With our 2nd pick Neon Dion And The Iggy Pops select the first drummer to be drafted and IMO the greatest ever, Neil Peart.
Neil Peart was born on his family's farm in
Hagersville,
[3][4] on the outskirts of
Hamilton. The first child of four, his brother Danny and sisters Judy and Nancy were born after the family moved to
St. Catharines when Peart was two. At this time his father became parts manager for Dalziel Equipment, a farm machinery supplier. In 1956 the family moved to the
Port Dalhousie area of the town. Peart attended Gracefield School, and describes his childhood as happy and says he experienced a warm family life. By early adolescence he became interested in music and acquired a transistor radio, which he would use to tune into pop music stations broadcasting from
Toronto, Hamilton,
Welland and
Buffalo.
[4]
His first exposure to musical training came in the form of piano lessons, which he later said in his instructional video
A Work in Progress did not have much impact on him. He had a penchant for drumming on various objects around the house with a pair of chopsticks, so for his 13th birthday, his parents bought him a pair of drum sticks, a practice pad and some lessons, with the promise that if he stuck with it for a year, they would buy him a kit.
[4]
His parents bought him a drum kit for his fourteenth birthday and he began taking lessons from Don George at the Peninsula Conservatory of Music.
[4] His stage debut took place that year at the school's Christmas pageant in St. Johns Anglican Church Hall in Port Dalhousie. His next appearance was at Lakeport High School with his first group, The Eternal Triangle. This performance contained an original number entitled "LSD forever." At this show he performed his first solo which garnered praise from fellow students.
[4]
Peart got a job in
Lakeside Park, a fairground on the shores of
Lake Ontario, which later inspired a song of the same name on the Rush album
Caress of Steel.
[5] He worked on the Bubble Game and Ball Toss, but his tendency to take it easy when business was slack resulted in his termination. By his late teens, Peart had played in local bands such as Mumblin’ Sumpthin’, the Majority, and JR Flood. These bands practiced in basement recreation rooms and garages and played church halls, high schools and roller rinks in towns across
Southern Ontario such as
Mitchell,
Seaforth,
Elmira and
Timmins. Tuesday nights were filled with jam sessions at the Niagara Theatre Centre.
Peart has received the following awards in the
Modern Drummer magazine reader's poll:
[47][48]- Hall of Fame: 1983
- Best Rock Drummer: 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 2006, 2008 (won vote count, but ineligible*)
- Best Multi-Percussionist: 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986
- Best Percussion Instrumentalist: 1982
- Most Promising New Drummer: 1980
- Best All Around: 1986
- 1986 Honor Roll: Rock Drummer, Multi-Percussion
(* - As a member of the Honor Roll in these categories, he is no longer eligible for votes in the above categories.)
- Best Recorded Performance:
Peart has received the following awards from DRUM! magazine for 2007:
[49]- Drummer of the Year
- Best Progressive Rock Drummer
- Best Live Performer
- Best DVD ("Anatomy Of A Drum Solo")
- Best Drumming Album (Snakes & Arrows)