Geddy Lee of Rush reflects on his profound admiration for bass pioneers, particularly Cream's Jack Bruce, who shaped his approach to the instrument. Lee's multi-tasking abilities—playing bass and keyboards whilst singing—were directly inspired by witnessing bass players like Bruce, Chris Squire and Les Claypool who refused to relegate the bass to a background role. These influences motivated him to push beyond conventional expectations and develop his distinctive fingerstyle technique.

Lee specifically credits the 1966 Cream track 'Spoonful' as transformative, praising Bruce's aggressive approach to the Gibson bass, which he played deliberately too loudly to create a distorted, "spidery" tone. Bruce's willingness to solo prominently and layer thick riffs whilst allowing the band to stretch out demonstrated that the bass could be both a melodic and rhythmic instrument. By carving out this space for bass prominence, Bruce essentially paved the way for Lee's later contributions to progressive rock.