Michael John Cloete Crawford "Mike" Rutherford (born 2 October 1950) is an English musician. He is a founding member of Genesis and one of the band's only two original members. Initially serving as Genesis' bass guitarist and backing vocalist, Rutherford also performed most of the band's rhythm guitar parts - frequently on twelve-string guitar - in collaboration with successive Genesis lead guitarists Anthony Phillips and Steve Hackett. Following Hackett's departure from Genesis in 1977, Rutherford assumed the additional role of lead guitarist on the band's studio albums (beginning with ...And Then There Were Three... in 1978). Rutherford was one of the main Genesis songwriters throughout their career and wrote the lyrics for some of the band's biggest international hits, such as "Follow Y