Alex Lifeson

Alex Lifeson
OC
Lifeson performing in 2022
Lifeson performing in 2022
Background information
Birth nameAleksandar Živojinović
Also known asLerxst
Born (1953-08-27) 27 August 1953 (age 71)
Fernie, British Columbia, Canada
OriginToronto, Ontario, Canada
Genres
Occupations
  • Musician
  • songwriter
InstrumentsGuitar
Years active1963–present
Labels
Member ofEnvy of None
Formerly of
Spouse
Charlene McNicol
​
(m. 1975)​
Websitealexlifeson.com

Aleksandar Živojinović OC (born 27 August 1953), known professionally as Alex Lifeson (/ˈlaɪfsən/), is a Canadian musician, best known as the guitarist for the rock band Rush. In 1968, Lifeson co-founded a band that would later become Rush, with drummer John Rutsey and bassist and lead vocalist Jeff Jones. Jones was replaced by Geddy Lee a month later, and Rutsey was replaced by Neil Peart in 1974, after which the lineup remained unchanged until the band's dissolution in 2018. Lifeson was the only member of Rush who stayed in the band throughout its entire existence, and he and Lee were the only members to appear on all of the band's albums.

With Rush, Lifeson played electric and acoustic guitar, as well as other various string instruments such as mandola, mandolin, and bouzouki. He also performed backing vocals in live performances and select studio recordings, and occasionally played keyboards and bass pedal synthesizers. Like the other members of Rush, Lifeson performed real-time on-stage triggering of sampled instruments.[1] Along with his bandmates Geddy Lee and Neil Peart, Lifeson was made an Officer of the Order of Canada on 9 May 1996. The trio was the first rock band to be so honoured as a group.[2] In 2013, he was inducted with Rush into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.[3] Lifeson was ranked 98th on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time[4] and third (after Eddie Van Halen and Brian May) in a Guitar World readers' poll listing the 100 greatest guitarists.[5]

The bulk of Lifeson's work in music has been with Rush, although Lifeson has contributed to a body of work outside the band as well, including a solo album titled Victor (1996). Aside from music, Lifeson has been a painter,[6] a licensed aircraft pilot, an actor, and the former part-owner of a Toronto bar and a restaurant called The Orbit Room, which closed in 2020.[7][8][better source needed]

  1. ^ "Rush Rolls Again". Onstagemag.com. Archived from the original on 18 October 2002. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  2. ^ "RUSH Biography". Maplemusic.com. Archived from the original on 15 July 2010. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  3. ^ Andy Greene (4 October 2012). "Rush, Public Enemy, Deep Purple Nominated for Rock and Roll Hall of Fame". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
  4. ^ "Alex Lifeson - 100 Greatest Guitarists". Rolling Stone. 18 December 2015. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  5. ^ "Readers Poll Results: The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time". Guitar World. Archived from the original on 22 May 2016. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
  6. ^ "Alex Lifeson New Painting For Kidney Foundation Auction". Rush.com. 21 October 2020. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  7. ^ "Toronto's Orbit Room closed last year after 25 years. Now its owner is calling on everyone who loved the venue to help it reopen". thestar.com. 18 March 2021. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
  8. ^ "Alex Lifeson Biography". 2112.net. Archived from the original on 12 October 2007. Retrieved 20 September 2007.