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1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsGeddy Lee’s memoir My Effin’ Life recounts a brief 1969 break with Rush: Lee says the band’s other members formed a new group with a replacement bassist, then drummer John Rutsey asked him to return that fall. Lee’s explanation is a retrospective account, not an independently corroborated record of the episode.
What happened when Lee was told Rush was breaking up?
Lee’s account concerns Rush’s early, unsigned lineup—not the later, widely known configuration. At the time, the group included Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson, drummer John Rutsey and keyboardist Lindy Young.
Lee writes that he was walking to rehearsal when Young told him rehearsal was cancelled and “the band is breaking up.” Lee says he later learned that Lifeson, Rutsey and Young had regrouped as Hadrian with another bassist, identified in the excerpt only as Joe. In Lee’s telling, the breakup announcement concealed that the others were continuing together without him.
Why does Lee say the band replaced him?
Lee writes that Rush manager Ray Danniels thought he was not right for the band, but clarifies that Danniels did not initiate the decision. Decades later, Lee says he was told Rutsey had driven it: Rutsey wanted to reinvent the band’s image and wanted someone “hipper.”
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- Lyrics/Chord Symbols/Guitar Chord Diagrams
- Pages: 240
- Instrumentation: Guitar
Lee also recounts a later conversation with Lifeson, who said he went along with Rutsey because Rutsey had a strong personality and made the decisions. These explanations come through Lee’s memoir and his recollection of later discussions; the excerpt does not independently establish the motives of the people involved.
How did Lee return to Rush?
After the split, Lee says he started another band. In fall 1969, Rutsey called and asked him to come back, expressing shame and remorse. Lee accepted: he missed playing with Lifeson and believed Rush had greater potential.
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So the episode Lee describes was a temporary removal, followed by a return—not a permanent departure from Rush. The account appears in Rolling Stone India’s 15 November 2023 publication of a Rolling Stone US excerpt from My Effin’ Life, published with permission from Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
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- Guitar Recorded Versions
- Pages: 514
- Instrumentation: Guitar
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- Contains Over 80 Classic And Modern Rock Songs
- Arranged For Easy Guitar
- Includes Lyrics
- Standard Notation And Tab
- 256 Pages
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