Starting One of the Greatest Bands: Rush

The band Rush has survived over 40 years in the music industry. They are regarded as one of the greatest rock and roll band to ever exist. Although they are very popular and carry this high reputation, their 40 year trip wasn’t all steady and consistent. Throughout the bands’ history they have been criticized about their music ever since the beginning and weren’t inducted into the hall of fame until 2013. It’s a shame that the media gave them so much trouble and projected them as something they weren’t. They deserved their induction long before they actually received it.

The first seeds of rush were seen in 1963 when two teenagers, John Rutsey and Alex Lifeson, decided to get together and start jamming. It wasn’t until 1968 when they found bassist Geddy Lee, a somewhat witchy-looking dude with a high-pitched shriek of a voice and an enviable fluency on his instrument. It wasn’t until a few days before one of their larger gigs that they came up with their name. The band was sitting in John’s basement when John’s older brother Bill just threw the name Rush out and everyone agreed. They recorded their first single in 1973, a cover of Buddy Holly's “Not Fade Away.”

Many people know the band Rush for their legendary drummer Neil Pert. Although Neil was a drumming legend and had a huge impact on the bands success, he wasn’t there in the beginning. John Rutsey was the bands drummer in the earlier years and he was the real reason why rush was the way they were. In the beginning John was the motivation for the other two guys, he would be the one to schedule practices and develop the bands style. They had to replace John with Neil after John left the band due to health reasons. Although it was a big change to the band, it didn’t hold them back.