Rush (band)
Rush is a Canadian rock band formed in Toronto in 1968. The band's original line-up included guitarist Alex Lifeson, drummer John Rutsey, and bassist and vocalist Jeff Jones, whom Geddy Lee replaced shortly after its formation. Rush went through a few line-up changes over the next six years, before arriving at its classic power trio line-up with the addition of Neil Peart in July 1974, replacing Rutsey four months after the release of their self-titled debut album. The line-up of Lifeson, Lee and Peart remained stable for the remainder of the band's initial run until 2015, after which Peart retired from music. Lifeson later confirmed in 2018 that the band had disbanded, citing Peart's health as a contributing factor. Lifeson and Lee continued to occasionally work together in the years following Peart's death in 2020. In October 2025, Lifeson and Lee announced a 2026 reunion tour as Rush, with Anika Nilles filling in for Peart.
Rush is known for their virtuosic musicianship, complex compositions and eclectic lyrical motifs, which drew primarily on science fiction, fantasy and philosophy. The band's style changed over the years, from a blues-inspired hard rock beginning, later moving into progressive rock, then a period in the 1980s marked by heavy use of synthesizers, before returning to guitar-driven rock in the remainder of their career. The members of Rush have been acknowledged as some of the most proficient players on their respective instruments, with each winning numerous awards in magazine readers' polls in various years.
As of 2024, Rush ranks 90th in the US with sales of 26 million albums and industry sources estimate their total worldwide album sales at over 42 million. They have been awarded 14 platinum and 3 multi-platinum albums in the US and 17 platinum albums in Canada. Rush was nominated for seven Grammy Awards, won ten Juno Awards, and won an International Achievement Award at the 2009 SOCAN Awards. The band was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1994 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2013. Music critics consider Rush to be one of the greatest rock bands of all time.
History
1968–1974: Early years and debut album
The band was formed in the neighbourhood of Willowdale in Toronto by guitarist Alex Lifeson, bassist and frontman Jeff Jones, and drummer John Rutsey, in August 1968. Lifeson and Rutsey had been friends since a young age and played together in a short-lived band, The Projection. Afterward the two stuck together and brought in Jones to form a new group; their first gig was in September at the Coff-Inn, a youth centre in the basement of St. Theodore of Canterbury Anglican Church in Willowdale; they were paid. They had not named themselves at the time of the booking; Rutsey's brother, Bill thought they needed a name that was short and to the point. He suggested Rush, and the group went with it.Due to increasing difficulties in getting to Lifeson's house for practice, Jones suggested that Lifeson get his schoolmate Gary "Geddy" Weinrib to step in on lead vocals and bass. Weinrib replaced Jones as Rush's frontman, adopting the stage name Geddy Lee. Rush rehearsed a set mainly formed of covers by various rock artists, including Cream, Jimi Hendrix, and John Mayall. The band underwent several configurations to the line-up that included Lindy Young on keyboards and various instruments, and Mitch Bossi on second guitar. Shortly after becoming a four-piece band of Lee, Lifeson, Young and Rutsey, Ray Danniels was hired to be their manager. As Lee recounted years later,
With Lee kicked out of the band in spring 1969, Rutsey recruited new bassist and vocalist Joe Perna, and the group of Lifeson, Rutsey, Young and Perna named themselves Hadrian. But after a disastrous gig with Perna, Rutsey invited Lee back in September 1969 and the group resumed as Rush. Lee said, "I started a blues band and I was, frankly speaking, doing better than they were. Then I got a call from John and he said, 'Can we get together?' Basically, 'Can you come back? We're sorry. Second guitarist Mitch Bossi joined during the first half of 1971 but after that, the band stabilized as a trio of Lifeson, Rutsey and Lee. They kept Danniels as their manager, with his business partner and agent Vic Wilson sharing duties.
Rush honed their skills with regular gigs, initially touring the Ontario high school circuit. In 1971, the legal drinking age was decreased from 21 to 18, allowing the band to play bars and clubs. Lee said it was at this point that Rush turned "from a basement garage band that played the occasional high school gig to a regular working band playing six days a week." A demo tape was shipped to various record labels, but Rush were unable to secure a deal, leading to Danniels and them forming their own label, Moon Records. Rush recorded their first single in 1973; their cover of "Not Fade Away" by Buddy Holly was chosen as it had become a crowd favourite. "You Can't Fight It", an original song, was put on the B-side. Released in September, it went to No. 88 on the Canadian RPM Top Singles chart. Also in September 1973, Rush performed their first major gig, opening for the New York Dolls in Toronto and finished putting down tracks for their first album. The initial sessions produced undesirable results over the sound quality, so tracks were recut and remixed with a new engineer, Terry Brown. Danniels sold his management company to help raise funds to make the record. Rutsey wrote the lyrics, but tore them up on the day Lee was to record them and would not produce a new set. Lee quickly wrote a fresh set based on earlier versions, which was used on the final take.
The debut album, Rush, was released in March 1974; the initial pressing of 3,500 copies quickly sold out. It went on to peak at No. 86 on the RPM Top Albums chart. Most critics considered the album to be highly derivative of Led Zeppelin. It had a limited release until it was picked up by Donna Halper, a music director and DJ at rock station WMMS in Cleveland, Ohio. She added "Working Man" to the station's regular playlist, and the song's blue-collar theme resonated with hard rock fans in the predominantly working class city. In June 1974, Danniels signed Rush to American Talent International, an American booking agency, and ATI executive Ira Blacker sent a copy of Rush to Mercury Records. The record caught the attention of Cliff Burnstein in A&R, who signed Rush with a $75,000 advance as part of a $200,000 deal.
After a series of Canadian dates, Rutsey played his last gig with the band on July 25. His preference for more straightforward rock was incompatible with the more complex music that Lifeson and Lee had written, and Lee recalled that Rutsey had a general distaste for life as a touring musician. His Type 1 diabetes caused further complications, as he required frequent hospital visits to have tests and receive insulin. Since October 1973, Rutsey had often been unable to perform due to his health; in the months prior to his departure, Rush temporarily replaced him with drummer, Gerry Fielding.
1974–1977: Arrival of Neil Peart and foray into progressive rock
After auditioning five drummers, Lifeson and Lee picked Neil Peart, who joined on July 29, 1974, which was two weeks before the group's first US tour. They performed their first concert together on August 14 at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, opening for Uriah Heep and Manfred Mann's Earth Band to more than 11,000 people. Peart assumed the role of lyricist; Lifeson and Lee had little interest in the job and recognized Peart's wider vocabulary range from reading regularly. Lifeson and Lee focused primarily on the music, with the new material displaying their influences from progressive rock bands Yes and Pink Floyd. When the U.S. tour concluded in December 1974, Rush had reached its peak of No. 105 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart.Fly by Night, Rush's first album with Peart, saw the inclusion of the story song "By-Tor & the Snow Dog", replete with complex arrangements and a multi-section format. Lyrical themes also underwent dramatic changes because of Peart's love for fantasy and science-fiction literature. Despite the new styles, some other songs on the album mirrored the simplistic blues style found on Rush's debut. "Fly by Night" was released as a single that reached No. 45 in Canada. The album reached No. 9 in Canada, where it was certified platinum by the Canadian Recording Industry Association for selling 100,000 copies and by the Recording Industry Association of America for selling 1 million copies in the U.S.
Caress of Steel followed Fly by Night. It is a five-track album featuring two extended multi-chapter songs, "The Necromancer" and "The Fountain of Lamneth". Some critics said Caress of Steel was unfocused and an audacious move for the band because of the placement of two back-to-back protracted songs, as well as a heavier reliance on atmospherics and storytelling, a large deviation from Fly by Night. Intended to be the band's breakthrough album, Caress of Steel sold below expectations. The tour consisted of smaller venues and declining box office receipts, which led to it being nicknamed the Down the Tubes Tour.
File:"Starman" emblem.png|thumb|right|upright|The "starman" logo, created by Hugh Syme, first appeared on the back cover of 2112. The logo became a staple of Rush's early live shows, and was featured on the cover of their double live album All the World's a Stage.
In light of these events, Rush's record label tried to pressure the members into moulding their next album in a more commercially friendly and accessible fashion; the band ignored the requests and developed their next album 2112 with a 20-minute title track divided into seven sections. Despite that, the album was the band's first taste of significant commercial success as it reached No. 5 in Canada, becoming their first to reach double platinum certification.
Rush toured in support of 2112 between February 1976 and June 1977 with concerts in Canada, the US, and for the first time Europe, with dates in the UK, Sweden, Germany, and the Netherlands. The three sold-out shows at Massey Hall in Toronto in June 1976 were recorded for Rush's debut live album, All the World's a Stage. Released in September of that year, the double album reached No. 6 in Canada and became Rush's first to crack the US top 40. Record World wrote: "Building its American reputation slowly but steadily Rush stands poised for breaking through all the way via this two record live set All the highly charged electricity is here in an explosive setting." The liner notes include the statement, "This album to us, signifies the end of the beginning, a milestone to mark the close of chapter one, in the annals of Rush."