Zealous Lee: Great Musicians Called Lee Quiz

Answer: Geddy Lee

Geddy Lee has stated in interviews that he got the name Geddy because his mother, a Polish holocaust survivor, couldn't pronounce his name. Why the interviewer didn't ask him how come his mother gave him a name she couldn't pronounce properly, is unfathomable. He eventually changed his name to Geddy legally.

Whilst hardly anybody has copied Geddy's incredible vocal style, his influence as a bassist is inestimable. His talents don't stop there as he is an accomplished songwriter and keyboard player.

Since forming in 1968 Rush have dabbled in a wide range of styles, always managing to embrace new technology without veering too far from their path and always sounding like nobody else. The whole band (Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart) were made Officers of the Order of Canada in 1996.

Kam Lee is a death metal singer/drummer who has played with Massacre and Death/Mantas.

Bunny Lee is a Jamaican reggae producer.

Marvin Lee Aday is singer Meat Loaf's real name.

Answer: Bark At The Moon

Jake E. Lee was born Jakey Lou Williams in 1957 in Norfolk, Virginia (USA), but ended up in Los Angeles in an early version of Ratt. Then he joined Rough Cutt, where he was spotted by Ozzy's arch-enemy Ronnie James Dio who asked him to join Dio, which he did briefly.

When Ozzy went to Los Angeles to seek out a replacement for the late Randy Rhodes, Jake E. Lee got the much-coveted, yet grueling, job of stepping into the legend's shoes. He quickly won the fans over and built up a strong working relationship with Ozzy. He lasted one more album, "The Ultimate Sin", but was then rudely ousted by Ozzy's wife/manager Sharon Osbourne.

He came out fighting and formed the highly underrated Badlands, who looked set for super-stardom, but it never came. Jake has been involved in a number of projects since, including solo outings.

The album cover and video of the title track to "Bark At The Moon" have to sit up there amongst Ozzy's most visually exciting efforts, and many a youth (myself included) swarmed to the tour promoting the album hoping to see Ozzy in full werewolf regalia. We were sadly let down as Ozzy performed in a disheveled track suit and looked totally worn out. Jake E. Lee shredded though.

"Voodoo Highway" was Badlands second album. "Born Again" was Black Sabbath's 1983 album, and "Paranoid" their classic 1970 album.

Answer: The Dickies

Although it's the comedy of The Dickies that most people remember, they can really play and despite the underlying irreverence of some of their covers, they pick great tunes to butcher! Some have pondered that the silly titles, daft get-ups, and mocking cover versions are a smoke screen for a deeply intellectual post-modern deconstruction of popular culture, but you'd have to ask Stan Lee and long-standing vocalist Leonard Graves Phillips about that.

The first two albums ("The Incredible Shrinking Dickies" and "Dawn of the Dickies", both 1979) contain most of The Dickies' bona fide hits, but the curious shouldn't be put off later releases which all offer further insight into what makes America tick with songs like "Stukas Over Disneyland", and "I'm Stuck in a Condo (with Marlon Brando)" (sequel to "(I'm Stuck In a Pagoda With) Tricia Toyota" from "Dawn Of The Dickies").

Answer: Astral Weeks

"Astral Weeks", which came out in 1968, was Van Morrison's second solo album, and is often on lists of greatest albums of all time. It was immediately recognized as a classic by the critics, but it took the public a lot longer. It's apparently sold solidly over the years.

John Lee Hooker worked quite extensively with Van Morrison in his later career, starting with Van guesting on Hooker's 1991 album "Mr Lucky". The album was part of a string of slick, highly-polished productions that began with "The Healer" and found Hooker in the spotlight, arguably more than he'd ever been before, although he had teamed up with Canned Heat for the brilliant double album "Hooker 'n Heat" way back in 1971. However, Canned Heat never had the commercial clout of Hooker's later friends, and the 1971 album is pretty raw Delta blues.

"That's My Story" was recorded in 1960, at a time when Hooker was recording for Riverside Records, a jazz label that wanted him to get away from the electric stuff he'd been doing and get a much subtler, country sound. It worked well, although as the opening track "I Need Some Money" tells us, Hooker was up for anything. He was still singing the same song, based on the pop hit "Money (That's What I Want)", in 1966 on "Serves You Right To Suffer", another great Hooker album.

As I said, Hooker's discography is vast, and there are a lot of cash-ins. The place to start is the essential "The Legendary Modern Recordings 1948 - 1954".

Answer: Da Capo

Arthur Lee had rock star written all over him, and actually had a relatively easy start, Love getting high profile gigs in trendy Los Angeles clubs and a recording contract soon after forming, but Love never really got the attention they deserved. One wonders whether it was something intrinsic to Lee's personality (as it seems his dissatisfaction is what led to the instability in the band), or sheer bad luck.

The eponymous debut album featured Arthur Lee providing vocals, percussion, some drums, and harmonica, Johnny Echols on lead guitar, Bryan Maclean on rhythm guitar, Ken Forssi on bass, and Alban Pfisterer on drums. It was a flop.

For "Da Capo"(1967), Love moved Pfisterer to organ and got Michael Stuart in on drums, and Tjay Cantrelli on saxophone and flute. The title seems to echo the shift in style, side one being a much more aggressive assault and almost proto-punk. Side two is a bluesy jam work-out, which probably goes on a bit long but it was daring nonetheless. It was a flop.

"Forever Changes" (1967) came next, and despite being ignored at the time its reputation has grown so much over the years that it's rightly regarded as one of the pinnacles of its era, and one of the greatest rock albums of all time.

After that, Lee's career is a meandering mess, with some amazing music being made and eventual recognition for his insightful lyrics and pioneering sound coming, but also a spell in prison for petty offences, never-finished projects, and long stretches of nothingness. In the 2000s he was touring, playing the whole "Forever Changes" set live to huge critical acclaim, but unfortunately he was also suffering from leukemia, a battle he lost in 2006.

Answer: Fear

Guitarist and vocalist Lee Ving was born Lee James Capellaro in Philadelphia in 1946, but he moved to New York and then Los Angeles. He formed Fear with the late Derf Scratch in 1977 and their debut single was the raucous "I Love Livin In The City" on Criminal Records in 1978. The album ("Record") didn't come out until 1982, but it rapidly made it into many a punk rocker's top sounds list. It didn't go down well with everybody as the tongue-in-cheek Neanderthal attitude of the band rubbed a fair few people up the wrong way.

Actor John Belushi did get the humour however, and he backed the band in their riotous endeavours. In fact, it was Belushi who got them the notorious gig on "Saturday Night Live", which resulted in huge damage. This of course cemented their reputation, but put off gig promoters from booking the band.

Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers was in Fear sometime in the mid-1980s, but never recorded anything with them. Actually, Fear's one-time drummer Spit Stix produced the RHCP's first demo. Whether it's Fear or the Red Hot Chili Peppers who gain kudos from the association is up to you to decide!

Answer: Lee "Scratch" Perry

Lee "Scratch" Perry, born Rainford Hugh Perry in 1936 has had a fascinating career which can be delved into by reading David Katz's authoritative biography "People Funny Boy", which reveals as much about Scratch's career as about the goings on within the Jamaican music scene, and how little money was being bandied about even in the day when pioneering artists like Perry were at their peak. It offers a few answers to why Lee scratch burnt down his studio, but none of them are conclusive.

Lee Perry has been painted as everything from a messiah to a nutter, and he does kind of embody both entities, but at the end of the day, beyond all the talk, just a brief listen to the stuff he's pumped out as either an artist or producer has you realizing that he is amongst the few geniuses in popular music.

Answer: Napalm Death

Lee Dorrian was one of many who welcomed the arrival of grindcore to satisfy the appetite for the heaviness of metal joined by the aggression and politicized vitriol of punk, which Napalm Death managed to juggle for a while. Although there are many unsung heroes in the sub-genre's development, Napalm Death are undoubtedly the most well-known. Radio DJ John Peel championed the band (as well as many others) and will always be remembered for bringing the noise into the bedrooms of the nation's youth.

Napalm Death had actually started off as a veritable anarcho-punk rock band in about 1981, and the first side of "Scum" features founder member Nic Bullen (Nik Napalm), although the music had changed no end. Side two's line-up has only drummer Mick Harris in common with side one, our Lee having joined alongside Bill Steer (later of Carcass amongst others) on guitar and Jim Whiteley on bass (he left just afterwards).

Lee formed Cathedral in 1989 and have had a great career spearheading the British doom metal renaissance.

Answer: Billy Lee Riley

Billy Lee Riley was born in Arkansas in 1933 and he started working cotton-picking to help keep his family afloat at a young age, education being left by the wayside. He said he learnt guitar from other sharecroppers, many of them black folk deeply entrenched in the blues. He joined the army, got shifted around and almost got sent to fight in the Korean War, but ended up back in Arkansas where he formed a rockabilly band.

He moved to Memphis where he got a regular club gig. He recorded "Troublebound" and "Think Before You Go" at a small studio, but luckily Sam Philips heard it and was keen to release it, which he did. He got a Sun Records contract, which is where he recorded "Flyin' Saucers Rock n Roll". It's also where he bumped into Jerry Lee Lewis, who he hired, effectively giving him his first chance at Sun Records. Unfortunately, according to Riley, Sam Philips then chose to promote Lewis over Riley, so our man left the label. The big break never really came, although Riley played with Herb Alpert, Sammy Davis Jr., and The Beach Boys as a session musician and etched out a decent career. Nevertheless, he could, and should, have become the kind of name one cites alongside Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Carl Perkins.

Billy Lee Riley died in Arkansas in 2009 of colon cancer.

Tommy Lee is famed for playing drums in Motley Crue. Bruce Lee was a kung-fu film star. Actor Christopher Lee was best known for his roles in horror films.

Answer: Hank Williams

Hank Williams was of an older generation than the lads mentioned, and despite being a huge influence on them, was on his last legs when they were just starting to make it.

Jerry Lee Lewis, aka The Killer, had had a weird career of highs and lows, and unfortunately he is remembered as much for his rather unorthodox (for want of a better word) approach to marriage as for his seminal contribution to rock n roll. He is also remembered for his versions of "Great Balls Of Fire" and "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On", but his oeuvre deserves a lot more attention.

His life story is brilliantly recounted in the book "Hellfire" by Nick Tosches, and although the style is at times a tad sensational, it's not hard to believe some of the antics of one of rock n roll's greatest wild men.

The story of the Million Dollar Quartet would strike one as rather too far-fetched had it not been so well documented. It all began when Carl Perkins went into the Sun studios to record some stuff and was given Jerry Lee Lewis as a session pianist. Johnny Cash was just hanging out enjoying the session. Enter the King of Rock n Roll! Elvis had already left the label, but dropped in to chew the fat with his old mates (and no doubt, give it large), but ended up having a right old knees up around the old Joanna.