Alex Lifeson (b. 1953)

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Biography

Aleksandar Živojinović, known professionally as Alex Lifeson, is a Canadian musician, best known as the guitarist for the rock band Rush. In 1968, he co-founded a band with drummer John Rutsey and bassist and lead vocalist Jeff Jones. One month later, Jones was succeeded by Geddy Lee and in 1974, Rutsey was succeeded by Neil Peart, at which point the lineup remained unchanged until the band's initial dissolution in 2015; Lifeson and Lee eventually reformed Rush in 2025, with Anika Nilles as a live drummer. Lifeson is the only member of Rush to have stayed in the band throughout its entire existence and, alongside Lee, the only member to appear on all of the band's albums.

Timeline

The story of Alex Lifeson, told in moments.

1953 Birth

Born Aleksandar Zivojinovic in Fernie, British Columbia, to Serbian immigrant parents. His family moved to Toronto when he was a toddler. Picked up guitar at 12.

Did Serbian immigrant parents in Toronto influence your music? Was picking up guitar at twelve the moment?

1968 Event

Co-founded a band in a Toronto basement that became Rush. He was 15. Geddy Lee replaced the original bassist within the first month.

What was that Toronto basement like when Rush was just three teenagers? Did Geddy Lee replacing the original bassist change the sound immediately?

1976 Event

Released 2112 with Rush. The record label wanted a commercial pop record. The band recorded a 20-minute sci-fi suite based on Ayn Rand instead. It went platinum.

How did the label react when you delivered a 20-minute sci-fi suite instead of pop? Was basing 2112 on Ayn Rand a philosophical or artistic choice?

2015 Event

Rush played their final concert, the R40 tour closer in Los Angeles. Lifeson was the only member who'd been in the band for its entire 47-year existence.

Was the final Rush concert in 2015 the hardest goodbye? Does being the only member present for all 47 years make you the band's keeper?

Artifacts (5)

Rush - Deluxe Guitar Play-Along Volume 26: Play 15 Songs with Backing Tracks

(Deluxe Guitar Play-Along). Channel your inner Alex Lifeson with this play-along pack that will help you play 15 Rush favorites faster than ever before! This Hal Leonard Deluxe Guitar Play-Along book...

2023

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My dearest Sultan! If you ask about Istanbul, the city still suffers from the pl...

n one of her letters to Suleiman, she informs him about the situation of the plague in the capital. She wrote, "My dearest Sultan! If you ask about Istanbul, the city still suffers from the plague;...

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the wife of the present Turkish emperor who loves her dearly — mother of his pri...

, former ambassador of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania to the Crimean Khanate in the mid-16th century, wrote that "the wife of the present Turkish emperor who loves her dearly — mother of his...

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