Editing Geddy Lee (section)

===Rising popularity===
After several early albums and increasing popularity, Rush's status as a rock group soared over the following five years as they consistently toured worldwide and produced successful albums, including ''[[2112 (album)|2112]]'' (1976), ''[[A Farewell to Kings]]'' (1977), ''[[Hemispheres (Rush album)|Hemispheres]]'' (1978), ''[[Permanent Waves]]'' (1980), and ''[[Moving Pictures (Rush album)|Moving Pictures]]'' (1981).  Lee began adding synthesizers in 1977, with the release of ''A Farewell to Kings''. Keyboard critic Greg Armbruster says the additional sounds from synthesizers expanded the group's "textural capabilities" and allowed the trio to produce an orchestrated and more complex progressive rock music style.<ref name=Armbruster /> It also gave Lee the ability to play bass simultaneously, as he could control the synthesizer with foot pedals. In 1981, he won  ''[[Keyboard (magazine)|Keyboard]]'' magazine's poll as "Best New Talent."<ref name=Armbruster /> By the 1984 album ''[[Grace Under Pressure (Rush album)|Grace Under Pressure]]'', Lee was surrounding himself with stacks of keyboards on stage.<ref name=Armbruster />

By the 1980s, Rush had become one of the "biggest rock bands on the planet", selling out arena seats when touring.<ref name=Prato /><ref name=Buttner /> Lee was known for his dynamic stage movements. According to music critic Tom Mulhern, writing in 1980, "it's dazzling to see so much sheer energy expended without a nervous breakdown."<ref name=Mulhern>Tom Mulhern, ''Bass Heroes: Styles, Stories and Secrets of 30 Great Bass Players'', Backbear Books (1993) p. 110</ref> By 1996, their [[Test for Echo Tour]] began performing without an opening act, their shows lasting nearly three hours.<ref name=rollingstone>''Rolling Stone'', December 12, 1996</ref>{{Full citation needed|date=February 2024}}<ref>{{Cite web |last=Giles |first=Jeff|date=2015-11-06 |title=Watch Rush Perform 'Tom Sawyer' From 'R40 Live' |url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/rush-tom-sawyer-live/ |access-date=2024-03-10 |website=Ultimate Classic Rock |language=en}}</ref>

Music industry writer Christopher Buttner, who interviewed Lee in 1996, described him as a prodigy and "role model" for what every musician wants to be, noting his proficiency on stage. Buttner cited Lee's ability to vary time signatures, play multiple keyboards, use bass pedal controllers and control sequencers, all while singing lead vocals into as many as three microphones. Buttner adds that few musicians of any instrument "can juggle half of what Geddy can do without literally falling on their ass."<ref name=Buttner /> As a result, notes Mulhern, Lee's instrumentation was the "pulse" of the group and created a "one-man rhythm section", which complemented guitarist [[Alex Lifeson]] and percussionist [[Neil Peart]].<ref name=Mulhern /> Bass instructor [[Allan Slutsky]], or "Dr Licks", credits Lee's "biting, high-end bass lines and creative synthesizer work" for helping the group become "one of the most innovative" of all the groups that play arena rock.<ref name=Jamerson>Dr Licks. ''Standing in the Shadows of Motown'', Hal Leonard Corp. (1989) p. 125</ref> By 1989, ''[[Guitar Player]]'' magazine had designated Lee the "Best Rock Bass" player from their reader's poll for the previous five years.<ref name=Jamerson />

Greg Prato of [[AllMusic]] wrote that "few [[hard rock]] bassists have been as influential as Rush's Geddy Lee."<ref name="AllMusicBio">{{Cite web |last=Prato |first=Greg |title=Geddy Lee: Biography |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/geddy-lee-mn0000153933/biography |access-date=May 1, 2012 |publisher=[[AllMusic]]}}</ref> Bass players who have cited Lee as an influence include [[Cliff Burton]] of [[Metallica]],<ref name="CLIFF BURTON R.I.P. - 1986" /> [[Steve Harris (musician)|Steve Harris]] of [[Iron Maiden]],<ref name="Steve Harris Biography" /> [[John Myung]] of [[Dream Theater]],<ref name="fender" /> [[Les Claypool]] of [[Primus (band)|Primus]],<ref name="ram.org" /> and [[Steve Di Giorgio]] of [[Sadus]], [[Death (metal band)|Death]] and [[Testament (band)|Testament]].<ref name="bassplayer.com" />