Rush

Canada’s rock trio Rush has been entertaining rock enthusiasts for years. The band officially formed in 1971 and has been making hit albums since 1974. They still continue to make music and tour today.

Rush consists of three musical geniuses: Bassist and vocalist Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson, and drummer and lyricist Neil Peart. All three of the band members are known for their musical skills and each has at one time or another won awards acknowledging their proficiency. Many of today’s artists have been influenced by the band and their musical prowess.

Their debut self-titled album was released in 1974. The album went gold. All in all, the band has a total of twenty four gold records and fourteen platinum albums. Rush places fourth for most consecutive gold or platinum albums, just behind The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and Aerosmith.

Worldwide, Rush has sold over forty million albums, of which twenty five million were in the US. Their first top five album was Permanent Waves which featured the well-known singles “The Spirit of Radio” and “Freewill.” 1981’s Moving Pictures hit number three on the Billboard chart with the hits “Tom Sawyer” (their most popular single) and “Limelight.”

In 1982 Rush released Signals which featured the band’s only top forty single “New World Man” Rush has since released many albums, most recently Snakes and Arrows which debuted at number one for top internet albums in 2007.

Some of Rush’s most popular downloads include “Tom Sawyer” “Spirit of Radio” and “Limelight.” Some other often downloaded mp3’s include “YYZ” and “Working Man.” Rush has achieved a cult following and has been noted by many critics as being the thinking man’s rock band due to their complicated arrangements and fantastical lyrics.