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RUSH's GEDDY LEE Unearths 50-Year-Old Photo Of Him Playing One Of His Very First Instruments

June 22, 2020

RUSH bassist/vocalist Geddy Lee has shared a photo of him performing one of his "very first gigs ever."

The now-66-year-old musician says that the picture was taken around 1967 or 1968, and it features him playing one of his very first instruments, a white Hagstrom bass guitar.

Earlier today (Monday, June 22),Geddy posted the photo to his Instagram and he included the following message: "Once in a while, a photo I've havent 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. 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... 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. #digtheshorthair #garagebandsrule #HagstromHIIB #TheGrassroots #SamandDave #LiveforToday #vintagebasses #didImentionthehaircut #sweetmemories"

Asked in a 2018 interview with For Bass Players Only how he became a Rickenbacker guy at the start of RUSH's career, Geddy said: "Well, that came from my fanatical love of Chris Squire, really. I tell the story in the book ['Geddy Lee's Big Beautiful Book Of Bass'] that the first time I'd ever seen a Rickenbacker 4001 was Paul McCartney playing on that live broadcast THE BEATLES did for 'All You Need Is Love'. I remember I said, 'What is this thing? It looks so bizarre?' And then, of course, in the hands of Chris Squire, it became iconic to me. So when I got my first advance on the very first record deal we ever signed, the first thing I did was go down to our local music store and buy a Rickenbacker 4001. There was a black one hanging on the wall and I got it and used it for a really long time, till the middle '80s, I think. And that just became an extension of the people whose sound I admired."

View this post on Instagram

Once in a while, a photo I've havent 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. 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... 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. #digtheshorthair #garagebandsrule #HagstromHIIB #TheGrassroots #SamandDave #LiveforToday #vintagebasses #didImentionthehaircut #sweetmemories

A post shared by Geddy Lee (@geddyimages) on

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