can't remember the first song I learned to play on bass, but the first song I learned to play on guitar was ‘For Your Love’ by the Yardbirds,” Geddy says. “That kind of was the beginning for me. I thought it was a great song and I loved the open chord progression at the beginning of that song…. and I remember trying to figure out ‘Pretty Woman’ the first time I got a guitar.”
Original music followed these early steps.
“The first song I wrote was with [Rush guitarist] Alex Lifeson,” remembers Lee, “and the first song we wrote that we kind of liked was ‘In the Mood,’ one of our early songs.
Dave Grohl and Taylor Hawkins of Foo Fighters will induct Rush at the 28th annual Hall Of Fame induction ceremony on Thursday at the Nokia Theater L.A. Live.
Rush are being honored along with Heart, Public Enemy, Donna Summer, Randy Newman and Albert King.
The event will be recorded and broadcast on HBO on May 18.
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