Rush’s Geddy Lee Shares Short-Haired Photo From Teenage Garage Band Years

Everyone starts somewhere, but long before the epic rock masterpieces and a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction, Rush's Geddy Lee was just a teenager playing in a garage band. While recently sorting through some photos, Lee came across one that took him by surprise from his teen years and he decided to share it with fans.

"Once in a while, a photo I haven't seen in ages, or ever … pops up on social media, like a ghost from my past. I find myself slack-jawed, mouth gaping at some of them in wonder … "Is that me? .. where on earth, did this come from?" Well, this is one such photo," starts Lee, later acknowledging his Jackson Browne-esque short hair in his hashtags for the post.

He reveals, "I was 14 or 15, playing in a garage band, at what is obviously one of my very first gigs ever … I do recall that we played some songs by Sam and Dave, and The Grassroots! … and if you look closely, you can barely see a sliver of a white Hagstrom bass in my hands! One of my very first instruments."

Lee says he was thrilled to come across the photo, explaining, "When putting my bass book together I searched high and low, to no avail, for a photo of this bass … so I'm super pleased to share this moment of my long forgotten past." If you scroll the photo, you can also see the bass in its full form. Have a look at the photo below.

Lee was born in 1953 in the Willowdale neighborhood of Toronto. His father was a musician and Geddy turned his basement into a practice space as a teenager so that he and his friends could play together. Eventually landing gigs, Lee decided to leave high school to begin his music career. The singer-bassist would eventually join Rush in 1968, taking over for original singer-bassist Jeff Jones.

Lee released his "Big Beautiful Book of Bass" back in 2018. Get ordering info here.