Geddy Lee grew up as a big fan of Progressive Rock, but Hard Rock also holds a special place in his heart, something that can be heard in Rush’s music. Although the band has a unique sound, their songs often blend elements of both genres. When Rush released their debut album in 1974, they were even compared to Led Zeppelin. However, on the following records, their Progressive Rock influences became more evident. Over the decades, the band’s bassist, keyboardist, and singer has often talked about heavier music and revealed his 3 favorite Hard Rock bands. The 3 Hard Rock bands Geddy Lee listed as his favorite ones Humble Pie https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJPVLywFd9I&list=RDUJPVLywFd9I&start_radio=1&pp=ygUy4oCcSSBEb27igJl0IE5lZWQgTm8gRG9jdG9y4oCdIGh1bWJsZSBwaWUgZmlsbG1vcmWgBwE%3D Geddy Lee has always been a huge fan of the late singer and guitarist Steve Marriott, since he was a member of The Small Faces and when he formed Humble Pie, it became one of his favorite heavier bands. "I used to like Humble Pie when I was younger. Steve Marriott was a big influence on me when I was starting up," he told That Metal Show in 2015, referring to his first favorite Hard Rock band. Released in 1971, their live album "Performance: Rockin' The Fillmore", was the one which inspired Geddy the most. "I was a fan of guys with a higher range like Steve Marriott in the Small Faces and Humble Pie. (Humble Pie’s Performance: Rockin’ the Fillmore would be a hugely influential record to me and most of my peers. You can hear the influence of “I Don’t Need No Doctor” on my early singing.)" "We weren’t so much a product of American blues, as American blues that had been shipped to England, amplified, rock-a-fied and sent back across the water to me sitting in Toronto waiting for my life to begin. I would often later be compared to Robert Plant, and while he certainly pushed me into the higher registers. I do think a comparison with Marriott would be more accurate. He had a soulful voice with a strong vibrato but he rocked," Geddy Lee said in his autobiography "My Effin' Life". Formed in 1969, Humble Pie was originally formed by Steve Marriott (Guitar and Vocals), Peter Frampton (Guitar), Greg Ridley (Bass) and Jerry Shirley (Drums). They recorded the band’s first four studio albums: “As Safe as Yesterday Is” (1969), “Town and Country” (1969), “Humble Pie” (1970), “Rock On” (1971) and the live record “Performance Rockin’ the Fillmore” (1971). Led Zeppelin https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqF3J8DpEb4&list=RDKqF3J8DpEb4&start_radio=1&pp=ygUkbGVkIHplcHBlbGluIGNvbW11bmljYXRpb24gYnJlYWtkb3duoAcB The second band Geddy mentioned was Led Zeppelin, a group fronted by Robert Plant, to whom Geddy was often compared after the release of Rush’s first album. A few years before, in 1969, the Rush frontman had a life-changing experience going with Alex Lifeson and John Rutsey to a Zeppelin show in Canada. "(Watching Led Zeppelin) had a tremendous impact, you know, musician's talk about life-changing moments. I mean, a lot of people talk about life-changing moments and it's hard to take that expression seriously. But I can say in all honesty that for me, Alex Lifeson, my BFF and partner in crime for a million years, and also for John Rutsey, who was our drummer at the time, it was a life-changing experience. We sat there in the second row and Jimmy Page didn't walk on stage, he floated on stage. I'm sure there was a cloud under his feet." Geddy Lee continued: "It was such a profoundly intense Rock experience and the (place) was shaking, plaster was literally falling off the ceiling. They really brought the house down. It was a kind of Rock music that we had never really heard or felt in that way. We went back at home as three aspiring young goofs trying to be musicians (laughs), and we wanted to be like them. So it changed our whole attitude on how we looked at Rock music. It really was profound," Geddy Lee told CBC in 2024 (Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage). Many decades later, Geddy was lucky enough to meet the surviving members of the band. He first met Robert Plant by chance while they were both on vacation in Morocco. They were coincidentally staying at the same hotel, in rooms across from each other. Later, when the Page & Plant project performed in Canada, he and Lifeson went to see the show and hung out backstage, where they met Jimmy Page. While writing his “Big Beautiful Book of Bass,” Lee arranged an interview with John Paul Jones, whom he considers the “unsung hero” of the band. He loved talking with him and said that Jones was an even better person than he had imagined. The Who https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKoItfmA90w&pp=ygUPcnVzaCB0aGUgc2Vla2Vy Another band that Geddy Lee was lucky enough to see in their prime, when he was still an aspiring musician in Canada, was The Who, which he listed as one of his favorite Hard Rock bands. Two members of the British band that he admires and mentioned were Pete Townshend and John Entwistle, especially. In 2013 he told Sirius XM's Classic Vinyl Influences show that Townshend is his favorite Rock songwriter of all time. “I think most Rock bands today wouldn’t sound the way they sound without The Who. I think they are one of the most important bands to ever come out of England. Certainly in my career the most influential in terms of songwriting.” Geddy Lee continued: “Pete Townshend still is my absolute favorite Rock songwriter . (Also the) most influential in terms of what a great Rock song should be. I’ve got the chance to see them a couple of times when I was younger. Roger Daltrey aside, that’s a three-piece band really, bass, drums, guitar and vocals. Love that band,” Geddy Lee said (Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage). But of course, as a bass player, he was also deeply influenced by the late John Entwistle. Geddy even said he was one of the first Gods of Rock to him. “He was one of the first gods to me. Gods of rock. (Laughs) Ever since I first heard ‘My Generation,’ it’s like, ‘Who is that?’ That was a name you needed to know. And I still rank him as the greatest rock bassist of all time, in one sense. First of all, he was ferocious. He had a sound that dared to encroach upon the domain of the guitar player. So he had a very loud, very aggressive tone.” “And to hear that on pop radio. I mean, ‘My Generation’ didn’t get as much play over here as it did in the U.K. But it was a pop hit with a bass solo in it, no less. So I was drawn to, first of all, his tone, secondly, his audacity and thirdly, his dexterity. I mean, he had incredible dexterity. Just moved across the strings in such a fluid manner with such ease, and yet, sounded so tremendously ferocious at the same time," he said in an interview with Rolling Stone in 2020. Rush covered The Who's classic song "The Seeker" on their 2004 covers album "Feedback".The post The 3 Hard Rock bands Geddy Lee listed as his favorite ones appeared first on Rock and Roll Garage.