RUSH

HOW IT ALL BEGAN

Started in the spring of 1968 in Willowdale, Toronto by Alex Lifeson and John Rutsey. It was not until 1971 that the band had a concrete name and a stable set of members. In late summer of 1968, Jeff Jones was recruited and the band started performing live.
Geddy Lee replaced Jeff later that year, and early in the year 1969, Lindy Young also provided her talent to the group.

HOW IT ALL BEGAN

In the summer of 1969, Lee dropped out and formed his own band. Not far behind was Young who left shortly after to join Lee. Unable to keep any talent, Lifeson and Rutsey split up. The following fall, Lees band also broke up. Almost immediately after, Lifeson, Rutsey, and Lee joined up and Rush was born.

STRUGGLING TO MAKE IT
Becoming a musical success was very tough in Canada. The kind of music that rush was creating, the type of rock they produced, was not looked upon favorably by the record companies. Since no one was willing to take the gamble on Rush, they had to make their own record company in order to produce their music. They called it Moon Records.

STRUGGLING TO MAKE IT
In 1973, Rush produced its first single on side A was Not Fade Away and on side B was You Cant Fight It. It was only sold in Toronto and some other parts of Canada. The band stayed vastly unknown. In 1974, Rush released their first album, Rush. They then went on tour in Canada, trying to spread their popularity. Their efforts were in vain, however, because outside of Toronto and other places in Canada, no one even heard of Rush.

THE BIG BREAK

One copy of Rush made its way out of Canada down to Cleveland where it was heard by a DJ named Donna Halper she liked what she heard and played it on the radio. Many people thought that it was a new album from Led Zepplin, since the music sounded so similar to them. Zepplin is where, consequently, Rush got a lot of its first inspiration and style from.

THE BIG BREAK

The demand for the album increased, and Halper asked for more copies so she could give them to record shops. These copies sold out in no time, and Rush became greatly liked and sought after in the US. A record company called Mercury Records heard the album and liked what they heard, so they re-released Rush world-wide. Rush became known across the globe, but became especially popular in the US.

CHANGE
Before going on tour in the US, John Rutsey left the band for personal reasons, including his struggle with diabetes and feelings for what the future of the band was. Auditions were held, and a new drummer was found in the form of Neil Pert. He was found to be exceptionally skilled at the drums, and also had a talent for writing lyrics. This group of people would live on to be the permanent members of Rush.

CHANGE
It was during this time that Rush developed a unique style very different from any other band at the time. They were unique in every way, from the sound of Lees voice, the very deep and complex lyrics from Neil, and the very different sound created by the instruments used by everyone in the very talented and versatile group.

GEDDY LEE
Real name Gary Lee Weinrib Born July 29th, 1953 Bassist, keyboardist, lead vocalist Is in Bass Hall of Fame for Guitar Player Magazine, has been voted Best Rock Bassist multiple times, and has won Best Rock Bass Player in the 1993 Bass Player readers poll.

ALEX LIFESON
Real name Alex Zivojinovich Born August 27th, 1953 Guitarist Has won Best Rock Talent from Guitar For The Practicing Musician and is also in their hall of fame.

NEIL PERT
Born September 12, 1952 Drummer Lyricist

RUSH - 1974

FLY BY NIGHT 1975 (FEB)

CARESS OF STEEL 1975 (SEP)

2112 - 1976

A FAREWELL TO KINGS - 1977

HEMISPHERES - 1978

PERMANENT WAVES - 1980

MOVING PICTURES - 1981

SIGNALS - 1982

GRACE UNDER PRESSURE - 1984

POWER WINDOWS - 1985

HOLD YOUR FIRE - 1987

PRESTO - 1989

ROLL THE BONES - 1991

COUNTERPARTS - 1993

TEST FOR ECHO - 1996

VAPOR TRAILS - 2002

SNAKES AND ARROWS - 2007

CLOCKWORK ANGELS - 2012

YYZ - BASS

YYZ - GUITAR