Rush (band)

Rush was a Canadian <a href="/facts/Rock_music/zBM2guyQ">rock</a> band formed in <a href="/facts/Toronto/cnXH7881">Toronto</a> in 1968 that consisted primarily of <a href="/facts/Geddy_Lee/X4DdF637">Geddy Lee</a> (vocals, bass, keyboards), <a href="/facts/Alex_Lifeson/2tNfGfaH">Alex Lifeson</a> (guitars) and <a href="/facts/Neil_Peart/VEsw1RLS">Neil Peart</a> (drums, percussion). The band's original line-up consisted of Lifeson, drummer <a href="/facts/John_Rutsey/xBYKEzIl">John Rutsey</a>, and bassist and vocalist <a href="/facts/Jeff_Jones_(bassist)/jCYQoDg6">Jeff Jones</a>, whom Lee immediately replaced. After Lee joined, the band went through a few line-up changes before arriving at its classic <a href="/facts/Power_trio/XmGzy2KC">power trio</a> line-up with the addition of Peart in July 1974, who replaced Rutsey four months after the release of their <a href="/facts/Rush_(Rush_album)/mrq1pNGJ">self-titled debut album</a>; this line-up remained unchanged for the remainder of the band's career.
Rush first achieved moderate success with their second album, <a href="/facts/Fly_by_Night_(album)/DPs8YfsQ">Fly by Night</a> (1975). The commercial failure of their next album <a href="/facts/Caress_of_Steel/Tqw8P46c">Caress of Steel</a>, released seven months after Fly by Night, resulted in the band nearly getting dropped from their then-record label <a href="/facts/Mercury_Records/4uPSg8KB">Mercury Records</a>. Rush's fourth album, <a href="/facts/2112_(album)/tBajCmMc">2112</a> (1976), reignited their popularity, becoming their first album to enter the top five of the <a href="/facts/RPM_(magazine)/FqFN5o4x">RPM</a> Top Albums Chart. Their next two albums, <a href="/facts/A_Farewell_to_Kings/k69KRWE5">A Farewell to Kings</a> (1977) and <a href="/facts/Hemispheres_(Rush_album)/98syTlyF">Hemispheres</a> (1978), were also successful, with the former becoming Rush's first to enter the <a href="/facts/UK_Albums_Chart/h1hyzP13">UK Albums Chart</a>. The band saw their furthest commercial success throughout the 1980s and 1990s, with most albums charting highly in Canada, the US and the UK, including <a href="/facts/Permanent_Waves/ull0TkI2">Permanent Waves</a> (1980), <a href="/facts/Moving_Pictures_(Rush_album)/RWNx9fgv">Moving Pictures</a> (1981), <a href="/facts/Signals_(Rush_album)/HsyWydnM">Signals</a> (1982), <a href="/facts/Grace_Under_Pressure_(Rush_album)/YLGcw2ar">Grace Under Pressure</a> (1984), <a href="/facts/Roll_the_Bones/lurgSl0N">Roll the Bones</a> (1991), <a href="/facts/Counterparts_(Rush_album)/kvtUH5P8">Counterparts</a> (1993), and <a href="/facts/Test_for_Echo/2WsEBeEv">Test for Echo</a> (1996). Rush continued to record and perform until 1997, after which the band went on a four-year hiatus due to personal tragedies in Peart's life. The trio regrouped in 2001 and released three more studio albums: <a href="/facts/Vapor_Trails/g6ckUUJY">Vapor Trails</a> (2002), <a href="/facts/Snakes_%2526_Arrows/0vUn3yzR">Snakes & Arrows</a> (2007), and <a href="/facts/Clockwork_Angels/mCzDDIyg">Clockwork Angels</a> (2012). Rush performed their final concerts in 2015, with Peart retiring from music later that year. Lifeson confirmed in January 2018 that the band decided not to resume activity following the <a href="/facts/R40_Live_Tour/YzqlyYqG">R40 Tour</a>, which was later cemented by Peart's death in January 2020. Lee and Lifeson have continued to periodically work together since Peart's death, including performing at the 25th anniversary celebration of <a href="/facts/South_Park/1gvjuzwN">South Park</a> and tributes to then-recently deceased <a href="/facts/Foo_Fighters/lf3nHbPb">Foo Fighters</a> drummer <a href="/facts/Taylor_Hawkins/lTF6smau">Taylor Hawkins</a> in 2022.
Rush are known for their virtuosic musicianship, complex compositions and eclectic lyrical motifs, which drew primarily on <a href="/facts/Science_fiction/d9hE2Lwt">science fiction</a>, <a href="/facts/Fantasy/gkujmhJg">fantasy</a> and <a href="/facts/Philosophy/zAH5PVD6">philosophy</a>. The band's style changed over the years, from a <a href="/facts/Blues/f2WSr9QQ">blues</a>-inspired <a href="/facts/Hard_rock/yC1FkQcC">hard rock</a> beginning, later moving into <a href="/facts/Progressive_rock/79MRoIU7">progressive rock</a>, then a period in the 1980s marked by heavy use of synthesizers, before returning to guitar-driven hard rock at the end of the 1980s. Clockwork Angels marked a return to progressive rock. 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 were nominated for seven <a href="/facts/Grammy_Award/2bxYJjPV">Grammy Awards</a>, won ten <a href="/facts/Juno_Award/7GsTvmJf">Juno Awards</a>, and won an International Achievement Award at the 2009 <a href="/facts/SOCAN/NIFKxzFG">SOCAN</a> Awards. The band was inducted into the <a href="/facts/Canadian_Music_Hall_of_Fame/wdDUvtSQ">Canadian Music Hall of Fame</a> in <a href="/facts/Canadian_Music_Hall_of_Fame/wdDUvtSQ">1994</a> and the <a href="/facts/Rock_and_Roll_Hall_of_Fame/6hRagsTD">Rock and Roll Hall of Fame</a> in 2013. Critics consider Rush to be one of the greatest rock bands of all time.

Rush (band) open-in-new

Rush (band)