With the 9th overall pick Neon Dion And The Iggy Pops are pleased and extremely proud to pick in the Canada category, Rush!
Rush is a
Canadian rock band originally formed in August 1968, in the
Willowdale neighbourhood of
Toronto,
Ontario; presently comprised of
bassist,
keyboardist, and
lead vocalist Geddy Lee,
guitarist Alex Lifeson, and
drummer and
lyricist Neil Peart. The band and its membership went through a number of re-configurations between 1968 and 1974, achieving their definitive form when Neil Peart replaced original drummer
John Rutsey in July 1974, two weeks before the group's first U.S. tour.
Since the release of the band's
self-titled debut album in March 1974, Rush has become known for the instrumental skills of its members, complex compositions, and eclectic lyrical motifs drawing heavily on
science fiction,
fantasy, and
libertarian philosophy, as well as addressing humanitarian, social, emotional, and environmental concerns.
Musically, Rush's style has evolved over the years, beginning in the vein of blues-inspired
heavy metal on their first album, then encompassing
hard rock,
progressive rock, a period dominated by
synthesizers and, more recently,
modern rock. They have influenced various musical artists, including
Metallica,
[1][2] The Smashing Pumpkins[3] and
Primus,
[3] as well as notable
progressive metal bands such as
Dream Theater[1] and
Symphony X.
[4]
Rush has won a number of
Juno Awards, and was inducted into the
Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1994. Over the course of their careers, the individual members of Rush have been acknowledged as being some of the most proficient players on their respective instruments, with each band member winning several awards in magazine readers' polls. As a group, Rush possesses 24
gold records and 14 platinum (3 multi-platinum) records. These statistics place Rush fifth behind
The Beatles,
The Rolling Stones,
Kiss and
Aerosmith for the most consecutive gold and platinum albums by a rock band. Rush also ranks 78th in U.S. album sales according to the RIAA with sales of 25 million units.
[5] Although total worldwide album sales are not calculated by any single entity, as of 2004 several industry sources estimated Rush's total worldwide album sales at over 40 million units.