Geddy Lee Names the One Guitarist He Believes Was Truly Unbeatable

Geddy Lee has long been one of rock music’s most thoughtful commentators—not only on bass playing, but on the culture that shaped it. Despite being revered as one of the instrument’s greatest innovators, Lee has often spoken candidly about how rarely the bass was a first choice for young musicians coming of age in rock’s formative years.

The Accidental Bass Player

Looking back on his early days, Lee has noted that bass players were often appointed out of necessity rather than desire. “Back in my day, nobody chose to be the bass player,” he once said. “You were always a guitarist, and somebody said, ‘Well, we need a bass player,’ so they had a vote and you became the bass player. That’s how I became a bass player: I was voted in.”

According to Lee, this was a familiar story for musicians of his generation. Most aspiring players had their sights set on guitar heroes like Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, or Jimmy Page—figures who dominated the spotlight and redefined what the instrument could do. The bass, while essential, was typically relegated to the background, its role understood but rarely celebrated.

Cream, Jack Bruce, and the Foundations of Rush

Despite his eventual mastery of the bass, Lee has always identified first and foremost as a fan of music itself. His tastes span decades and genres, from classic rock staples like Led Zeppelin to modern experimental artists such as Björk and Radiohead. Yet few bands left as deep an impression on him as Cream.

In a 2020 interview with Rolling Stone, Lee described Cream—featuring Jack Bruce, Eric Clapton, and Ginger Baker—as his favorite band during his formative years. “They were far and away my favourite band when I got old enough to appreciate rock music, and I was getting more and more into rock,” he recalled.

That admiration directly influenced the earliest incarnation of Rush. “Cream was such an influence on early Rush and me as a bass player,” Lee said. “We would do our own version of ‘Spoonful.’ We would play in the coffeehouses and the high school dances and all that stuff. We really tried to emulate Cream in the earliest days of Rush, so there was a real bond to Jack Bruce’s playing for me.” Bruce’s melodic, aggressive approach to the bass helped set the template for Lee’s own playing—one that blurred the line between rhythm and lead.

Jeff Beck and the Guitar as a New Language

Although Cream looms large in Lee’s musical DNA, Eric Clapton does not hold the title of his favorite guitarist. That distinction belongs to Jeff Beck, Clapton’s successor in The Yardbirds and one of rock’s most restless innovators.

In a 2009 interview with Guitar World, Lee revealed that Beck’s cover of Willie Dixon’s “I Ain’t Superstitious” was among the recordings that helped shape Rush’s sound. “If I had to pick a favourite guitarist of all time, it would probably be Jeff Beck,” Lee said. “I mean, was there a better guitar sound ever?”

Lee described the performance as a defining artistic breakthrough. “I think this was the first great Jeff Beck ‘moment.’ The first time when you’d hear something and know that it couldn’t be anybody but him,” he said. “He was such an amazing pioneer. Just an incredible stylist. The notes he squeezes out of that thing with a whammy bar, a volume control knob and his fingers are simply incredible.”

Lee also pointed to the Yardbirds’ 1966 single “Over Under Sideways Down” as another pivotal influence. The psychedelic rock landmark is credited to all members of the band, though Beck’s invention of its distinctive introduction proved decisive. Drummer Jim McCarty later said the intro effectively “made the song.”

Reflecting on Beck’s contribution, Lee called the guitar line “one of the most unique” ever recorded. “It’s really hard to play that thing—it manages to grab something essential from the Eastern quarter-tone style without just being imitative of Indian music,” he said.

For Lee, the significance of Beck’s work—and that of his contemporaries—extends beyond technical brilliance. “And it’s the hook to a pop song—back when pop, particularly in England, could be a platform for experimentation and innovation,” he concluded. “Beck, Page, Clapton and some other Brits really discovered a totally new sound.”

In Lee’s view, that moment marked a turning point in rock history. By electrifying the blues and reshaping it for a wider audience, these guitarists transformed popular music into a vehicle for exploration and individual expression. Their innovations didn’t just redefine the guitar; they expanded what rock music itself could communicate, creating a vocabulary that musicians like Lee would continue to build upon for decades to come.