Remembering Neil Peart on the Three Year Anniversary of his Death

January 7, 2023 - Today marks 3 years since the death of one of the world's best drummers, Neil Elwood Peart OC. He was 67 years old at the time of his death.

Peart has cemented himself in music history as one of the best drummers to have existed during his time with Rush. Although he had gotten his start in adolescence working with various regional bands, it wasn't until he joined Rush in 1974 that he was able to attain his dream of being a full-time musician (although the members did struggle financially for the first few years). Later, in 1983, he became the youngest drummer to be inducted into the Modern Drummer Readers Poll Hall of Fame at the age of 30.

Source: The Fordham Ram/Twitter

He had a wide range of artists he took inspiration from, such as Pete Thomas, John Bonham, Stewart Copeland, Phil Collins, Buddy Rich, Billy Cobham, Keith Moon, and more. He also influenced countless drummers himself, and along with the other members of Rush, has become a musical hero to many. Personally, his death is one of the few celebrity deaths that actually devastated me. 

Peart battled brain cancer (glioblastoma) for 3½ years, but kept it private save for his inner circle. His bandmates, Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson, were (of course) among that circle, and can be heard speaking about it here on the Strombo Show YouTube channel. 

I know today will be significant for many people, myself included. Blast some Rush today, folks!

Happy listening!

Hey there! I'm Olive, and I'm a part-time blog writer hoping to share my love of older music and countercultural history. I started this blog during my freshman year of college as a means to get a head start doing what I love most - writing. I've always loved writing and music, and wanted to do something that would involve doing both. Now, I've got this cool (totally not biased) blog page!

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