Pick a Day

Rush drummer/lyricist Neil Peart dies of brain cancer at 67.

Rush play their last concert, closing out their R40 Live tour with a show at The Forum near Los Angeles. It's not announced as their farewell, but the band has hinted it might be. At the end of the show, drummer Neil Peart uncharacteristically comes to the front of the stage to take a bow with his bandmates.

For the first time ever, Rush make the cover of Rolling Stone. The magazine and their cohorts at the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame (which didn't induct the band until 2013), have given Rush short shrift throughout their career, but even diehard fans are pleased with the piece.

In Tulsa, Rush begin their R40 Live tour, playing their newer songs first and working backward to "Working Man," the song that launched them in America. It ends up being their last tour, as drummer Neil Peart develops brain cancer and dies in 2020.

Public Enemy become the fourth hip-hop act inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (the others that preceded PE into the Hall were Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five, Run-DMC, and the Beastie Boys). Other 2013 inductees are Rush, Heart, Albert King, Donna Summer, and Randy Newman.

Rush release a concept album titled Clockwork Angels, their 20th (and last) studio effort. On the album Neil Peart uses a new method in which producer Nick Raskulinecz "conducts" Peart's drumming during recordings.

John Rutsey, the original drummer for Rush, dies of a diabetes-related heart attack at age 55.

Rush release Snakes & Arrows. Alex Lifeson's guitar work on the album is influenced by David Gilmour's suggestion that he write more acoustic songs.

Rush release their 18th studio album, Feedback, comprised of eight cover songs selected from tunes that influenced each band member in their younger years.

When the disease SARS spreads to Toronto, it scares a lot of people away. To get visitors back, the city puts on a huge open-air concert featuring The Rolling Stones, The Guess Who, Rush, The Isley Brothers, The Flaming Lips and Justin Timberlake (who is jeered and has muffins thrown at him). About 450,000 people attend.More

Rush release Vapor Trails, their 17th studio album and first since the deaths of Neil Peart's daughter and wife five years prior.

Rush drummer Neil Peart loses his 19-year-old daughter Selena to a car accident. A year later, Selena's mother Jackie (Peart's common-law wife) dies of cancer, leading Peart to take a long sabbatical from the band where he rides his motorcycle across North America.

Neil Peart employs some jazz-influenced traditional drum grips on Rush's 16th studio album, Test for Echo. It's the last album the band releases before the death of Peart's daughter, followed ten months later by the passing of his wife, leads the band to take a six-year recording hiatus.

Counterparts, Rush's 15th studio album, hits stores.

Rush are named '80s Artist Of The Decade at the Juno Awards, the Canadian equivalent of the Grammies.

Rush move away from their keyboard-heavy sound with Presto, their 13th studio album and first under the Atlantic Records label. The album's four singles are "Show Don't Tell," "Presto," "The Pass," and "Superconductor."

Rush release Grace Under Pressure, their 10th studio album and, according to guitarist Alex Lifeson, their most satisfying. With standout tracks "Distant Early Warning" and "Red Sector A," it's well received by fans.

Rush are guests at Kennedy Space Center to witness the first space shuttle launch, which inspires their song "Countdown."

Riding the (permanent) wave of their previous album, Rush release Moving Pictures. Featuring "Tom Sawyer," "Limelight" and "YYZ," it becomes the best-selling album in the Rush discography. "The Camera Eye" is the last 10-minute-long song Rush ever record in the studio.

Rush release Permanent Waves, their seventh studio album. "The Spirit of Radio" and "Freewill" help make it their first to reach the Top 5 on the US Albums chart, where it peaks at #4. The album represents a new direction for the band, with songs becoming denser and more radio friendly, setting the stage for the upcoming Moving Pictures.

Rush are named Canada's Official Ambassadors Of Music by the Canadian government.

Rush's Hemispheres hits stores. The album is ambitious even by Rush standards, and the work put into recording it nearly gives the band members nervous breakdowns.

In a sign they are taking hold in America, Rush earn their first Gold albums with 2112, All The World's A Stage and A Farewell To Kings.

Rush release their fifth album, A Farewell to Kings. The album's epic "Xanadu" and "Cygnus X-1 Book I: The Voyage" satisfy Rush's cult following, while the shorter and more radio-friendly "Closer to the Heart" find favor with general audiences in both the US and the UK.

Rush release their first live album, the double LP All The World's A Stage.

Rush disregard their record label's wishes and release 2112. Mercury wanted the band to produce an album with more radio-friendly singles than Caress of Steel, but 2112 is just as ambitious and "progressive" as its predecessor. This time, however, advances in the band's skills and changes in the market make 2112 successful, though it will take 1997's A Farewell to Kings to help nudge 2112 to Gold status.

Rush release their third album, Caress of Steel. The album doesn't sell as well as its predecessor, Fly by Night, and is poorly received by critics. Rush chalks up the album's lack of focus and quality to copious amounts of marijuana consumed during its making. The audacious ambition of the album, however, is an important step in the band's evolution, another step forward on an artistic path that will find fruit a year later with 2012.

Rush are named Most Promising Group at the Juno Awards. They fulfill that promise, winning Group Of The Year in 1978 and 1979.

Rush release Fly by Night. It is their second album, following 1974's Rush, but is the first with new drummer/lyricist Neil Peart. Partially due to Peart's influence, this album veers from the sound of the band's debut and moves closer to the progressive styling that eventually makes Rush a legend of the genre.

Drummer Neil Peart makes his debut with Rush at a show in Pittsburgh where they are the support act for Manfred Mann and Uriah Heep.