7/29/1953: Born on this day, Geddy Lee, bass, vocals, Rush. Geddy was made an Officer of the Order of Canada on May 9, 1996. The trio was the first rock band to be so honored, as a group. Lee’s name, Geddy, was derived from his mother’s heavily accented pronunciation of his given first name, Gary. This was picked up by his friends in school, leading Lee to adopt it as his stage name and later his legal name.