Neil Peart

Neil Peart, 2008

Neil Ellwood Peart (born September 12, 1952 in Hamilton , Ontario , † January 7, 2020 in Santa Monica , California ) was a Canadian drummer and lyricist for the rock band Rush .

Career

Peart replaced drummer John Rutsey in 1974 . He was initially a supporter of the objectivist theory of Ayn Rand . This influence is evident in many of the lyrics (such as 2112 ) from his early years. In the early 1980s, however, he abandoned her philosophical path after learning that she generally condemned rock music .

Over time, the subjects of the song lyrics that Peart wrote changed often. After texts based on mythological stories ( By-Tor and the Snow Dog from Fly by Night or The Necromancer from Caress of Steel ), but also on stories by JRR Tolkien ( Rivendell also from Fly by Night ), he dealt with the 1980s mainly with political, social or cultural issues and then current phenomena, such as the increasing optical standardization of city districts ( subdivisions from the album Signals ), the start of the first space shuttle ( countdown also from Signals ) or the atomic bomb program of the USA in World War II ( Manhattan Project from the album Power Windows ).

In the 1990s, Peart increasingly turned to socially relevant or more personal topics, such as modern technologies ( virtuality from the album Test for Echo ) or religion ( Totem also from Test for Echo ). The character of the texts became increasingly dark. According to Peart, the lyrics on the album Snakes & Arrows are heavily influenced by his long journeys on a motorcycle (compare Ghost Rider from the album Vapor Trails from 2002) through the North American continent and at the same time reflections on loyalty and faith. In 2008 he starred in the comedy film Adventures of Power .

Awards

During his over forty-year career, he has received many awards for his playing style on studio recordings, including from the Modern Drummer . Together with his Rush colleagues Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson , he was honored as an officer of the Order of Canada on May 9, 1996 . The three were the first rock musicians to be honored in this way. On June 25, 2010, Neil Peart and his Rush bandmates Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee were honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame . In April 2013, Rush was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame . The Rolling Stone listed Peart in 2016 in fourth place of the 100 best drummers of all time .

Private

Peart's first daughter was killed in a car accident in 1997. His wife Jaqueline Taylor died of cancer in 1998. In 2002 Peart married the photographer Carrie Nuttall , and a daughter was born in August 2009.

Neil Peart died of complications from a brain tumor in Santa Monica on January 7, 2020 .

Works

Solo projects:

• 1994: Burning for Buddy, Volume 1
• 1997: Burning for Buddy, Volume 2
• 2002: A Work in Progress (DVD - Drums on Test for Echo )
• 2005: Anatomy Of A Drum Solo (DVD)

Books:

• 1996: The Masked Rider: Cycling in West Africa
• 2002: Ghost Rider: Travels on the Healing Road
• 2004: Traveling Music. Playing Back the Soundtrack to My Life and Times
• 2006: Roadshow: Landscape with Drums - A Concert Tour by Motorcycle

Science fiction

• Clockwork Lives: The Bookseller's Tale , 2015 (with Kevin J. Anderson )
• Clockwork Lives , 2015 (with Kevin J. Anderson)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003120134
2. ↑ 100 Greatest Drummers of All Time. Rolling Stone , March 31, 2016, accessed August 6, 2017 . 
3. ↑ CBC News: Rush drummer Neil Peart dead at 67. Retrieved January 10, 2020 . 

Web links

• Neil Peart website
• Neil Peart in the Internet Movie Database (English)
• Neil Peart in the Internet Speculative Fiction Database (English)
• Works by and about Neil Peart at Open Library
• Neil Peart on drummerworld.com